How old is “too old” for trick or treating? What age should kids stop trick or treating? Aren’t teenagers too old to trick or treat? These are some questions that people have been asking about Halloween for years and years, but between the lines they all ask a similar thing: Should teenagers really be trick or treating?
While there is no actual law or rule that prohibits trick or treating past a specific age, some adults and some kids believe that kids just get too old for trick or treating once they hit the teen years. On the contrary, there are many people who believe that Halloween is a timeless holiday meant to be celebrated by everyone, including those of older ages. “I got a cousin in his 20s who’s always trick or treating, and whenever I go with him it’s always a blast. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with older people trick or treating,” said senior student Ryan Siddiq. There is understandable reasoning on both sides of the argument. Some believe teenagers can take too much candy, sport inappropriate costumes, disrupt or can be troublesome to the younger trick or treaters, etc., which are valid reasons that some may defer the idea of teens trick or treating.
Others however, think that trick or treating has no bounds by age. English teacher Mrs. Setmire believes that, “Teens should definitely be trick or treating! It’s so much better and more fun for them to dress up and go out to get free candy instead of going out and causing mischief and being disturbances around town.” Piano and choir teacher Ms. Spielman said that, “As long as kids have fun with it and aren’t jerks to others with it, they should be able to enjoy it. Halloween is supposed to be a fun holiday for all ages.”
Furthermore, virtually all kids have childhoods with trick or treating, and some teenagers simply aren’t ready to give it up, or they love Halloween enough to where they just want to celebrate it by trick or treating. Senior student Aidan Quilici feels that, “It’s genuinely nice to see older people trick or treating because they’re holding onto something from childhood. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Life is short and we gotta cherish that type of stuff, you know?”
