How old is too old for trick or treating?

[Scotishscotus292]

I think once you're in secondary school you're too old.

My 19yo still does it...

(And he's not the only one in our village)

All the village kids do it here, lots of secondary kids involved, often they take the younger ones round.

I agree with you, secondary school seems old enough to stop trick or treating.

I told Y7 DC she was too old to go this year but she strenuously disagreed and has arranged to go with some school friends.

My son was 11.

He's now 13 and nearly six foot so I'm sure that wouldn't be appropriate 😂

Secondary school

I don't see why there have to be hard limits, providing dc are polite I'm happy to give sweets to dc of any age.

Here it seems to be first or second year of secondary - kids are a bit self conscious by then to be asking spooky jokes.

It depends. I used to send DS out with the younger ones when he was big teen.

If an 11-13 yr old has younger siblings I see no issue with them tagging along

My secondary age dd wouldn't bother I don't think but has younger dc

I didn't think my Y7 is going this year. I didn't think he would still want to but he has spent more time planning his outfit etc than the younger ones.

That didn't make sense I meant I didn't think he would be going but he is 🤦‍♀️

My DD most enjoyed it in secondary school y7 & y8 when she had real friends to go round with.

Too old is when they stop doing it properly with proper dressing up, and joy on their faces and appreciation of the sweets, and politeness.

Large groups of teens can be intimidating so instead of a group of 8, two groups of 4 is better imo.

Year 8 is too old in my opinion. I have dds this age and older and I say to them it's intimidating for teenagers to be knocking on doors for sweets. Plus the costumes get more extreme at this age- lots of gory school girl - face zips etc etc which I think if little kids are staying home and giving the sweets out at the houses it can be scary for them, I think trick or treating is nice for kids rather than teenagers . My teens have get together at each other's houses as teenagers

I think unless taking younger children then secondary school start is an ok cut off.

But really as long as they stick to the houses which have pumpkins or similar then I don’t care!

I think puberty (13/14?) was when what used to be groups of kids in cute costumes asking for sweeties started looking like gangs of youths in masks doorstepping elderly people after dark. Maybe that's controversial but I think parents should be aware of how it might feel to vulnerable people alone at night to have groups of masked strangers knocking on your door at night.

Plenty of y8’s go here - my daughter is one! But smaller groups.
Still don’t feel comfortable with them wandering around in the dark at 12 so a parent or parents tags along but stays back

I don't think I've seen anyone over the age of about 10 doing it unless they've got younger siblings doing it with them. If I opened the door to a 19 year old asking for sweets I'd think they were slightly pathetic.

@Thirtyrock39

Year 8 is too old in my opinion. I have dds this age and older and I say to them it's intimidating for teenagers to be knocking on doors for sweets. Plus the costumes get more extreme at this age- lots of gory school girl - face zips etc etc which I think if little kids are staying home and giving the sweets out at the houses it can be scary for them, I think trick or treating is nice for kids rather than teenagers . My teens have get together at each other's houses as teenagers

I agree if they are into more extreme outfits then that would be a no from me too.

But even in y8 my DD and her groups of friends were 'young' (and small) and definitely hadn't tipped over the line for trick or treating.

I think once they are of adult height then it's time to stop.

It is frightening for some people who live on their own to have a group of people at the door. I think however if the house does have a pumpkin (or similar) outside then there is room for flexibility.

I asked my children not to do go 'trick or treating' as they got older. My DD (now 24) told me recently that she didn't understand this as a child, but now she has her own place she totally 'gets it' and I did the right thing (phew !)

My dd 16 and ds 14 are going out. Dd is going to a party, but I think they will be trick or treating on the way. She’s dressing as scoobydoo, so not intimidating! Ds will be trick or treating dressed as some obscure anime character! Halloween is pretty big round here. There are haunted houses and practically every other house decorates. There’s even a map online to show the houses that are going all out. It’s a bit of fun and I don’t think there should be an age limit on fun!

If it’s an older child with the younger ones I think teens is fine but when you get a group of barely dressed up 16 year olds it can seem a bit odd/intimidating.

Surely it’s whenever they feel too old? Why put an arbitrary age limit on it?

As long as they visit houses with pumpkins and are polite then I can’t see any harm.