Trick-or-treating is something that I used to look forward to every year. As a kid, it was always exciting deciding what costume to wear. My mom would often make a DIY costume for me, so I had to decide what I wanted to be weeks ahead of time. I remember meeting up with my friends on Halloween at my house or one of their houses and then heading out to collect our candy.

I don’t remember when I stopped trick-or-treating, but it was probably sometime in middle school or early high school. Once I became a parent, I got to experience the thrill of trick-or-treating all over again by helping my own kids pick out Halloween costumes and acting as their escort on Halloween night.

There are only a few short years that kids can go trick-or-treating, and while there’s never been an exact age that’s “too old,” several towns want to change that.

In Chesapeake, Virginia, lawmakers are threatening jail time for anyone older than the age of 12 who goes trick-or-treating. According to their city ordinance code, trick-or-treaters older than 12 “shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than $25.00 nor more than $100.00 or by confinement in jail for not more than six months or both…an individual trick-or-treating after 8 p.m. will be guilty of a misdemeanor and punished by up to a $100.00 fine or jail time of up to 30 days, or both.”

Six months jail time for trying to get a free piece of candy seems like a lot to us.

Chesapeake isn’t the only city to try to stop teens from trick-or-treating. Other cities in New Jersey and North Carolina are strongly suggesting a trick-or-treat age limit of 12 years old, and many towns are also enforcing curfews.

There are mixed thoughts about weather these age limits are a good idea or not. Many residents don’t feel safe when older teens knock at their door late at night on Halloween, and they also feel that the teens are too old for free candy. Then there are many people who enjoyed trick-or-treating well past age 12, sometimes with their younger siblings, and they think the age limit is ridiculous.

In the video below, you can hear more details about the trick-or-treating age limit and what residents have to say about it.

What are your thoughts on a trick-or-treating age limit? How old were you when you stopped trick-or-treating?