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Original poster

Effing teenagers this Halloween

105 replies

GoodForTheSoul · 31/10/2021 19:31

We've lived in this house for quite a few years now, do Halloween every time. We do a mixture of opening the door and leaving a bowl in our decorated porch. Most of our neighbours do the same and there's never been any issues. Until this year.

After beig cleared out a couple of times pretty early in, I did some watching from the upstairs windows. And I've noticed gangs of teenagers (easily about 16) go through the street both knocking on doors and emptying any bowls they came across... Then running off and returning a few minutes later, trying to sweep through any refills Angry

There's realy no point to this thread other than me having a rant. As I've said above, this has never been an issue so it made me wander if anyone had a similar experience this year? Are teenagers these days really so bored/badly mannered to spend an evening doing this?

Us and next door took all our sweets in and only opened the door to genuine trick or treaters for the rest of the night. It would be a shame for the little ones to miss out (walking around in this hideous weather too) because others are so selfish.

Rant over Halloween Grin

OP posts:
KeyErro · 31/10/2021 20:02

Actually the teens we've seen tonight have been very well-mannered.
It's been younger kids (not tiny tots maybe 9yos) grabbing handfuls, in front of their laughing parents. Angry

picklemewalnuts · 31/10/2021 20:06

Our areas done really well this year, going by FB. Previous years there have been problems- pumpkins smashed, ornaments nicked, buckets of sweets taken.

DailyRepeatGuarantee · 31/10/2021 20:11

Im not condoning the behaviour but what do you expect when you leave it out? You've done well to avoid it happening until 2021Hmm

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Events & celebrations
Lemonandlime123 · 31/10/2021 20:16

We got home this evening to find a group of teenagers on our driveway smashing our pumpkins 😭

Peoniesandpeaches · 31/10/2021 20:21

I don’t really understand why you would let your teenager go out trick or treating for Halloween. Nobody I knew did trick or treating by the time I went to high school and fortunately I haven’t really seen it around here apart from teens escorting their siblings. It feels like it should really be for the age group who still believe in Santa and magic.

LindaLooky · 31/10/2021 20:22

I had the same experience a couple of years ago. Was putting little one to bed so put the bowl out. Heard shrieks outside and footsteps running away, they'd took the whole stash with 5 minutes of me putting it out.

It's the same mentality that vandalize parks - they still have the entitlement that these things belong to them and cant appreciate that it's time for younger kids to enjoy them. Proper wankers.

DailyRepeatGuarantee · 31/10/2021 20:25

@LindaLooky well said

Crossfitwidow · 31/10/2021 20:36

Phew! Glad it’s not only me. Teenagers just look far too big and awkward stood there on your doorstep asking for sweets. I even had to reprimand one lot for being a bunch of absolute bellwhiffers. At that point I decided that was enough and I told my 5 year old he could have the sweets. I can imagine them being quite intimidating for older people :(

NotMyselfWithoutCoffee · 31/10/2021 20:38

5-6:30 most were little kids and polite.
After that we had the teenagers and the few we got were rude little sods grabbing handfuls of sweets.
Took the pumpkins in then.

Sagaris · 31/10/2021 20:38

We've had loads of kids round - from age 2 upwards - all with their parents and full of manners. One group of 3 older girls however, knocked one of our pumpkins off the wheelie bin, DH had to put it back together. I didn't realise who they were, they came back later and tried to empty the bowl of sweets from my hands! I asked them to put them back and just take a few, which they did, grudgingly. Just looked outside, and the intact pumpkin has vanished - and the evidence is on the Ring doorbell, they nicked it on the way out. Charmers!

PiesNotGuys · 31/10/2021 20:40

Well my teens have been out trick or treating.

Why did I let them? Because they dressed up, they enjoy it, because they are well mannered and well behaved, because the community welcomes them, because it’s rare for them to have something they can be involved in. So many events and venues are aimed at kids, so many at adults, it’s really hard for them in an odd no mans land. They haven’t much money, despite most having little jobs it doesn’t go far, so there aren’t many places to congregate safely. Even just seeing their friends in public leads to adults referring to them as a ‘gang’, just wandering round the shops invites suspicion that they are stealing, they aren’t welcome in so many places. Halloween and bonfire night are all age affairs that they can get involved in and it’s far more wholesome than other things that could occur with bored teenagers who get nothing but suspicion and aggravation from adults wherever they go. All the cute tiny witches and pumpkins on your doorstep tonight will be teenagers in a few years and they don’t morph it’s surly troublemakers on the dot of 13, they are just slightly bigger kids doing the things they’ve always done.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 31/10/2021 20:41

I don’t think teens should even be trick or treating. It’s for little ones, surely?

