A reader sent in this list of her town’s trick-or-treat suggestions. None are egregious — but the length of this list is.
COME ON. Somehow kids trick or treated for decades, if not millennia, without advice to plan the route in advance, make sure to always take along an adult, don’t trample the flowerbeds, carry a flashlight, walk don’t run, walk with your head up, don’t cut across yards, carry a flashlight and bring an EXTRA BAG in case yours breaks.
We are exhorting children to act like middle-aged matrons.
Worse — a list of TWENTY-FIVE tips turns a normal activity into an unusual and complicated mission. NOT EVERY CHILDHOOD ACTIVITY requires adults to detail precisely how each step should be executed. Kids have some smarts of their own. It’s HALLOWEEN not a spleen transplant!
More of my screed is over here, at Let Grow.
And meantime — Happy Halloween!
That is a long list and it is almost you want to stay home. I am not sure of the flowerbeds that you mention. Is it because of danger of insects or thorns on a rosebush? Or, is it destroying a garden? I was just wondering about this. Trick or treating is not what it used to be. FUN! Now, you have to watch everything. I don’t believe that trick or treat will be the same as years ago. But, that is OK as kids need a place to be safe and get the goodies as well. Many kids still looks forward to it.