With Halloween just past, people are beginning to retire their beloved costumes, indulge on discounted candy, and most commonly, reminisce on the joys of trick-or-treating: the practice of going from door to door to get free candy. For many, trick-or-treating is the highlight of the evening. Everyone should be allowed to experience this joy, regardless of age.
However, not all people agree with the previous statement. Several cities in the United States have enacted age limits for trick-or-treating, and people who are older than the limit face terrible consequences. For example, in Chesapeake, Virginia, trick-or-treaters over age 12 can face fines up to $100 along with possible jail time and a misdemeanor on their record.
These consequences are outrageous; thirteen-year-olds should not have to risk acquiring a criminal records by asking for candy. They deserve to have fun. They are still children, just barely teenagers, and not much separates from their 12-year-old counterparts who can trick-or-treat with no worries. These legal age limits on trick-or-treating are too extreme and unnecessary.
First of all, sending children to jail is a too severe consequence for trick-or-treating. The Odyssey found that incarceration can cause lifelong depression and anxiety in teenagers, and concluded that imprisonment is not the best way to discipline adolescents.Thirteen-year-olds are emotionally vulnerable; spending time in jail would emotionally scar the children for the rest of their lives. This is too high of price to pay for trick-or-treating.
Critics say that teenagers trick-or-treating will cause trouble in the neighborhood. However, sometimes teenagers are not outside on Halloween to trick-or-treat; some teenagers go outside to accompany younger siblings or cousins trick-or-treating. It is difficult to distinguish teenagers supervising from those trick-or-treating, so those helping their families are being endangered. Using the same logic, age limits essentially ban parents from accompanying their children because they are over age 13. As a result, the law does not make logical sense and should be removed.
Besides, teenagers trick-or-treating does not impact anyone else. “It’s not fair for people to be upset because some older children want to partake in a fun holiday,” Richard Montgomery senior Rithik Sebastian said. They are not harming anyone or negatively impacting younger children in any way, so there is no reason for them to be deprived of their annual fun.
Not only that, but they can also set examples for the younger children. For example, they could demonstrate courtesy by saying “thank you” after each house or fairness by only taking one piece of candy if the box is left outside. As a result, the younger children can learn proper manners and Halloween etiquette.
America is a free country; it makes no sense to ban teenagers from trick-or-treating. They are still kids; they should be allowed to have fun without bothering others. Therefore, there should not be any age limits on Halloween trick-or-treating.
Article by MoCo Student staff writer Ashley Ye of Richard Montgomery High School