With Halloween coming up, comes the discussion on whether teenagers should be going trick or treating or not. The most common argument being that they’re too old, and that they’ve grown out of it.
Most adults generally see Trick or treating as an activity for kids, thinking that once they hit their freshman year of high school, they should stop dressing up and going door to door for free candy.
“It’s been put in their brains that you need to stop at a certain age,” senior Jary Sandoval-Garcia said.
This is due to how high schoolers are meant to be growing up and maturing, becoming adults and pulling away from kid activities and habits.
“Adults think that we’re old, that there’s an age limit on trick or treating,” Sandoval-Garcia said.
Senior Hailea Pounds had stated that adults assume that taller kids are older, which isn’t accurate considering there are seniors who are 5’4 and middle schoolers that are 5’8.
“My friends are a lot taller than me, so two people asked us why we were still trick or treating,” freshman Emily Gibson said.
Not all teenagers stop trick or treating because of judgement from others, some just feel like they’ve grown out of it, they’ve decided on their own that it’s a thing to stop doing. Which is better than teenagers being shamed into stopping an activity because they’re “too old”.
“I might not go this year, because I feel like I’m at that age to stop,” Gibson said.
Even though some teenagers may decide to stop trick or treating on their own, others still want to go. They might want to go just to get free candy, to dress up, or some other reason. No matter what the reason is, teenagers going trick or treating is a simple break from the stress of high school, and it shouldn’t be frowned upon, especially if they’re not going around getting into trouble.
“Teens should be allowed to trick or treat as long as they don’t cause trouble,” Gibson said.
Society expects teenagers to grow up so fast, and trick or treating on Halloween can be a way to slow it down, just for a second. The world is always going to be fast paced, teens who still trick or treat are simply taking advantage of the years they have left of being a kid, before they have to be an adult.
“We’re growing up,” Sandoval-Garcia said. Just because we’re getting older doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy having a fun Halloween by walking around and getting free candy with friends and family.