Trick or Treat, Are They Too Old?

Halloween is one of my favorite festivities. I love to get my kids dressed up and go grub for candy. I don't do it for the candy however, I do it because it is so much fun! When I walk down the streets at night with all my kids in toe, dressed up as vampires, dead doctors and faceless ghouls is time I get to spend with my children. No sibling rivalry, just laughing and sharing a night together. We look at all the other costumes and talk about how scary they are. The kids run up to each house then run back to show me the great treats they got. It's a blast.


So when my husband said my 14-year-old was too old to go trick-or-treating with us this year, my heart was crushed. I didn't want him to miss out on the family fun.

When I learned what his plans were for the evening, I was even more perplexed. A friend of his from school was throwing a Halloween party at his house and if my son couldn't go with us, he wanted to go to the party. Why should the kids from school get to spend Halloween with my son instead of me? I made this argument with my husband.

One 13-year-old says she will trick-or-treat until 2 a.m. She says it is better than going to a party with drugs and alcohol in a story on "ocregister.com," an online news source in Orange County, California.

About 28 percent of adults agreed with my husband that teen trick-or-treaters were annoying, according to a study by Harris Interactive on behalf of Mybuys.com.

The mayor of Belleville, Ill. has made teen trick-or-treating forbidden. If a teen is caught ringing doorbells in this city, they can be fined $25. This was a result of senior citizens being afraid when the tall, masked teen knocked on their door late at night. They were afraid of being tricked or worse.

I made the argument with my husband however, that we wouldn't be knocking on doors after 9 p.m. and that it would be a good chance to divert my son from being at a party that could lead to alcohol or drugs. What finally convinced him was that it was family time and all in good respectful fun.

So my tall, masked teen went with us as a faceless ghoul, and we had the best night in a long time.

If you would like to read the article on ocregister.com about trick-or-treating teens got to http://http//www.ocregister.com/articles/teens-trick-treating-2211983-night-ring