Burlap Sack: Trick-or-treating bans for teens

The decision to stop trick-or-treating is one of the few decisions a child gets to make about growing up. The city of Chesapeake, Virginia, has taken away this choice.

In their bylaws, it’s written that any child over the age of 12 found trick-or-treating will receive a fine of “no less than $25.00 nor more than $100.00 or by confinement in jail for not more than six months or both.” While the city reports that this law is rarely actively enforced with police patrol, it’s still there to be put in effect if needed. It’s bad enough that trick-or-treating is punishable by law, but to have the jurisdiction of placing a child in confinement for it is beyond ludicrous.

Regulations in childhood are already present with puberty, sexuality and peer pressure, but to have the one joyful choice of partaking in tradition taken away from children is disheartening. Not to mention households with siblings who want to trick or treat together. Usually, at the age of thirteen, you would have the choice of going trick or treating or attending a Halloween party if you were in the right social circles. Now, youth in Chesapeake are left with the option of being forced into a social scene they may not be ready for, or staying inside.

The city has a population of around 240,000 citizens, with approximately 17,000 falling into the 10-14 age range and 17,000 falling into the 15-19 age range. If youth are putting in the time and effort to dress up and behave appropriately, they should be allowed to trick or treat. Any other acts of misdemeanour from these age groups should be treated under the regular law pertaining to them on a case by case basis, instead of preemptively punishing youth without a cause.

Think of the kid who needs a little bit more time to be a kid, or the ones who love to make costumes, or those who enjoy the innocence of the occasion. Society has already made sure they have to grow up in every other aspect, so the remaining innocence of childhood shouldn’t be regulated through the law. Children should have the choice of when they feel they are ready to stop trick-or-treating; they should have some aspect of their childhood that they can control and regulate.