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?

Yeah yeah, just say thank you and slope off next time.

I offered a bowl with apples and chocolates in. The littlest kids seemed to go for the apples.

We went out with friends and I was very impressed with my two remaining polite and non grabby and it even seemed to rub off on the other kids. I think the larger kids were eventually shamed by the 2yo 'please and thank yous' and managed to be really polite by the end of the evening.
Even with only one or two things at each door they got more than enough sweets and the 'spooky' ghost 2yo charmed a few old ladies.

MessyHouse91 (my house is messier!).

I was pestered by the 2 offspring of friends of my DD and SIL, aged 6yrs and 8yrs, to give them a drink from my camper van. They and my DD and DGCh were camping in the field next to mine. I only had one bottle of water. I am disabled, getting water meant taking down the roof of my van and driving to the nearest tap. They nagged. I went to the back of the van and opened the back door which springs upwards revealing a small aperture under the back seat, filled with equipment including knives. Boy, 6yrs, straight away shoves his hands into my van and starts rummaging around in all my camping and van essentials, chucking bits onto the ground!
I was horrified and disgusted! Having started out my career as a Primary Teacher, I spoke in Teacher-voice "Do not grab other people's things without asking! There are dangerous things in there!" to which he replied "Miserable old bag, it's just a pile of rubbish!" These children come from a privileged (wealthy indulged - spoilt- ) background.
My GCh, girl 4yrs and boy 9yrs were so aghast they nearly fainted. I told said boy it was not nice to be rude and offered drinks of water in mugs to which he demanded the 2litre bottle just for himself.
My telling him off resulted in his complaining to his father that I refused to give him a drink of water and was "horrible to" him. It was a very unpleasant camping week-end subsequently.

I simply don't know the answer! I have seen such lovely kids around where I live, in local shopping area particularly. They are obviously far from wealthy and parents find school hols so hard with no school dinners. Yet these kids hold open doors for my wheelchair, offer to reach stuff in shops and are just a pleasure to meet.

wonkylegs. You've reminded me of one of the biggest tear-jerkers in our Sally-Army Meeting. It was the Sunday for the Children to receive their annual awards. One after another they went across the platform as the distinguished guest visitor handed them their book prizes. They could all be seen to look at her and say thank you. Then Darren (not his name) our Downs child aged 4 runs beaming up to the lady and as she hands him his book, he says "Thank you!" so loudly and joyously, we all burst into clapping with huge smiles everywhere!

Errrr,
I bought a bag of Moam bars. All prepared for the "Trickly treaters" (toddler daughter's epithet).

Nobody came.

I have a whole bag of Moam bars. All for me?

crying with laughter, kids are kids and love sweets. You were a grabby kid, we were all grabby kids. The world is full of grabby kids. The worst thing here is your sanctimonious clap trap. My god get over yourself.

My first Halloween (newly married), I gave children fruit as I had forgotten to purchase sweets, they all turned their noses up except for one young lad, he was thrilled to bits. He made my day as he was so grateful. I had no visitors the following year (I wonder why!) except for the same young lad.

There are little sweeties out there op, perhaps next year.

Round our way, the kids were so polite, much more so than their parents actually!

Me and my husband dress up with the kids to go out with them, I did it with my boys, and now we do it with our two little girls and get into the spirit of it, we began walking round the route we always do, waving to the other families we saw, and the majority were witchy groups of mums (witchy with a capital B!) and twice we overheard groups of parents slating us for being dressed up and 'taking Halloween too far!'
(We'd put on hats and a bit of make-up!)
But the kids we saw were lovely, smiley and polite, as were our kids, but from every group of kids we saw knocking, we heard loud 'Please and thank-you's' from them all while the parents whined about missing their telly, being cold, and it all being a waste of time.
Kids were fine, its the adults who need a kick up the bum.

Loved the kids who visited our house!

You obviously live in a rough area, all the kids round my way took one sweet and said a great big thank you!
I’m joking ffs

I went crazy with decorations this year. We live in an old house so when the moaning zombies and weirwolf started out, the kids just grabbed one sweet and legged it :D

My kids love getting fruit as a small reprieve from the kg of sugar. DR got none this year and commented on it on a disappointed way. A couple of satsumas in the diabetes stash go down well.

We had a real mixture, some gorgeous little ones (and a few bigguns) who only took one - I told them OK to take more as we had loads but others were awful. The worst were with a very well dressed posh accented woman, the kids had just masks on that looked like had come from a magazine and they positively raked through the selection. She almost seemed to be distracting me in conversation so they could do it too, I felt like I had been visited by a very middle class Fagin 🙄
They also just had carrier bags to put booty in but all were in expensive looking clothes, it was odd

So take my dd and her friend out and they were both really well behaved and polite. Dr has always been told you only go to houses with lanterns outside, take 1 treat and say thank you. I did notice though, there were a lot of kids not saying thank you.