Are we too old for trick or treating?

Should high school students participate in trick or treating?

Design by Raina Jain & Rishi Pai

Raina Jain, Staff Writer & Rishi Pai, Staff Writer 

“Are we too old for trick-or-treating?” 

As high school students, this question is often thought upon. Many say that trick-or-treating is only for younger kids as the concept of getting candy and dressing up seems childish. Others see the activity as a fun time with friends and believe that students should celebrate Halloween with trick-or-treating for their last years of childhood. So what is the right answer? 

For many, trick-or-treating is a great way to spend time with their friends that they may not get to see during school and a way to silence the stress and take a break. After all, Halloween only comes once a year. 

"Personally, I think it's a very fun activity," sophomore Aarush Saha said. "Everybody should enjoy it because it's a time of year that everybody should have fun [during] because October is getting deep into the school year.”

Although many people love to participate in trick-or-treating, Saha knows many people who believe that high school is an age where you should start to grow away from these kinds of activities. Regardless, trick-or-treating can serve as the one day students can go out on a weekday, free of stress from curricular or extracurricular responsibilities.

"A lot of high schoolers probably stop, probably even 15 or 16, because maybe they don't find it fun anymore. Maybe they just don’t have friends to go out with, or maybe they just don’t enjoy it as much as they used to [when they were] kids." Saha said.

Whatever the reason may be, trick-or-treating is something that anybody can participate in, and high schoolers are still kids, so why not have that experience while they can? Elizabeth Lake, an English teacher at Northview High School, has a similar perspective on trick-or-treating as a universal holiday, sharing her experiences as a child growing up in Mass. and what she sees nowadays with high-schoolers.

"I feel like until you're not a kid anymore, you should take advantage of the free candy and dress up in a costume, and then when you go to college, you should be part of giving out candy and leave the [trick-or-treating] to the kids," Lake said.

While trick-or-treating is a holiday that stays with many people for the rest of their lives, it's often thought that for the first 18 years, kids should be collecting candy and spending time with their friends. For the rest, they should be a part of giving back all of the candy they've taken, to help the next generation of children relive the experiences they once enjoyed.

"I'm always sad when I hear high schoolers say, 'Oh, I'm not a kid anymore, so I don't trick or treat anymore.' No, you guys are kids. You only get to be a kid one last time, and [this] is your last few years of being a child, so you should take advantage of trick-or-treating," Lake said.

Childhood is limited, and trick-or-treating is equally limited as childhood ends. So why stop it early? Additionally, there is a cultural aspect behind why high schoolers often stop trick or treating. After the pandemic, things are not what they used to be.

"Culturally, something that has become somewhat of an urban legend is like this idea that people believe that things are less safe now than they were, which is silly because the data does not indicate that," Lake said.

Lake recollects her trick-or-treating memories when she was growing up, realizing that age was never something that people in her community thought of when it came to participating in Halloween. However, the age does come eventually, and trick-or-treating becomes a memory of the past, but Lake made the most of these opportunities by building memories with her younger sister.

"I have a sister who's five years younger than me, so by the time that I got old enough that I was thinking I was too old, I would bring my sister trick-or-treating," Lake said.

Jenny Lee, a senior at Northview High School, believes high school students are too old for trick or treating and certain things played a role in her life that made her not enjoy trick or treating as much as others usually do. 

“I believe that trick or treating should be for kids in elementary school. I think the cutoff is fifth grade because I think the idea of trick or treating and dressing up is for babies.” Lee said.

A large part of the reason Lee doesn’t go trick-or-treating apart from age is danger. Unlike Lake, Lee believes there is a safety issue nowadays with going trick-or-treating. On the news, she has heard stories of people hiding drugs or needles in candy. Additionally, the most probable reason for high schoolers to stop trick-or-treating is a lack of friends to go with, and Lee can relate to this. It’s hard to go trick-or-treating alone, after all.

“I think it had to do with the fact that I moved a lot when I was younger. I used to live in California, and I moved to a lot of different cities [so I] had trouble making new friends and couldn’t really go trick or treating. Moving around and having a hard time making friends really made me lose value in trick or treating because you should go with friends to have fun.” Lee said.

So, what is the correct answer? Many believe that trick-or-treating only lasts for a small amount of time, and kids should take all the opportunities they can. However, many believe that trick-or-treating is only for younger kids, and cuts off once they become adults. Regardless, Halloween is a holiday for everyone, and just like any other holiday, people have their own ways of celebrating, whether it is with or without trick-or-treating.