Since when did kids get so... grabby?! (A Halloween one)

[MessyHouse91]

Perfectly happy to be slated here - I don’t spend much time with kids (expecting DC1) so this might just be a kid thing!

This is my first year living in a house on an estate (moved from my city centre flat) so my first year buying sweets for the trick or treaters. I love Halloween so I bought massive bags of sweets.

The first kids I held the bowl out so they could choose their own sweets from the selection, but each of the kids grabbed massive handfuls for 5 or 6 bags of sweets each.

For the next kids, I held the bowl out again and said ‘one each please’. The kids didn’t listen and took big handfuls again, and then Mum looked a little embarassed and told the kids to put them back. I didn’t know if it was the done thing to give them a limit and didn’t fancy standing on the doorstep while the kids rifled through their bags trying to figure out which ones it was, so I told her not so worry about it.

The third lot, I put the sweets into their bags for them. One little boy asked if he could have another for his sister, so I chucked in an extra, and then he got half way down the drive and asked for another for his sister. I said ‘I gave you one for your sister’ and he said ‘that was for my big sister, this one is for my little sister’. I gave him a third, and he shouted to his friends ‘SCORE! GOT ANOTHER ONE’.

I loved trick or treating as a kid (my mum only ever let me go to neighbours we knew) so I don’t want to be miserable about it. I was just so looking forward to decorating and seeing all the kids in their costumes! I know it’s just kids and just sweets but the whole thing seems a bit sad, especially as I’m now out of sweets before it even gets going.

Do I go to the shop and buy more and enjoy the whole thing and chalk it up to experience, or do I stop answering the door and be grumpy for the rest of the night?

All the ones who came to ours were very polite. We had bought loads of sweets but it was very busy....when we ran out I put a notice on the door to say sorry....& then we could eat our fish & chips in peace! It was about 7.30 by then....the street seemed emptier .

Come off it, you think cheeky scamps haven't been getting as many sweets as possible since time immemorial?

I only let my kids knock at doors with decorations....some didn't answer, maybe no sweets left or out trick or treating. All who answered were lovely.

I do worry about the age limit though as DD has only just turned 10 but is 5'5" & I have to buy her clothes for 15yr olds. I hope people didn't think she was too old to be trick or treating.

I found it was strange to with older kids going trick or treating one of them had just a hoody on and a bandana over his face, and had two other boys with him who just had a scary mask on. And a lot of people was knocking on doors with no lights on and no decorations thought that was quite rude 

received a knock at the front door of my ground floor flat and opened the door to a group of children saying "trick or treat". I replied " Gosh I'm really sorry, I don't have any sweets, its my birthday and I'm about to go out to celebrate, sorry". (In fact I did not have a thing in the place except some milk that was picked up enroute from the airport). I thought no more about it and left the flat about 10 minutes later to find my Audi covered in wet flour. I was so angry.

This is appalling how dare they! No one should effectively be bullied in their own homes for not participating. Little shits.

Crikey they do sound grabby!!
We live in a little village and some of the villagers who have little ones themselves left bowls full of sweets out front for other kids to help themselves to. I did comment to hubby that if we still lived in town those bowls would have been empty after the first kid had visited!!
One house our girls visited told the kids to take two, my 6 year old said “no Thankyou” 😳

I do read stories of grabbiness and vandalism on the local FB sites but have only encountered polite behaviour on my own doorstep.

My 2.10 yr old was trying to give her sweeties to the people who's door we knocked on 😂

Not all kids are like that, my dcs were given rules before we went out - you only take one sweet unless you are offered more, and say thank you to everyone, even if it’s a sweet you don’t like (my sons a fussy sod). My dcs are 5 and almost 3 and they managed to do this (with the occasional reminder!). So no excuse really; and believe me, my kids are no angels! My son did get a little over excited at one point but it was his first time out and I think he was still quite polite, just a bit eager lol. We soon calmed him down (and this was before sweets!)

They were all polite and lovely here. I just held the bowl of sweeties out, expecting them to take one and trot on but most of them insisted that they had to tell their jokes first before taking anything And it was freezing and wet!

We go en masse in my street which I organise, residents love it. This year kids asked why they should share, no pleases and thank.yous, parents taking drinks out of my hand at pub at the end of our route while I'm trying to give them out equally, kids walking across gardens...last time!

