trick or treating

[harleychick]

I just wanted to respond to some of the post that have been made. I have grown up here my entire life, I have never been afraid to go out into the neighborhood and trick or treat. My parents went with us. They would stand at the bottom of the side walk and wait for us to get our candy. When we got home they would go through each peice and make sure it hadn't been tampered with. Some of the post here on this topic are parinoid. Take the time to do something with your child. Don't just let them go alone, Sure something will happen. Supervision is the key. I have 2 small boys and will be going with them to make sure they have a great time. They are only young once don't make them grow up so fast.

 

[JabbaJawz]

I see your point, but still don't like the idea of trick-or-treating at strangers' houses. Just not cool, and you never know.

 

[Lilly]

I know where you are coming from HarleyChick. I take my kids trick-or-treating every year and I have never put so much paranoid thought into it.
Of course I check the candy and anything suspicious gets thrown out - and I usually trade for most of the candy that they have anyway (they can trade me certain amounts of thier candy for certain special privelages - thereby cutting down on thier sugar intake).
Yes, I take my kids to a different neighborhood but not because mine isn't safe - it is my lack of a neighbors that is a problem!!! I take them to the neighborhood that I grew up in, where thier grandparents still live and I still know about 40% of the neighbors - but that doesn't mean I skip the houses I don't know or that have recently changed ownership!! It is a great way to meet people!
The other thing I hate is when people scoff at older kids trick-or-treating - who cares?!?! Let them have fun! It is only one night and no I don't believe that candy is really setting you back that far!

 

[dustin]

Originally posted by harleychick
I just wanted to respond to some of the post that have been made. I have grown up here my entire life, I have never been afraid to go out into the neighborhood and trick or treat. My parents went with us. They would stand at the bottom of the side walk and wait for us to get our candy. When we got home they would go through each peice and make sure it hadn't been tampered with. Some of the post here on this topic are parinoid. Take the time to do something with your child. Don't just let them go alone, Sure something will happen. Supervision is the key. I have 2 small boys and will be going with them to make sure they have a great time. They are only young once don't make them grow up so fast.

but still wouldnt [edit] give the kids[/edit] homemade cookies and stuff like that. individually wrapped stuff is cool. dump it out on a table when you get back and scan through it. i know i'm one paranoid sob.

 

[Dymphna]

Re: Re: trick or treating

Originally posted by dustin
but still wouldnt [edit] give the kids[/edit] homemade cookies and stuff like that. individually wrapped stuff is cool. dump it out on a table when you get back and scan through it. i know i'm one paranoid sob.

That's not paranoid, that's common sense.

When I was a kid, we had few neighbors. We went to my grandmother's neighborhood. Even then (25-30 yrs ago) we had to have the candy checked by Mom b/f eating it. People used to give out apples but we were not allowed to eat those because it was possible to coat them with something. I remember getting lectures in school about safe trick or treating.

When I was about 8-9 yrs old, my teenage aunt was our escort. She sent my brother and I alone down a short court while she hung out with her friends on the corner. There was a woman at one of the houses who I swear was testing us. She offered us the choice of homemade cake or wrapped candy, then invited us in while she went to get the candy. She was everything I'd been taught in school to avoid for trick or treat. I remember thinking at the time it was a test, but was still really freaked out. My aunt told me later that she thought the woman was a teacher at the local elementary school.

 

[harleychick]

trick or treat

I didn't mean to make anybody mad, but I just wanted to have my say along with everybody else. I grew up in the Ridge area so there were no neighbor's so to speak. We use to drive to the Park and go around to the different neighborhoods there. I still think that it's all in what the parents make of it. If you take time to participate it's going to be a pleasent experience.

 

[Dymphna]

Re: trick or treat

Originally posted by harleychick
I didn't mean to make anybody mad, but I just wanted to have my say along with everybody else. I grew up in the Ridge area so there were no neighbor's so to speak. We use to drive to the Park and go around to the different neighborhoods there. I still think that it's all in what the parents make of it. If you take time to participate it's going to be a pleasent experience.

