Oldest age to trick-or-treat?

[J-rap]

In our town, kids go out (or to Halloween gatherings around town) when they're real young;  then they might take a break for a few years around older middle school (or just go to parties at each other's homes or at some youth group);  then they often go out again as high schoolers.  It's not a big deal here, going out as high schoolers.  Lots of high schoolers dress up, have good old-fashioned parties together, and then go trick or treating a bit in the neighborhoods to visit all the families that they know.  We're a small town and know most people, so that's probably why it's acceptable here and not weird.  Boys do tend to quit sooner than the girls though.

 

 

 

 

[myfunnybunch]

I voted Other and Other.

 

Our family just plain doesn't set an age limit. If you want to t-or-t, go for it. We even take our college-age foreign exchange students for the cultural experience, and they are welcomed by the neighborhood. Here it is common for groups of teens to t-or-t later (like 8-9 p.m.) after the little ones are finished. At our house, if you make an effort to put together a costume, and are polite, you get candy. We even give the adults candy if they're in costume or helping the little t-or-t. I know you're asking about how families choose to allow t-or-t for their own children but it seems to be a part of the neighborhood attitude, which allows teens to t-or-t without feeling self-conscious about it.

 

As for deciding to stop on their own, our girls each chose not to go around 13-14 because they felt they were too old. They decided to start again around 15 because they missed it. :) They were lucky to have little brothers to take, so they didn't feel like they stood out too much. They stopped again around 18-19 or so, but eldest dd still came to paint faces, see costumes and show off her own, and help MIL pass out candy. DD is moving to Seattle, so this will be our first Halloween without her. :( My boys (14, 12, 10) are still gung-ho about t-or-t, although 14 y.o. ds says he's glad youngest ds is 10 so it looks like he's taking his little brother around.

[Renthead Mommy]

We had a girl come trick or treat once, I thought she looked maybe 15-16 years old.  My 2 year old was helping hand out candy. She asked me if my 2-year old was going out to ToT, I said she had already gone and now it was almost her bedtime. She then told me that HER daughter was out ToTing with her (the daughter's) dad.

 

I shut off our light after that.

 

 

But that doesn't mean she wasn't only 15 or 16....

[SKL]

Nowadays there is a trend away from young children trick-or-treating because it's supposedly unsafe (which has no basis in fact).  So they have "trunk or treat" or shopping mall T-or-T etc.  Just another twist on the age issue ....

[linders]

I don't have an age (I voted no age). Our rule is if you put together a costume, you can go.

[luuknam]

You are also welcome to swing on the swings, jump in the sprinkler, play foosball, play air hockey, use the karaoke machine to sing Taylor Swift songs, sound out "It's a Small World" on the piano, climb a tree, do a cartwheel, find four leaf clovers, AT ANY AGE. The older the better.

 

Just be aware that if you haven't done cartwheels in a decade you may be in for an unpleasant surprise next time you do one. I've hurt myself in the past year doing a cartwheel and (on a different occasion) doing a backward somersault. Apparently 30 is old. :scared:

[foxbridgeacademy]

Where we ToT there are a lot of teens up to/around 15, so from a purely personal perspective, 15+.  Mine decided last year at 11/13 they were done. I think I can get another year out of them, did I mention Halloween is my second favorite Holiday (after 4th of July).  If they insist no ToTing I may start borrowing my sister's small children.

[Reefgazer]

Each city can set their own law on the matter; so I imagine some cities have a law and some don't.

 

There's a law? :confused1:

[umsami]

Honestly, if you come to my house on Halloween, I'll give you candy.  I don't care how old you are.  

 

When I was a kid, I think we stopped around 12 or so.   Thought it was too babyish.  But, Halloween wasn't as commercial back then.  Costumes were made out of plastic-y material, kind of an apron you put on, and a hard mask with elastic....or you made your own.  

 

I'd have no issue with teens going trick or treating.  It's fun to dress up.  

[Joyofsixreboot]

Our town has no rules.

I ask them to stop after 6th grade.

Older kids have taken younger and accepted candy if offered and I'm fine with that.

[luuknam]

I'm from NL so I didn't grow up with Halloween. I'd probably just see what others do and/or let the kids make those decisions themselves. When I was in 6th grade I got to pick the secondary school I wanted to attend (secondary school starts in 7th grade); I'd imagine that I'd let my kids make more minor decisions like whether to trick-or-treat. C's really short for his age so he could probably trick-or-treat longer than other kids, but who knows.

 

When my mom was growing up people celebrated Saint Martin's Day* in the area she lived in, which seems to be about the same thing (but only done in a few parts of NL), and her parents never allowed her to go trick-or-treating for that, because it was only for poor kids (her parents were working class - her dad was a carpenter), although it seemed like societal attitudes were changing around that time to make it more for every kid and not just the poor. Then and again, I didn't grow up in an area where it was celebrated.

 

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Martin%27s_Day#Netherlands