What age trick or treating without adults.

[Laiste]

DD is 12, has 2 friends over to go out trick or treating. I'm sending them out at 6 around the village without me this year!

The parents of the friends are ok with it. I'm just wondering what age everyone else is happy with this? Our village is very halloweeny for the kids - lots of houses go all out ! 🎃👻💀

It seems only yesterday they were so little !

This really, really, really depends on where you live. Where I live right now, absolutely not. The village closest to me, I would. If the parents are happy and you're happy, go for it.

Yeah, it depends on the area, both culturally and geographically, and it also depends on your child and how reliable they are. Some kids would be fine in a group at 8 in a fairly enclosed and familiar community. Some I wouldn’t let out of my sight at 12.

Going around trick or treating in a pretty much crime-free village at 12 years of age is fine IMO. I would let them yes..... (My village is quiet and peaceful with very little through-traffic.)

When I lived in the suburbs of a large town pre 2012, no way would I have let them out on their own at 12.

But a quiet, rural village? Yes. Especially if there are a few of them.

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Around here it’s generally about 10/11 to go alone.

It’s very Halloween-y here in our village. Two of the streets, ours and one other, are even closed off to cars for it because of how busy it gets with kids - you can walk from the other street, through the school playground (which is open for it) to our street so many parents essentially drop the kids at one end and meet them at the other.

I’ve got my 15yo taking our 9 and 4yos round tonight as I’ve got a couple of our elderly neighbours coming to mine as they love taking part but aren’t comfortable answering their doors as often as they go (we gave out over 160 sweets last year!) so they come to someone else’s house for a bit.

I'd be thinking the other way - are they too old to trick or treat sensibly or are they going to mess about and be rude to the householders or push past small children? Also, I hope they are dressing up ? Teens coming round in normal clothes are not in the spirt of T or T'ing IMO.

My 11 year old is going for the first time on his own with his friends tonight.

My 11 year old went with her friends last year. It’s safe and family friendly where we are in London.

Weird assumptions to make.

12 is fine OP, especially in a busy village on Halloween. Maybe give them a time limit or a check in time

Year 5 / 6 around here.

Under strict instructions to only knock at decorated houses, only take 1 packet of sweets and to have an appropriate joke ready in case anybody says ‘Trick’!

I’m so pleased that it’s a mild, dry night here and am looking forward to the first knocks in the next hour or so even though ours are much too old to go now! 🎃

we live in a city and my daughter went out with a few friends last year at 12. There was a weird and creepy interaction at one house and they phoned me and I went to find them. She’s trying again this year at 13 so 🤞

Around here, parents with littlies come 4-6pm, then groups of 8-10 year olds without parents around 5/6pm, and then secondary school kids from 6 or 7pm. Teens - often with minimal costumes - try their luck a bit later in the evening telling terrible jokes. But it’s a safe suburban area where they all go to the same schools, and are very happy to roam the neighbourhood from a younger age than in previous places I’ve lived

Year 5 in our village is when they all start going with their friends.

I think they are a bit too old for it , never mind going alone . Are they really that hard up for sweets ? I am surprised they even want to . Where I live it is definitely for little kids , primary school .

Year 7 for me, busy city and traffic and some dodgy folk around. I wasn't entirely happy with it in year 7, but felt peer pressure

11yo DD2 is going with a friend and her 15yo sister, which I am okay with. 13yo DD1 isn't going at all, I think she is too old and she hasn't got anyone to go with. I told her she could accompany DD2 but tbh I think DH would have still followed at a distance if it had been just the two of them.

I think 12 is on the border of too old to go out knocking on peoples doors demanding sweets with the threat of unpleasantness if they don't get them. A 12 year old can be the size of an adult, and it can come across as intimidating to have a bunch of them on your doorstep, particularly for the old and vulnerable.
Depends very much on the size of the the kids involved.
I stopped my large boys going at about 12, but some of the the girls in their year carried on for a bit longer. I'd say if they are under 5' tall then it's OK, otherwise, not.
And I do know that you were asking if it's safe for the kids to go out. It's quite hard thinking of your baby as being potentially intimidating to someone else.

Mine went alone (in a group) from around 9 or 10 I think.

Too old to be out without adults, too old for TorT.

I don't get the pps saying they are too old. Where I am, there are always teens out trick or treating. They aren't threatening at all, they do exactly the same as the younger kids. I look forward to seeing them!

My 11 year old has 2 friends over and they are going out alone this evening. I will be tracking her on life360 and she can call if there are any issues at all. They have a set radius and know I'll be gunning for them if they go outside of the agreed area.

In the meantime I'll be doing the 3 closest streets with DS8 then settling down with a view of the door whilst he hands out treats to any callers we have!

What assumptions did I make?

My personal observation of being a person who has experienced many many years of trick or treaters is that some older children/teens coming out without adults get overexcited and/or are a complete menace. As I don't know OP's son or his friends, I have no idea whether they are likely to fall into that category so I suggest that OP at least considers it before letting them out.

No assumption there at all, unlike all the people who are assuming that "rural village=fine" as if every rural village was homogenous.

I think we used to follow a bit behind them at that age to keep an eye on them. There's idiot's everywhere no matter where you live.

I'd be thinking exactly the same: people concerned about sending their pre-teens out alone in less peaceful areas, but are they just thinking of their own kids' safety, or also the fact that, in an area where crime is far from unheard-of, householders - especially elderly and/or vulnerable ones - may well be frightened by the knocks and then seeing older unaccompanied kids standing there expectantly.

And it doesn't wash to say "But everybody knows it's Hallowe'en", because some of the less innocently-minded teens will deliberately seize on that as an excuse for going around and scaring people, sometimes with menaces.

I also agree with PP that, once they reach the age where it's not all about the fun activity of going out in the dark with a side bonus of some sweets, but basically just going around for no other purpose than getting sweets off people, it's time to call it a day, and just buy them some sweets yourself.

This attitude is very widespread, and I think it’s sad and unkind. I love seeing the older ones enjoying their childhood for a bit longer. There’s far too many in a rush to declare children “too old” for innocent fun.

Wait until your children are that age!