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A teen is not a kid they are a young adult and young adults should be doing young adult things. Dressing up and going door to door for candy is for little ones and not teens imo.
A 13 or 14yo does not drive, drink, vote, or hold a job. She is not encouraged to buy her own insurance, smoke cigarettes, or have sex. Taxes are not withheld from her allowance or babysitting money. We may well see her in a Girl Scout uniform or playing on a Youth Soccer Association team.
What part of this screams "ADULT"?
Quote:
Originally Posted by paganmama80
Yeah generally an 11 year old is refereed to as a young adult
On which planet? I've never heard an eleven-year-old referred to as a young adult, and I've been dealing with teens for a dozen or more years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by paganmama80
They are young adults not children,perhaps this coddling is why American kids are far less mature then most of their peers in the rest of the western world no?
Repeating it ad nauseum doesn't make it true. And assuming you are in America, dealing with...gee, American kids...perhaps the immaturity you speak of so scornfully as a cultural norm is why, in this culture, they're bloody TRICK OR TREATING???
My kids don't like going now when they are kids so i don't think so. I am aware the lower age group...but the point is they can still consent under 16 is what i was getting at.
I meant you might have a better opinion of teens as your kids get in to that age group. I've seen it happen to others.
Florida's been hard-hit, moreso even than a lot of states. And yeah, some houses last year weren't participating. If you can't afford it, you can't afford it. If you can only afford to participate up to a certain hour and then you run out of candy...fine. But to look at a group of kids on your porch and say "you, you, and you get candy. YOU, otoh, are too old. Get lost!" is just bloody mean-spirited.
Great post! Like someone mentioned earlier, do you honestly think those little babies/toddlers are going to eat all that candy that mom & dad are walking them around to collect? I so remember my husband digging through our daughter's candy for a favorite piece. Shame on him.
I'd rather pass out candy to teens than see them "pass out" from drinking.
Let's be politically incorrect and be something scary---like Halloween was when we were kids!
Then again, now that I'm older, it would be a real costume if I went as something pretty!
LOL! If I went as a witch, some would probably ask me why I'm not in costume! I hate those "nurse" costumes, with the short, tight white dresses (though there was a time when I wore stuff like that to work).
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things....
I guess it all depends on when the child decides to "put away childish things" and become a man...at what age is that? 13? Same for girls...I would think 12-13 years old it is time to do other things, and start being a bit grown up, and responsible. Like, passing out candy to young ones, and appreciating the holiday in a more age appropriate fashion, like watching movies with friends, ordering pizza...
Actually, what is funny about this, is one year, it snowed early in Utah, and my kids had their costumes, and wanted to go Trick or Treating, and it was a blizzard out there...I gave them a choice, order pizza and watch movies, or go Trick or Treating...they decided on pizza...hands down. They still talk about that year, that was probably their favorite Halloween, because they always talk about that year of the "blizzard" that they did not go out Trick or Treating...
Last edited by jasper12; 10-23-2010 at 02:15 PM..
Reason: edit
There is no age limit IMO. Dressing up, running around, getting candy...it's all fun. What else should a teen do for fun do you think? I give candy to everyone up unti. 9pm then the lights go off and the candle in the pumpkin goes out. 1 year, 19 years, who the heck cares?
Anyone who thinks there should be an "age limit" is an overthinking spoil sport and probably no fun IRL at all. Get over it.
I agree with Ceece. Halloween should be fun; if you don't want to participate, turn off the light and don't answer the door. If you DO want to participate, then give out candy to anyone in costume who shows up at the door. Halloween's about having fun and building community.
Once you're old enough to have your own apartment or your own house then you shouldn't be out trick-or-treating because you should be home handing it out yourself. That's just as fun, but in a different way. Teens are in that middle zone, so whatever they want to do is fine with me: trick-or-treat with friends or stay home and hand out candy. Anything, really, as long as it's not smashing pumpkins or drinking.
If you were being snarky about Halloween because it's a co-opting of a religious holiday (assuming you really are Pagan), I could see it...but frankly, you're just coming across stingy.
If Paganmama is a Pagan than she's celebrating Samhain.
(And all the Pagans I know give out candy on Halloween with a smile on their lips and love in their heart. This is their favorite time of year.)
One of my kids had a trunk or treat at his school last night. I bought and brought the candy. I didn't spend anywhere near $100 and we handed out candy to over 250 kids and I came home with one big bag 'o candy that went un-opened.
I just checked: The Hershey/Twizzler's Halloween pack I bought contains 120 pieces of candy and cost $7.99 ($8.54 after sales tax). For $100 I could buy 11 bags of this candy and have 1320 pieces of candy to hand out. If doubled-up and gave 2 pieces to each trick-or-treater that would be enough for 660 kids. If tripled-up and gave 3 pieces, 440 kids. If quadrupled - enough for 330 kids.
Buy the big packs of candy!
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