OPINION: Why It's Okay for Billings Teens to Go Trick-or-Treating

I just know that at some point today I'll come across someone who has a problem with teenagers trick-or-treating. I can practically hear the whiney Karen voices shrieking about it already. "Trick or treating is for KIDS!", they'll shout.

Photo by Oxana Melis on Unsplash

Honestly, who cares?

I don't really remember at what age I grew out of trick-or-treating. Probably sometime in my early teens? At some point, most kids decide the annual October tradition is not for them anymore. There are no rules about who can and can't go door-to-door asking for candy. And why would it bother anyone?

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Let the kids be kids.

Teens are stuck in an awkward phase. They're not little children anymore, but they're far from being an adult. Many teens still like to dress up in Halloween costumes, and everyone loves candy. Why should there be an age cutoff for trick-or-treating? Perhaps it's an older sibling taking their younger brothers or sisters out, or maybe it's a group of teens. Who cares? You bought the candy. They came to your door. They're having fun and enjoying the fleeting moments of youth. What's the problem?

Believe it or not, some cities have age limits.

According to USA Today, a handful of municipalities in the United States have enacted age limits on trick-or-treating. A city in South Carolina limits it to kids 16 and under. Multiple towns in Virginia have age restrictions as well. Teens will be facing adulthood and the myriad of challenges that come with it soon enough. Let them trick or treat.

LOOK: How Halloween has changed in the past 100 years

Stacker compiled a list of ways that Halloween has changed over the last 100 years, from how we celebrate it on the day to the costumes we wear trick-or-treating. We’ve included events, inventions, and trends that changed the ways that Halloween was celebrated over time. Many of these traditions were phased out over time. But just like fake blood in a carpet, every bit of Halloween’s history left an impression we can see traces of today.