Plain Talker Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 I've only had one knock on my door this evening, and that was the sweet little 3 year old girl from the other end of the terrace I live on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medusa Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 Do kids in England actually resort to petty vandalism (tricks) if not given treats? It's never happened in my part of the world. When the treats have run out we switch off the porch light and shut the front door which is a sign respected by all not to knock on the door and bother us any further I think it's a geographical and age thing. In the black country, when I was growing up it was normal for gangs of teens to really mean that if they didn't get a bag of sweets each then they would key your car, or dig up all the plants in your garden, or put bricks through your windows or some such other nasty plan. It even regularly took the form of a lit rag pushed through people's letter boxes. Most people don't have any real issue with small children, but you can imagine that it's really very frightening for people to have 10 teenagers knock on the door if you're in the house alone or are elderly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missflirtuk Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 My daughter is 2 so she is at the age where she just looks cute and not able to smash windows. I will explain when she is older that when she gets to a certain age, then she won't be able to trick or treat because it isn't fair on elderly people and it's for youngsters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claire1976 Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 Wow, there are some right misers on here eh! We live on an estate with lots of families and most get into the 'spirit' of things (see what I did there) - from about 6-7pm tonight I had around a dozen visitors. Mostly were kids from the estate that I knew who were accompanied with either an older sibling or parent. All said 'happy halloween' and 'thank you'. We had no problems with teenagers and they were all polite and well mannered. I think its a fun time of year for the kids to get dressed up. The protocol around our estate is that if the house has some form decoration in the window or outside then the kids can call there, otherwise leave people in peace. I can appreciate that the older generation might not feel comfortable about the whole thing so my son sticks to the houses he knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dell12 Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 I think it's much like singing Christmas carols. If a kid comes round and has clearly put in lots of work into their costume then I think that's fair enough. It's when some teenagers come round wearing just a cheap mask that they've bought that I have a bit of an issue. They've clearly taken no initiative and put in no effort, so I can't say I make much of an effort in return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alternageek Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 Oh dear god, there is no telling some people. Trick or treat is a phrase what people say. My daughter can't handle the words Happy Halloween just yet, but she will know as she gets older to not actually follow the 'trick' part through. plus we give aswell we have a massive bowl of sweets aswell sat here handing them out so o he wont be a selfish bully thank you, and im sure any parent would be very insulted of you said there kids would be violet thugs for trick or treating Does it ekkers like! Growing up in the States and being severely bullied (coming home from school being covered in rotten eggs and shaving cream) is more where Im coming from. You want an American holiday with all its trimmings? This is whats coming along next. We were never allowed to trick or treat past the age of 7, after that my mother took us to toys r us to get a new toy worth the cost of a costume. We always gave at ours, more out of fear (Dads work van and wooden fencing) of damage to the house due to kids 'having some fun' with their parents permission. I didnt grow up in some bad area either. VERY middle class - stay at home moms and all. Its just not a nice 'holiday' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BananaSplit Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 I abhor Halloween and as such ignore the literal beggars knocking on my door. To the parents who actively engage their children to go trick or treating, do you ever consider what might be in the 'treat' your child has been given. Never in a million years would I encourage my children to eat food/sweets from total strangers and as such I find it bizarre that parental responsibilty goes right out of the window on 31st October when knocking on strangers doors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 I think it's a geographical and age thing. In the black country, when I was growing up it was normal for gangs of teens to really mean that if they didn't get a bag of sweets each then they would key your car, or dig up all the plants in your garden, or put bricks through your windows or some such other nasty plan. It even regularly took the form of a lit rag pushed through people's letter boxes.Most people don't have any real issue with small children, but you can imagine that it's really very frightening for people to have 10 teenagers knock on the door if you're in the house alone or are elderly. That's really shocking. If that were rhe case where I live I'd be handing out treats with a Colt .45 attached to my belt just as a warning I dont remember trick or treating when I was growing up in Sheffield. We used to have something called "Mischief Night" which at worst ran to tying a string to someone's front door knocker and pulling the string from behind the privet hedge We have several teenagers come around at most Halloweens but they're a tame lot. The police are pretty strict on vandalism and getting convicted means a criminal record. Not to be taken lightly and they know it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missflirtuk Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 People don't go to strangers houses, they generally stick to people they know. Not every one is a kiddie snatcher or wanting to harm kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleyman Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 I abhor Halloween and as such ignore the literal beggars knocking on my door. To the parents who actively engage their children to go trick or treating, do you ever consider what might be in the 'treat' your child has been given. Never in a million years would I encourage my children to eat food/sweets from total strangers and as such I find it bizarre that parental responsibilty goes right out of the window on 31st October when knocking on strangers doors. They always advise that parents accompany kids and we gave strict instructions to our kids not to eat anything until we had checked it out. Went through the bags the next morning looking for any treat that was not still factory wrapped and even cut apples in two to check if some sicko hadn't stuck a razor blade in it I think it's a fun time for kids though and a shame to deny them something that most other kids enjoy but caution always needs to be the watch word Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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