Is it okay for teens to trick or treat if they want? This writer think so--what do you think? Read on:
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One of the things that most pains my Halloween-loving heart is the
opposition some older trick-or-treaters face. Maybe I’m just remembering
the Halloweens of my childhood through pumpkin-colored lenses, but it
seemed like there was more tolerance for trick-or-treaters of all ages
when I was a kid.
It’s true, some older kids don’t really get
into the spirit of Halloween—instead of donning costumes, some teenagers
simply wear a smirk, a bag, and a sense of entitlement. But I don’t
really get the outright hostility that some adults have toward older
kids who just want to dress up and have some fun. “They’re too old for
that!” cry the naysayers.
Too old for what? Dressing
outrageously, wandering around town at night, and eating junk food?
Isn’t that the definition of teenager?
My teenage sons
trick-or-treated until well past what many would consider an
“acceptable” age. Their costumes were well-thought-out, and their
gratitude for your hard-earned candy was far more heartfelt than the
average 3-year-old’s. But at their ages, many parents start putting the
nix on the treats and the tricks. If my sons still want to
trick-or-treat this year, will his friends be allowed to go with him, or
will they have to hit the sidewalks alone, in a world where many
keepers of the candy will judge them not on the volume of their
Halloween spirit, but the size of their shoes?
I feel for the teenaged would-be trick-or-treaters. By this point,
most of them have given up on the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and the
Tooth Fairy, and Halloween is one of the last vestiges of childhood
magic they’ve got left.
And it’s not like we grown-ups can claim
we don’t long for Halloween fun, too. Adults still dress up, but we eat
too much junk food and act like children at cocktail parties instead of
going door to door. We don’t want our teenaged kids throwing cocktail
parties, so why not let—or even encourage—them to trick-or-treat?
Nobody
wants to dole out candy to sullen trick-or-treating teens who look like
they couldn’t be bothered to dress up. I get it. But let’s just
consider for a moment that the kid who shows up on your door with no
costume might just be longing for a bit of that Halloween magic. Maybe
he can’t quite bring himself to wear a costume in front of his friends.
Maybe he’s just a brat. I don’t really care, frankly. I mean, the kids
are asking me for a piece of candy, not a piece of my liver. What’s the
big deal?
I’m hereby issuing an invitation: my house will be an
equal-opportunity candy distributor this Halloween. If you show up at my
door, you will get a treat, whether you’re 2 or 22. Just a warning,
though: no matter how old (or young) you are, I expect you to be nice to
me. Otherwise, I’ve got a special stash of pennies and unwrapped Mary
Janes, just for you.
Meagan Francis is the creator of The Happiest Home blog and tweets @meaganfrancis. A version of this essay previously appeared on her blog.
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