The Controversy Surrounding Teenage Trick-or-Treaters

Real talk: When was the last time you went trick-or-treating? Now, we’re not saying as a chaperone to a son, daughter, niece, nephew, or what have you—we’re more interested in finding out when you stopped trick-or-treating YOURSELF.

We were around 12 or so, but we distinctly remember plenty of our friends partaking in the witchy tradition well into their teenage years. At that point, it was less about the thrill of knocking on strangers’ doors and more about nabbing as much free candy as possible.

Well, as it turns out, not a lot has changed since our childhood when it comes the tradition of trick-or-treating, but some parents are beginning to become more vocal about setting age limits on trick-or-treaters.

How old is TOO old to trick-or-treat?

While most would agree that this facet of Halloween is geared towards younger kids, there really is no hard and fast rule about when children should stop—but that’s not saying that people don’t have their opinions.

Take blogger Marion Franck, for instance. In a piece for the Huffington Post, the mother recounts a particularly memorable Halloween when her 15-year-old son brought a group of friends over to their home.

Franck points out how difficult of an age this can be for teens when it comes to the holiday—they’re too young to drink the night away, but at the same time, sitting around and carving pumpkins is not really the ‘in’ thing to do anymore.

That night back in 2000, she ultimately let her son and his friends go out trick-or-treating—and she thinks other community members should be on board, too. Franck writes:

When a crowd of under-costumed teens shows up on your doorstep, welcome them. It’s a big group because they find strength in numbers. They’re not wearing costumes because they didn’t realize that they’d want to go — nor how badly.

Give them big bars. Don’t tell them they’re too old. They already know that.

Let them pretend it just isn’t so.

It’s definitely a sweet sentiment, but, this wouldn’t be the internet without some strong rebuttals. You see, while there are plenty of similar op-eds out there that feature moms and dads making pleas similar to those of Finck, others have differing opinions…

In a 2016 survey conducted by TODAY, the news organization posed one simple question to its followers: ‘How old is too old to trick-or-treat’? Out of a pool of 2,000 readers, 73 percent of those surveyed said that kids should stop asking for candy anywhere between the ages of 12 and 17. Wow!

Although we love the fact that some kids want to hold onto their youth as long as they can, we do see how the presence of older trick-or-treaters can take away the fun from younger kids. Yet another ‘parenting dilemma’ to add to that ever-growing list, right?

Who knew that such a time-honored tradition could be so polarizing?!

We’d love to hear your thoughts on all thing trick-or-treat. When did you stop going trick-or-treating? Have you set an age limit for your kids? Do you hand out candy to older ghosts and ghouls?