Should you let your children trick or treat?
This is a question I really don’t know the answer to. I want to say no. To me, trick or treat is tantamount to begging, and I don’t like it. As with most things in life, there are pros and cons though.
To trick or treat is bad?
When a young child comes to the door, all dressed up as a witch or a ghost, with their mum in toe, it all seems so cute and innocent. But when they are older it just seems more threatening and more like begging. Older children don’t want sweets – they want money. Behind their masks you can sense the disappointment as you offer them a choice of Jelly Babies or Smarties.
When they are younger is it just fun. Or is it encouraging them to worship the occult instead of Jesus. Yes – it is more fun to get dressed up as a ghoul than a disciple, but to me it is just gross.
Last week, 2yo had a Pumpkin Day at school, celebrating this seemed OK. He loved it. OK he did not understand why they were having a pumpkin day, in a year or so he will. In a year or so will he ask to roam the neighbourhood dressed as something quite horrible, begging for sweets. What will I say if he does?
Mischief night.
The night before Halloween. This should really be renamed vandalism night. I used to live in a city. It wasn’t mischief – playing knock-door-run, or putting cling film over the loo seat. It was mindless acts of vandalism. Daubing shop windows with paint and smashing hanging baskets. Youths seem to use Mischief Night (which didn’t exist in my day) as a chance to vandalise anything and everything. Again, I don’t want my offspring involved in anything like that. I might be lucky – he might think it is as stupid as I do!
Used to go to neighbours when the older kids were little, but now it seems to have taken a more sinister turn, so we won’t encourage our 3yr old to do it.
I don’t like this either, but always have some home-made pumpkin cakes on offer for the children that do come to our house. The little ones always seem to have made an effort with their costumes and always have their mums or dads halfway down the drive.
However when my daughter is older (she’s nearly 17 months at the mo)I hope that there’ll be some kind of local party that she can go to instead.
I don’t see this conflicting with religion though. As far as I know the night itself is an ancient ‘festival’, but the trick or treat element came from the USA and I first heard about it when I read Charlie Brown and Snoopy books!
Bubblegumbodw – with you there!
Linda – home made pumpkin cakes, like that!
Local party – if we have a halloween party here, that might keep him off the streets! Great idea!