The spooky season is coming to an end and Halloween is right around the corner. It’s time to dress up and go door to door while feeling the cold air against your skin. You’ll see all sorts of kids in all sorts of cute costumes, but also teens? The speculation of whether teens should trick-or-treat is not a new topic of discussion that has floated around for years. There are some pros and cons to the discussion.
One pro is the connection that teens feel with their younger selves while they are trick-or-treating. The tradition was something that most kids would look forward to throughout October, it is a staple event for a child. Because teens can participate in this activity, it gives them a sense of nostalgia. Feeling like a kid again also keeps you out of the teen type of trouble. The stupidest thing you could do as a teen while trick-or-treating is scare a kid.
Another pro is the shared experience that teens can share with their siblings while trick-or-treating. Teens trick-or-treating with a younger sibling could end up as a core memory for them. The little sibling could feel protected by their older sibling, overall feeling safe and having way more fun. Yes, taking a sibling out can feel like a nuisance but you might not be able to do things like this with them all the time. Plus, as the older sibling, you can partake, but without the hard work of physically going to the door and instead just get a fill of some of their candy.
A con of teens partaking in this tradition is that they are too old and could be intimidating to the younger kids around them. Kids seeing a teen going up to the same door as them can be scary for a kid and they wouldn’t want to go to that door and avoid places that teens are. From an adult’s perspective, backtracking to a door that your kid didn’t get to go to because a teen was there and your kid was scared can be annoying because it’s cold and all you want is to go home. Seeing teens out and about parents would want to steer their kids away from where teens are. Overall it would be looked down upon by parents and could scare kids.
