You are sitting at home on Halloween night when you hear “Ding Dong!” You rush to open the door, and outside you find a group of superheroes, princesses, football players, and zombies all yelling “Trick or treat!” in unison. You happily hand them candy and go along with your business. However, would your reaction be the same if you found a group of teenagers dressed in regular clothes standing on your doorstep?
How old is too old to be trick-or-treating? Teenagers should be allowed to go out and have a good time on Halloween. However, I believe that in order to go trick-or-treating, all people should follow a certain set of rules. These rules would ensure that high school kids would have a good time trick-or-treating, but keep them out of trouble at the same time.
First off, teenagers should also be aware of the younger children around them. They should not be swearing or creating mischief with impressionable kids nearby. The younger children look up to high schoolers, and it would not be right if we set a bad example for them.
Next, if you want to go trick-or-treating, you should be dressed up in a costume. If you just wear normal clothes, it takes away the point of trick-or-treating. Also, it is much more entertaining when you dress up in an elaborate costume.
Lastly, older kids should not be trying to frighten the younger children in any way. That could ruin their special night.
Sophomore Cameron Chen agrees that age should not determine whether or not a person should be trick-or-treating.
“There should not be an age [when kids should stop trick or treating]. Halloween is a fun time of year where kids should just go out, eat candy, and stay out of trouble, of course. For older kids like us, it brings us back to our childhood days,” Chen said.
Senior Madeleine Waring has a similar viewpoint.
“I think that kids should be allowed to trick-or-treat as long as they want so long as they are still in high school. Once kids are out of high school, they probably aren’t even interested in trick-or-treating anymore,” Waring stated.
If you think that trick-or-treating is a bit childish, there are other alternatives.
“I think that a fun thing for older kids to do is to sit out on the driveway and hang out by a campfire and candy bowl,” Waring suggested. “This way you can still wear costumes and hang out with your friends.”
Chen also thought that older kids can still have fun on Halloween without going trick or treating.
“[Instead of trick or treating] older kids can have costume parties…go bowling, or eat dinner; something fun like that,” Chen said.
So if you are answering the door on Halloween night, keep in mind that all kids should have the privilege of trick-or-treating, regardless of their age.