Do you have teens? Why should they be forbidden? Most are polite and respectful and were children about 3 years ago. Teens are just slightly older children. Don’t be mean.

santabetterwashhishands · 31/10/2021 20:41

I've been opening the door and letting my little one put a handful in each bag/bucket but iwill say I've been so impressed with all the kids manners x
The little ones have said thank you with no prompting from parents and the teenagers all said thanks and wished us a good evening x

Sloth66 · 31/10/2021 20:48

We used to offer our big bowl of sweets, but found some children took loads. Now I hand them out myself, 2 or 3 wrapped sweets each. We ran out anyway by 7:30 tonight.

tsmainsqueeze · 31/10/2021 20:50

I had a lovely evening , lots of older kids this year all of them in fancy dress and well mannered .
Lots of little ones too , i have never come across a bad mannered kid or adult yet ,suprisingly , i hope it stays like that .

Runnerduck34 · 31/10/2021 20:50

@piesnotguys
Well said, totally agree, I have teens, when they got to secondary school age they still loved Halloween and trick and treating.

Now they are 14 and 17 they don't go as it isn't socially acceptable but I know they'd love it if it was.

Yes there maybe a few rude teens that give the others bad press but most teenagers aren't like that, they're stuck in a no man's land between childhood and adulthood and sadly many adults aren't very nice to them and treat them with suspicion. It's a differcult age.

SirChenjins · 31/10/2021 20:52

Our 14 year old and his friends didn’t go out this year - they’re too old imo. The kids we did have ranged on age from about 2 (who was dressed as a dinosaur and utterly adorable) to about 12 or 13 - no-one older. They were all very polite and had to be encouraged to take more than 1 sweet at a time.

WunWun · 31/10/2021 20:57

A couple of years ago a teenager grabbed half the bowl of sweets out of my then 8 year olds bowl and ran off when she answered the door (I was with her). Call me cynical, but I wouldn't bother leaving the sweets outside. I'd expect them to go pretty quickly if I did.

DriftingBlue · 31/10/2021 20:58

A few years back we returned home from taking our dd around for a quick pit stop and found the very large bowl we left out empty so I added what candy I had and then raided the pantry for some additional snacks. I came around the house from the back to add them and caught the teens about to dump the bowl again. It was my first mom public shaming of someone else’s children. They got quite the rant about it being fine to take a good handful but they needed to think about all the kids walking up disappointed to find an empty bowl.

Since then, if I have to leave the candy unattended, I put out the less appealing stuff. They are less likely to dump an entire bowl of small lollipops. I normally pass out good chocolate, but I save that for when I can monitor.

Mydogmylife · 31/10/2021 21:17

@PeachesPumpkin

Teenagers are still children and still like sweets.
Yes, but shouldn't be doing a clean sweep of any treats left out!!
MiniPumpkin · 31/10/2021 21:18

I left out loads of bags as I was out trick or treating with dc1, Dh left at home settling dc2 who is 4months. There are 6 pumpkins outside my door, one of which is a mini pumpkin which my daughter picked with her pocket money and decorated. Someone must have picked it up and thrown it as it is at the end if the street smashed. Luckily she didn’t notice but I find that a but upsetting, maybe they were raging all the sweets were done who knows but it does spoil it..

AudTheDeepMinded · 31/10/2021 21:24

We live down a little side court with a communal front path area, none of the neighbours has kids. No one ever finds us. We get quite sad that no one rings for sweets. Anyway, I'm off to eat 12 mini finger of fudges, 38 lollipops and some Haribo, toodle ooo!

Beamur · 31/10/2021 21:25

We've had kids of all ages here. Without exception polite, funny, well mannered. My DD went out with friends and if it was a help yourself arrangement, they only took one if there were plenty available. It's been really nice. Like you say, it's a shame when a few people spoil it.

clatterclatter · 31/10/2021 21:26

More rude children of all ages here tonight, quite noticeably so. Lots of grabbing handfuls of sweets, taking some and going back for more and rifling around, picking up and putting back. I can excuse the little ones but most of these kids should have known better.

Wandamakesporridge · 31/10/2021 21:30

I actually don’t mind the teenagers coming round at all, as others say there is so little for them to be involved in! There so much stuff organised for younger kids. So I let my teens go out as long as they are polite, which they are (and I’d soon find out on the local WhatsApp group if they aren’t).

I had a few teens who came to my door and they were fine.

However I wouldn’t leave a whole bowl of sweets out - it’s a shame but I think a lot of people just can’t be trusted.