How Old Is Too Old To Trick Or Treat

[PhuturePriest]

In my area, high school kids trick-or-treat in the evenings, and the afternoon hours are when you see all the kiddos with their parents.

 

Growing up in a small town, me and my siblings would leave by ourselves at no sooner than seven or eight, and we would be out and about going all over town getting candy until ten at the very least, and sometimes later. Being in a small town, we also didn't have to worry about our parents having to check our candy.

 

Did you know that although that's considered a really big deal, in the past forty years there has only been one recorded case of tampered candy given out on Halloween, and that was by a boy's own father trying to kill him with poison? It really brings into question how checking your children's candy became such a big deal, when my parents said it didn't used to be when they were kids.

[penguin31]

Growing up in a small town, me and my siblings would leave by ourselves at no sooner than seven or eight, and we would be out and about going all over town getting candy until ten at the very least, and sometimes later. Being in a small town, we also didn't have to worry about our parents having to check our candy.

 

Did you know that although that's considered a really big deal, in the past forty years there has only been one recorded case of tampered candy given out on Halloween, and that was by a boy's own father trying to kill him with poison? It really brings into question how checking your children's candy became such a big deal, when my parents said it didn't used to be when they were kids.

The whole scare started up in the early-mid 80s when several murders occurred due to tampering with Tylenol capsules.  The whole thing happened in the run up to Halloween '82, and that led to a panic, both by local governments and in the media, about what *else* could be tampered with...and with Halloween right around the corner, pretty much every treat not pre-sealed was considered a suspect. Literally within a couple of years, giving out anything other than strictly sealed halloween candies (other things used to be given out in addition besides candy bars/etc) became strictly taboo.  

(The '82 Tylenol Murders and the ensuing media panic are considered by a decent number of researchers in social sciences to be the initial causal event for the rise of helicopter parenting and moving away from the old ways of trusting your neighborhoods) 

Edited November 2, 2014 by penguin31

[PhuturePriest]

The whole scare started up in the early-mid 80s when several murders occurred due to tampering with Tylenol capsules.  The whole thing happened in the run up to Halloween '82, and that led to a panic, both by local governments and in the media, about what *else* could be tampered with...and with Halloween right around the corner, pretty much every treat not pre-sealed was considered a suspect. Literally within a couple of years, giving out anything other than strictly sealed halloween candies (other things used to be given out in addition besides candy bars/etc) became strictly taboo.  

(The '82 Tylenol Murders and the ensuing media panic are considered by a decent number of researchers in social sciences to be the initial causal event for the rise of helicopter parenting and moving away from the old ways of trusting your neighborhoods) 

 

But that makes no sense. They just began doing it because "What if?" without any proof or reason? It's like the behavior of a mentally unstable person.

 

I was unaware eating unsealed Halloween candy is considered taboo. When I went with my nephew a few days ago, this one guy was giving out cookies, and we both took one and ate them.

[veritasluxmea]

Yeah, I grew up believing that the whole "tampered candy" thing was an urban legend and everyone knew it. Snopes says it's false. 

 

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/poison/halloween.asp

 

 

Nearly all such cases turn out to be nothing: they're pranks played by children on their parents, siblings, or friends; they're false reports generated by attention-seeking children and adults; they involve material that accidentally, rather than deliberately, ends up in children's goodie bags; or they're examples of coincidence mistaken for causation (e.g., a person eats a piece of candy and shortly afterwards feels ill, then erroneously attributes the illness to tainted Halloween candy). But often no follow-ups are done on such news stories after the initial, unconfirmed reports, leaving the public with the impression that all of them involved genuine cases of tainted candy being distributed to trick-or-treaters. 

 

[John Ryan]

I will give candy to anybody on Halloween. 

[homeschoolmom]

As long as you are playing the game (ie in costume or some reasonable explanation of what your plain clothes are) and don't just stand there staring at me blankly (ie you say trick or treat) I will give you a candy. I don't mind seeing teens participating in something "childish" like trick-or-treating. 

[AnneLine]

YAY it's HOME SCHOOL MOM!!!!!  We miss you!

[Lilllabettt]

this year I had a late 40s woman in plain clothes ring my bell. No kids, by herself. I just rolled with it. Cuz that takes guts you know? You have guts, have some candy. 

[little2add]

The only problem I had is I had left over candy and hsve a sweet tooth and high cholesterol

[Benedictus]

this year I had a late 40s woman in plain clothes ring my bell. No kids, by herself. I just rolled with it. Cuz that takes guts you know? You have guts, have some candy. 

 

Was a Weight Watchers meeting being held next door? Maybe she gave in, as it was Halloween, and you were the first door :spike:

[MIKolbe]

if they give you candy, you ain't too old...

 

stop judging me.

[puellapaschalis]

But they might be too old.

Or too weird.

Or creepy.

[Benedictus]

But they might be too old.

Or too weird.

Or creepy.

 

Do they make much out of Halloween in the Netherlands? I'm not sure if anywhere makes it as big as the US.

 

[puellapaschalis]

No. Good grief no. Messing about with the occult, no thanks.

 

More nuanced:

Lots of people will party but there's no trick or treating.

There's something similar for little kids on the evening of St. Maarten in November.

 

But mostly the parties and trick or treating are people brown-nosing American culture without thinking about its provenance. The JW's and I had a whale of a time talking about this the last time they were here.

[Basilisa Marie]

Hey, if the teens are involved in something that's not getting them into trouble, I'm all for it.  I'd rather have them trick or treating than going up to the mountain to go drink beers and have a bonfire.