Trick or Treat
Where Have All the Trick or Treaters Gone
I have noticed some new families in the neighborhood this year with small children, so I have hope that someone will come around for Halloween. I always put my pumpkins out and leave the porch light on to let people know I'm home. Hopefully, someone will take me up on the invitation this year.
I do know that some people take their children to stores and community events instead of around to homes these days. The threat of tainted candy scares them to death. While I believe parents need to be cautious and aware of the dangers, I think some of the fun has been taken out of Halloween.
I remember all the anticipation of going out for candy when I was small. We always wanted to see how many houses we could make it to before it got too late. All the decorations were cool, and the people who dressed up to give out candy were the best! Kids don't get to enjoy that now days. I think it's a little sad.
When my son was younger we took him around to homes. First, we'd take him to any family member's homes in the area. Then, we'd go to any of the neighbors that they knew and trusted. Finally, before it got too late, we'd go back to our own neighborhood and go to the homes of people we knew. All of those added together make for quite a few homes. My son always ended up with plenty of candy, and had a great time on Halloween.
I believe parents now days could do the same thing. Think of all the people you know personally who would give your child candy. I bet you have enough family and friends to make a good candy run. Parents could even form groups for Halloween. Get together with other families and agree to give candy to each other's kids. The kids will surely enjoy it, and the parents will have fun seeing all the cute costumes and knowing they gave their child an old fashioned Halloween.
Going to the homes of people they know will give the parents peace of mind, and getting lots of candy will make the kids night. Think about it for this coming Halloween. Talk it over with some of your friends and see if you could make it work.
Put the fun back in Halloween!
Published by Angel Sharum
Angel Sharum is a freelance writer of both fiction and non-fiction. She writes articles on a number of topics ranging from self-help to hiking and has numerous works of fiction published in print anthologies... View profile
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16 Comments
Post a CommentThe whole "poison/razor blade apple" thing is mostly an urban legend. Out of the millions of stories out there, there are really only 1-2 cases of someone actually doing this to halloween treats. (And of those, most are unsubstantiated.)As long as parents are careful & check the candy with their kids, it should be safe.
I miss ToTers. Most of them go to parties, where honestly... the chances of them getting hurt, molested or kidnapped rise. A child is 100% more likely to be molested by someone you know & also 100% more likely to be hurt at a party where there's always someplace to take the kid off to out of sight of everyone else. (And if the kid cries, the assaulter can claim "too much party" as the reason why.)
Good tips. It's sad indeed that times have changed so much.
Yeah, I believe with some common sense used parents could take their children for traditional trick-or-treating.
We still get a few trick-or-treaters, but will end up with lots of candy left over. I think a lot of parents choose to take their kids to the local shopping mall or other community events, like you mention in this article. That's the trend where I live (in a suburb of Kansas City). We've taken our kids to the mall a couple times, but it's just not the same as going door-to-door. I like taking my kids around the neighborhood. As long as the candy is wrapped, it's probably not poisoned!
I think it's a crime that kids these days don't experience the same kind of fun many of us did when we were growing up. I looked forward to Halloween with more anticipation than I did Christmas!
I live in podunk Alabama, don't know how many santanist we have...lol. I'm sure we have some though. I doubth they're out doing the same things the kids would be on Halloween. They probably have more fun things to do that night. Who knows, it might even be a holy nite for them or something.
How've I been missing your stuff? Somehow got unsubscribed. I heard from a policeman here that if parents really knew how much Satanic activity really goes in in major cities, they wouldn't let there kids out on Halloween. In every major metropolis of over 2 million or so, there are approximately 20 witches' covens and close to 20,000 satanists!
Are you sure you want more "trickers" visiting your place? :) Seriously though, I think parents have to stop being so controlling. You can't protect your children from everything. I think it's useless to deprive them of everything "for their protection."
We don't get many trick or treaters any more either. I agree with you that people have just changed their thinking and are afraid to take their kids out. We used to take our son out many years ago but only to family and friends. We knew it would be safe that way. Thanks for the great article! :-)
We still get a few trick or treaters, but it is mostly the kids we know...