Last year, a small town in Virginia made national headlines after outlawing trick-or-treating for kids 12 and older. It was apparently an attempt to cut down on vandalism, but many felt it was unfairly harsh, sparking a debate about how old is too old to go trick-or-treating. Well this year, one college student has apparently sparked the opposite debate: How young is too young to trick-or-treat? The debate has been making its way around Reddit, where she shared a story of refusing to give candy to two parents who showed up on her doorstep with a baby.
Part of the problem was that as a college student, she has a limited candy budget and was worried that she'd would run out.
In her Reddit post, the student explained that every year her college throws a trick-or-treating event where kids are allowed to safely walk through the dorms. Although it seems like a cute idea, there's one thing that irks her about it.
"So tonight was this event and I was pretty strict with the 'one candy per kid' rule, but I was really uncomfortable when a parent would approach the door with a baby (and I mean less than 1-2 years old) and expect me to give them candy on their behalf," the poster shared. "They would just show up to my door holding a costumed baby and a bag and said say 'trick or treat!' as if they deserve something for that."
Finally, the student felt like enough was enough. She decided not to give candy to people with babies who "canât walk, canât hold their own bag, [or don't] know whatâs going on."
"From that point on I said to everyone else that night: 'We have limited candy and want to make sure the âbigâ kids get some,'â the student recalled.
She added that this wasn't coming from a place of her trying to be mean, just based on what was financially possible. "I canât afford $50 of my own groceries let alone $50 of Halloween candy," she commented.
Some parents, however, didn't take the news gracefully.
A few were angry or said they were "disgusted" with her, and one parent wanted to complain to the resident manager (who wound up backing the student up "100 percent").
Now, she's wondering if she's in the minority thinking that itâs wrong for parents to use their baby — who is too young to remember a first or even second Halloween — in order to get free candy. And if parents should consider what age is too young for trick-or-treating just like people have an opinion on teens being too old.
A few people on Reddit thought the parents were displaying some ghoulishly bad behavior.
"NTA, and quite shocked at how many people are saying YTA," one commenter wrote. "Um, the parents are knowingly going to dorms which house POOR COLLEGE STUDENTS. Screw them, maybe get the even cheaper penny candy, like bank lobby crap for those parents."
"My sister (not a college student) is doing something similar this year," a second person added. "Parents with dressed up babies who canât speak/walk and have no clue whatâs going on are getting cheaper candy while she saves the better stuff for the kids/teenagers who are coming around to trick or treat. Iâd honestly do the same thing if I participated."
"I wasn't even aware some parents did that, that's just weird," commented a third person. "I mean I get that they want to have some Halloween fun with their kiddo, can't blame them there. But no grown adult should throw a fit over being deprived of candy."
One user had the brilliant idea to give out stickers to the little babies, which would mean students wouldn't have to waste their candy budget on a kiddo without teeth. Â
"Iâm definitely doing this next year because babies love covering themselves in stickers anyway (and itâs less messy than chocolate)," the student wrote.
To some, the answer was a no-brainer: On Halloween. EVERYONE gets a treat.
"I donât understand this point of view," one person shared. "Itâs a holiday. People are meant to have fun. Babies love to be socialized."
"Who cares if the parents want the candy?" the commenter continued. "Just because someone is a certain age theyâre not allowed to show off their cute baby and have fun? If you run out, you run out. Itâs not the end of the world. Put a sign up. Youâre being stingy just for the sake of it."
At least one other person believed the poster was being the "candy police."
"If people show up, they get a piece. And people take their babies out because itâs adorable," the person wrote.
"YTA either participate or don't," a third person agreed. "Babies, kids, parents or teens it doesn't matter if they are dressed up and trick or treating I'll give candy. Kids under two eat candy too, by the way. Not infants obviously but walking age kids trick-or-treating is normal."
(Here's hoping this guy never moves to our neighborhood!)
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
