To not let DS go trick or treating?

[Deemented]

DS is five, and this year is the first year he's actually asked to go out trick or treating.

Don't get me wrong, i love halloween, but i really don't feel comfortable with the concept of letting him knock on strangers front doors asking for things. We have only lived in the area since the beginning of the year, and aside from our direct neighbours on either side (who we don't particularly get on with) we don't really know many people here.

However, i have planned a halloween themed day - carving pumpkins in the morning, making grusome cakes, halloween themed dinner and then i thought i'd let him dress up and answer the door to any t&t'ers we have. He however is not best pleased.

What do you think? AIBU?

Those of you saying you only go to houses with decorations.
We never put decorations up, DD1 is scared of them, and yet we get knocked on every 5 bloody minutes from 5 until 10 (last year)
I didn't buy sweets one year and the house got egged, so I begrudgingly buy sweets to save teh little scrotes from any excuse.
I don't mind the neighbours kids or people I know but we have strangers knocking all fucking night and it drives me insane.

I never went toting and neither will my DC's while I know about it.

YANBU, Hate trick or treating, have all the lights at front of house out and no decorations and still the doorbell goes all night. But like the OP I have DC nagging to go. I am not total misery , have bought DC new outfits and they will do some halloween themed stuff this halfterm but still undecided about what to do on the actual night. Either let DC dress up in outfits and answer door to TorT's and let DC have a sweet for themselves everytime or me, DH, DC might go out for early evening pizza/film and hope to avoid the whole thing...

Oh and had such embarrassing moment because of this issue. DD's best friends mother starts going on about how how much her DD is looking forward to trick or treating this Halloween with my DD. Another friend is listening and pipes up "Oh but KamR hates trick or treating don't you know"

YANBU

I have been brought up to believe it is a form of begging and you should never knock on a strangers door so why do it to beg for sweets/money.

my dc's have never done it but this year dd1 has decided she and her friends are going and due to the fact she is responsible enough to make her own decisions she is going even though i am not happy about it

'Those of you saying you only go to houses with decorations.
We never put decorations up, DD1 is scared of them, and yet we get knocked on every 5 bloody minutes from 5 until 10 (last year)

Exactly-that is what we get-there isn't a single decorated house in our street.It is utter misery! I don't want to answer the door all evening and not even be able to eat the meal in peace. It is so bad we go away.

No trick or treaters will be coming to mine this year we won't hear them with the party lol

YANBU - at all!!!!

I loathe trick or treating - being one of those houses that has no decorations but still gets pestered. When I was young (OK a million years ago) we did celebrate - bobbing for apples anyone? A good laugh if you go straight on to getting the sweets out of a tray of flour on it without using your hands (what that had to do with halloween I do not know - we did all end up looking like ghosts I suppose) Anyway - I digress...

My DD always wants to go and I hate the idea of her knocking on strangers doors - complete mixed message from what I usually tell her. And my fourteen year old DS has got the hump as I have told him that on no account is he to go out - especially with a group of his mates - as I feel that this counts as intimidation. My poor children cannot win.

We usually go round to a friend frankly who takes a more liberal attitude so I can sit in her living room and she can answer the door.

Is it just me or has the whole Halloween thing got completely out of hand - the supermarkets are full of stuff and at least two towns near us are having major whole Halloween themed events.

Roll on Bonfire Night - actually there are Halloween Firework events near us now I come to think of it...

Dee - If you're not comfortable with doing it to strangers could you set it up so he can knock on some neighbour's doors (i.e. ask beforehand if it's OK) or take him round his relative's houses? That's what I think we'll do with DS (4) and DD (3).

We shall be in Whitby, at the Goth Weekend.

The dc will be safely tucked up in bed & I shall be poncing around the Spa in a corset & ridiculous boots whilst dh & his band do their thing onstage...

I'm not keen on the hassling non-participants bit. i've lived in streets where the constant ringing of the doorbell, demkands for cash not sweets & egging of the window got to be bloody tiresome (& scary, I'd imagine, for anyone feeling vulnerable).

I do think it can be lovely fun if it's a matter of taking sweetly dressed up tots around houses which are decorated.

OP, if you hate the whole idea, don't do it - it's your call as his mum. If you can pre-arrange a couple of visits to local friends, though, he'll probably feel he's 'been trick-or-treating' & can tell his mates at school that...I'd probably try & set that up with neighbours for ours if we weren't going to be in Whitby.

YANBU, but it's not too bad if you only knock on people's doors who are decorated. They have made the effort - so enjoy it too!

Imagine my embarrassment last year, when we took a small group of 4 year olds around, and my DS (very politely) refused the sweeties as he "didn't like Haribos! Have you got anything else?"

We hastily advised him to take what was offered - as Daddy is very partial to them and he would trade later.......