Officialy time for trick or treating??

[Koronin]

Scalded Cat, in the US you are not supposed to knock on doors if the porch lights are not on. You are only supposed to knock on doors with the porch lights on. Basically the light means you are invited to knock and get a treat. Some still knock on doors with lights out which is just plainly stupid and annoying.

[ScaldedCat]

Scalded Cat, in the US you are not supposed to knock on doors if the porch lights are not on. You are only supposed to knock on doors with the porch lights on. Basically the light means you are invited to knock and get a treat. Some still knock on doors with lights out which is just plainly stupid and annoying.

Here they knock on every door in a street, porch lights are not the norm on every house so people just pretend to not be in, turn the lights off, turn the tv volume down etc.
Unfortunately it is not uncommon for kids to put dog dirt through peoples letter boxes or throw eggs at your house if you don't give them anything.
Many elderly and vulnerable people feel threatened at this time of year and there is a spate of burglaries and petty theiving that the police tie in to trick or treating also.
Sometimes kids, or teens more commonly don't even bother dressing up and still expect to be given handouts.

[lph]

I'm a grouch when it comes to Mothers day and suchlike, but I LOVE Halloween. The whole spooky, get to stay up late, cold and dark, children roaming around thing just appeals to me. And I don't think Halloween had even come to Norway when I was a kid, so this is my experience from seeing it from my sons point of view. I think it's because I feel many kids lead such a sheltered life indoors, that it's really a special occasion for them to roam around and feel a bit wild and independent for one evening.

But it's definitely for small kids. We've had many small kids at our door, I make an effort to spook them a little each time, and always give them candy. Teenagers I just turn away. My own son is now 13 and was told last year that that was the last year he could go trick-or-treating. Many neighbours do not like it, and my take is that if the kid is big enough to be considered menacing in any way, he's too big to go knocking on strangers doors.

I can understand those who don't like it too, especially if they've experienced bad things. But... if kids are mean enough to put dog poop in peoples mailboxes, those kids need some serious talking to and empathy training no matter whether it's Halloween or not. Banning Halloween wouldn't remove the problem, just the occasion.

I guess as a mother I see Halloween as a good occasion to do just that, talk about how to interact with strangers, about empathy and what's acceptable and what isn't.