To not want my 2-year-old to go trick or treating?

[MunchkinGrower]

Strangers houses. Begging. Sweets and chocolate. Anyone else not massively keen on this for their toddlers? Mine doesn't even know what sweets and chocolate are yet!

My sil refused to let her kids join in because "she wasn't allowed to do it" - at 21 years old her ds was still resentful about it when we met up yesterday!😂My kids always said it was the best night of the year!

That's fair and good advice. I have found it difficult because he's enterered this phase of life just as I've had another baby, which has subconsciously affected him quite a bit. I need to be harder with him as he is very strong willed (but also pure joy when not screaming - lots of ups and downs!). But this wasn't really the point of the post, it was a throwaway comment and not something that would stop me doing it necessarily. I'd never do anything with him if that was the case. It's just the thought of purposefully allowing him to collect lots of sweets, which I don't generally allow him to have. In fact he's never had sweets! Not yet.

I guess I'm not sure why you're worrying about this now? I'm American, so it was pretty much a given in our house, but not at 2, although my youngest came along with the two older ones when he was younger than that, but just to come along. We have the most adorable pictures of him dressed in a little Dalmatian costume that my mum had made. If you want to go, go, and if you don't, don't. We put out carved pumpkins and had a parade of polite children in cute costumes. It's just a fun evening.

And as for taking sweets away, it's easy. We just had a rule that at the end of the night, all the sweets get dumped into a big bowl and put away and are doled out the same as any other treat. Honestly, I think some years we still had some left by the next Halloween as they basically forget about it after a while.

I'm also confused - if he doesn't get sweets or chocolate, but had some at Easter, and isn't bothered about it and doesn't ask, why are you worried he' scream and cry for it?

I wonder if it was regarded as begging when I was little?

we used to go house to house with our carved out jack o' lanterns (swedes) and we got money rather than sweets.

Then it was straight on to penny for the guy where we'd drag a homemade 'Guy Fawkes' around, house to house. One year my brother put his Parker on me back to front, hood over my face, and wheeled me around in dad's wheelbarrow, collecting money for the (Guy) fireworks.

then there was mischievous night, 4th November, then bonfire night - which was ALWAYS on the 5th!

busy time.

seems to me that Halloween is now mischievous night judging by the number of posts on social media last night about whole bowls/buckets of sweets being stolen by one person, pumpkins being stolen, and Halloween decorations being stolen/vandalised. Ring doorbell footage of these events was coming thick and fast 😬

You are a wee bit late for the Halloween hate.

I had over 200 guisers at my door last night and not one of them begged.

I did hear the same 5 awful jokes over and over.

it was lovely 🥰

Presumably if they did go you would be with them, not like they were out on the streets alone knocking strangers doors. But no reason they should go, I would say just too young unless you are taking an older child.

Fully agree - 2 is too young and the masks will be frightening. I didn’t let mine go at 2 - more like 4 or 5.

😂 Why am I imagining Willy Wonka's childhood?

He was younger six months ago. I don't think his reaction would be the same now. I'm not saying I wouldn't have the parenting ability to ration - obviously I do this every day. I'm saying that collecting sweets is a confusing message and he would want something he'd already been given.

God some people really like to suck all the joy out of life, don’t they.

There are lots of ways to find joy.

When my boys were little we just went out and knocked on a few neighbour’s doors, who we knew well.

I agree toddlers are too young unless they’re tagging along with older siblings.
I had one tiny little girl knock yesterday, and another group had a toddler crying in a stroller, they should have been taken home and put to bed really (there was more than one adult in the group so not a single parent situation).
Trick or treating is for primary school age imho, maybe 11-12 year olds at a push.

ps it’s not “begging” though, that’s ridiculous. Only participating houses are called on so they’re obviously happy to have kids knock

I've taken 2yos twice as I have 3 DC so numbers 2 and 3 have been out with their older siblings. I didn't take my eldest until they were 4 if I remember correctly. Also we don't go if it's raining, we are fair weather trick or treaters and we only go to houses of people we know and those that are decorated.