Lifehacker.com posted a list called “The Seven Deadly Sins of Taking Your Kid Trick-or-Treating”. So, basically a list of ways people screw up Halloween. Here are all seven, and what they say about each one . . .
1. Leaving little kids terrified. Halloween is supposed to be scary in a FUN way for kids. So don’t go too overboard and scar them for life.
2. Not being serious about safety. Cars are the big concern. So give your kids a flashlight or glow-stick. Bright colors are better than darks. Make sure they can see alright through their mask. And don’t let their costume trip them up.
3. Freaking out about drugs or razor blades in candy. People talk about it every year, but it’s not really a thing.
In 90 years of trick-or-treating, there have only been scattered reports of anything like that. And almost all of them turned out to be mistakes, or didn’t really happen.
4. Letting your kids be rude. They shouldn’t get candy by default. Make sure they say trick-or-treat . . . that they thank the person who gives them candy . . . and that they say thank you to anyone who likes their costume.
5. Giving out candy with nuts. There are too many kids with serious nut allergies these days. So be mindful about it before you stock up on fun size Snickers and Peanut M&M’s.
6. Poor planning. Hitting a few of your neighbors’ houses might be all your three-year-old can handle. But your 10-year-old might want to stay out longer. So plan ahead to make sure you’re not carrying a tired kid around all night.
7. Skipping it altogether. Trick-or-treating is one of the few rites-of-passage where kids aren’t totally controlled by their parents. And there’s a community-building aspect too, where we trust our neighbors to play along and pitch in.
So let your kids trick-or-treat . . . hand out candy to other people’s kids . . . and don’t kill the vibe.
