Post asking people not to shame trick-or-treating teens goes viral

When I think about trick-or-treating, I am awash in endless happy memories of childhood.

I remember dressing up and heading out with friends or with my parents, seeing how much candy I could get in just a few short hours. It was always the best part of fall.

But when I became a teenager, I knew it was time to stop collecting candy. Instead, I stayed indoors, helping my parents pass out candy to other kids, all the while wishing I wasn’t too old to be out there myself.

Now that I’m an adult passing out candy at my own home, I often notice the “big kids” who come to my door and think to myself that they, too, should be at home. And I know I’m not alone in these thoughts.

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Just in time for Halloween, a Facebook post about this very topic has gone viral. And it may make you rethink your position on teenagers who show up at your door on Halloween night. It certainly puts it into a new light.

The post, from the Facebook page for Budget 101, asks those reading to give candy to teens instead of shaming them for trick-or-treating. You can read the full post below.

You may have seen this post elsewhere on your feed, too. A lot of people are copying and pasting it as their status.

The post, which was shared more than 1,000 times in just a few hours, poses this question: “Just take a second to think…..would you rather them be out drinking and driving putting not only their life in danger but possibly you and/or your child’s life in danger? Or would you rather them be knocking on your door getting candy?”

In addition to proposing that becoming a teen shouldn’t preclude one from having some safe fun, it also makes the point that size doesn’t exactly determine mental age or special needs.

“You may see a teenager, but they may still relate as a younger child,” it reads.

Reaction to the post is mixed, with some agreeing…

“I don’t care how old you are … if you come to my door in a costume you get candy,” one commenter wrote.

Another wrote: “For people commenting about getting a job, you missed the point of the activity. SOme teens aren’t ready to give up their youth. They want to enjoy it for another year or two. I think it is great they don’t want to go to teen parties yet. They just want to be a kid.”

…and others who say they will not be giving candy to teens:

One person wrote: “I’m tired of enabling people, period! (These) young adults DO NOT need to go door to door asking for candy!!!! Get a job!!!”

Another commenter wrote, “Wth? If you are 16 years old (trick) or treating, that is a problem.”

Although this particular post is new, this debate has been going on for years. TODAY even conducted a poll in 2016 to ask, “How old is too old to trick or treat?”

While parents didn’t agree on an age range for when kids should stop collecting candy, a whopping 73 percent agreed it was between the ages of 12 and 17.

Another question on the same poll, however, shows that 66 percent of those who voted believe Halloween is for both kids and adults. No mention of teens, but we’d guess they fall right in the middle.

What do you think? Will you be passing out candy to teens this year?