Who's mad? Opinionated maybe, mad no. In fact this thread is remarkable civil compared to most.

 

[Kismet]

Originally posted by harleychick
I just wanted to respond to some of the post that have been made. I have grown up here my entire life, I have never been afraid to go out into the neighborhood and trick or treat. My parents went with us. They would stand at the bottom of the side walk and wait for us to get our candy. When we got home they would go through each peice and make sure it hadn't been tampered with. Some of the post here on this topic are parinoid. Take the time to do something with your child. Don't just let them go alone, Sure something will happen. Supervision is the key. I have 2 small boys and will be going with them to make sure they have a great time. They are only young once don't make them grow up so fast.

Hi gang:
As i finally got back to having the free time to post and read posts, I found this one, and surely hope that you didnt take what i posted a few weeks ago, as just letting my child run around unsupervised. Trick or treat, or not. Although, I have witnessed an amazing amount of unsavory situations concerning young children since Ive moved to this area.

I guess Its just a different place, the one we come from, not perfect, but more kid-community activity friendly.

I had no idea until my boss showed me a newsletter that Leonardtown had a trick or treat going on, etc. Have just been THAT busy. Im actually excited about this certain trick ot treat activity.

I dont mind the area that we live in, but there are few children in our neighborhood. And most of what Ive seen of Lexington Park, Im not impressed with, and yes, quite frankly, I dont venture out when it gets late in the evening. Some of the folks out and about in this area are just darned "Iffy". We try to get out to other places when we can to do fun things.
But when it comes to trick or treat, I guess we are just used to really close-knit, and safer neighborhoods. LOL.

I just didnt want to give the impression that for trick or treat events, that we didnt supervise or kids. Just wanted to remedy that one, and apologies in advance if this may seem to have been taken personally. Wasnt meant to have been expressed that way, I just wondered if it may have sounded that way when i asked about halloween stuff earlier in the month.

Hope to see some of you out there when this trick or treating thing, and other events go on towards the end of the month.

 

[tlatchaw]

Trick or Treat

I agree, Harleychick. Don't make the kids grow up soe fast. Take them out. GO WITH THEM and have some fun. Be careful, stay where you feel safe, meet FACE to FACE with some neighbors you might not have met before and develop a sense of community!

So much of our time is spent rushing to and from the car and not enough developing any sense of who are neighbors are and what sort of people they are. We wind up feeling suspicious of people that we never take the time to meet. We do still have to be careful, but why would we want to raise a generation of paranoids?

 

[tlatchaw]

Trick or Treat again

Whoops! I was reading the messages from the wrong end of the list! Looks like I'll need to scroll to the bottom and not the top for the latest postings.

A mention of Halloween activities earlier put me in mind of somthing happening at Trinity UMC in Prince Frederick this coming Sunday night. They are Trick or Treating in their parking lot (90 Church street, corner of Church and Main). Kiddies going from trunk to trunk in a "trunk or treat" party. Harmless fun for the kids, entertaining competition for the adults to decorate their vehicles in a creepy manner.

I'm sure there's other stuff like that going on in other neighborhoods too.

 

[vraiblonde]

Several of our neighbors give out homemade goodies and we let our kids eat them without dissection. But we live in a close community and we know everyone. Halloween is a big event around here. All parents out on the porch or walking around with their kids, scamming beers and food off of each other. Before TorT starts, we have a chili and hotdog feed at the end of the cul-de-sac with fire trucks leading the costume parade.

Which reminds me - I need to make sure we have enough liquid fog for our machine.

 

[tlatchaw]

Cool! Tell me how to find you! T or T is on Friday this year after all!

 

[Heretic]

One thing i dont like around here is that there is no set time to trick or treat and I have teenage kids come buy not even dressed up at like 10 PM at night. I go into work at 5Am and that really sucks.

Back home we had 2 hours when the police patrolled and everyone knew kids would be around trick or treating, it created a very good atmosphere and no annoyed people by the late ones.