It’s that time of year again. Spooky season! Halloween! Dressing up in costumes and going to all the rich neighborhoods for the full-sized candy bars. But one question lingers on some teens’ minds: How old is too old for Trick or Treating?
In my obviously totally correct opinion, I think there should be a cutoff age for trick-or-treating, which is in your early 20s. If you’re in college, going around in a costume asking for candy, you’re probably going to get some weird looks. However, that does not mean you’re too old to dress up and have fun with friends and go to parties! I, at my ripe old age of 17, am dressing up for this spooky season to go trick-or-treating with my little sister! And my mother, at 46, is dressing up as Elvira!
For teenagers, it really depends on behavior rather than age. If a teen can be respectful and responsible, there should be no problem letting them go out and get some candy with the younger ones. There can be some drawbacks, like overly gory costumes that would scare the little ones or the teens being too loud and rowdy, but that shouldn’t prevent all teens from being able to trick or treat. As long as they use common sense and mind themselves, they shouldn’t be that big of an issue.
According to a Today.com survey, 47% of adults agree that teens are never too old for trick-or-treating, while about 19% disagree, saying 17-18-year-old teens should stop trick-or-treating at around this age. In my not-biased opinion as a 17-year-old, I believe that 17-18 is far too young to stop trick-or-treating and getting free candy. Some teens (like myself, for example) enjoy dressing up and going out with my family to neighborhoods to see cool decorations that people put up and run around in dark streets with my sister, looking at other people’s clever costumes as we pass. Staying at home on Halloween night with everything going on would just have you miss out on all the fun.
In the same Today news article, I found out that in a city in Virginia named Chesapeake actually decided that children over the age of 14 who trick-or-treat face a class 4 misdemeanor, a $250 fine. However, these juveniles aren’t pursued, and nobody has ever been charged or detained for this ordinance. I believe it’s only in place in case somebody disturbs the peace on Halloween night, but again, nobody has been charged or arrested for trick-or-treating past the age of 14. It would honestly be crazy if they did hunt overage kids down, though. Imagine watching someone get arrested just for going door-to-door to get some candy because they’re a little older than 14.
However, it gets to a point that if you’re in your twenties, alone, going door to door in a neighborhood just for candy, that can earn you a few weird looks in my opinion. If you’re doing it for the candy and not really for the dressing up part (and you know what I’m talking about), then I feel like you shouldn’t be out trick-or-treating. But if you’re actually in it for the love of Halloween, by all means, go to a party with friends or partake in handing out candy to the youngsters! This is all my opinion, of course, but I’m not saying adults can’t have fun in other ways on Halloween night.
So yes, I do believe there is an age limit to trick-or-treating, but never an age limit to dressing up and having a good time with friends and family. Tell me in the comments who or what you’re dressing up as for Halloween! I’m excited to see what my peers will decide to be this Halloween season.