We always loved going trick a treating.kids were mostly polite and for those other times a gentle reminder was given.Nothing to do with affluent more well to do areas.depends upon parents teaching their children mannors.rich childten can be rude too

Live in a flat this year so no one knocked, definitely wouldn't offer the bowl. Ds doesn't like doing it anymore thank goodness but when he was little I remember being mortified when we knocked and instead of a sweet from the bowl he asked if he could have toast [the shame]

Really don't get the knocking on strangers doors asking for sweets thing. I don't care if house is decorated or not if you don't know them then they're still strangers!

My children are under four so wouldn't take them trick or treating but when I do it will literally be to just a few school friends houses and/or neighbours who have children and want to participate.

We had loads here and not one child took more than one each. Not all said thank you mind.

I must say in the village I live the vast majority are very well behaved - specifically following the "pumpkin" rule (ie only knocking on doors where pumpkins/decorations make clear the household is happy to participate) and not grabbing ridiculous amounts of treats.

The village newsletter did a pumpkin rule reminder in its last issue which I thought was good.

We only had 2 callers that were overly grabby with treats and even then they looked embarrassed (and put items back) when I gave a steely look and reminded them it would be polite to leave some for other children.

When we were kids we literally got apples, nuts and handfuls of grapes, ugh, if you got a house where they gave you sweets it was a bonus! Kids would have a stroke today if you attempted to give them fruit

@CombineBananaFister oh my god  that is amazing I'd have to bring that up when they are a teen just to annoy them lol

Has anyone posted about this lady hat went reverse trick or treating yet? I hate the licenced begging of trick or treating but my friends and I have decided we’ll take the kids to do this next year. Friend volunteers at a dementia club and she thought it might be good to visit them and play some games too.

www.weny.com/story/39400366/91-year-old-grandma-goes-reverse-trick-or-treating

We kept the sweets in a covered tub with a hole to put their hand in like a sort of lucky dip.... They couldn't see all the dogs gravy bones 🍖 in with the sweeties... Evil cackle 🧙‍♀️

Kids round here were a mixed bag but there were some exceptionally grabby ones.

Greedy shits.

Like other commentators, my experience is mostly positive and polite, but sadly only by a small margin. Too many were grabby and we felt it was a kind of game for some to gain bragging rights for undue avarice, mostly from teens. This scared my child who picked up the pushy vibe and asked us to stop giving things. It also became expensive as groups came round by the dozen. We now shut the gate and put out a sign saying politely 'No Trick or Treaters'. My take is that it is like 'Banter', in that it dresses up as fun but too easily becomes low grade intimidation with threats or the means by which prospective bullies test you to see how you respond to aggression. If, at another time of year, a group of adults you don't know turned up at your door and said "Give us all some treats, like sweets or snacks, or we will do some 'trick' you won't like," would give them treats? They are there in front of your house, the door is open, you are alone. If you slam the door and don't give them a threat their threat of a 'trick' could be enacted. They know where you live, you cannot move. Would think it was just fun or 'banter'. Of course not. It would be criminal activity. I think it is just more corporate claptrap from America. A kind of Pax Americana designed to develop a culture where 'might is right', as Trump has clearly demonstrated. It is teaching us to act out of a sense of entitlement based on power, which is pretty much American society in a nutshell and what the much touted Magna Carta challenged. It won't go away but I for one will not be feeding the greedy little mouths lapping it up. You reap what you sow.

I didn't know kids still even did that. My DC's and the others in my area don't even say trick or treat, they say happy halloween and then have to tell some awful joke or embarrassing song before they are offered sweets.
There aren't an awful lot of teenagers that still go out here.

I had a lovely Halloween. All the children said thank you and because I offered bananas and baby oranges too they asked if they could eat their orange there and then. This happened at least 4 times. So none of the children who came to me were "grabby", so there's hope.

Don't entertain any that look older than primary school age. Had a group of 3 girls at 5.30 pm who were obviously at secondary, told them I didnt do trick or treat above 12 year olds. They were polite enough, with blank "I can't believe this' faces then left. Most others were polite and waited for me to drop the treat in their booty bag. What I don't like if when they arrive in groups of say more than 4, it just seems like a rabble then.