Chevy Chase Halloween candy bowl "scandal"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why you'd put the bowl out anyway. Halloween is supposed to be about the interaction between trick or treaters and neighbors. Not an opportunity to collect candy in the abstract.

And I don't understand what is so hard to understand. We put a bowl of candy out with a note to please take two pieces each because my family enjoys trick or treating as a family. Neither my husband nor I want to be left at home while the other is having fun with our kids, seeing our neighbors and friends. Yet, we want to make sure that those trick or treating can collect some candy. It is really quite simple.

If kids just want candy, they or their parents can buy a bag at CVS. The point of Halloween is to get dressed up, knock on the door of a house belonging to people you may not know, say "trick or treat," and THEN get candy. People always complain about kids who don't play by the rules--kids who don't dress up, kids who don't say anything, etc. But adults who just dump a bowl of candy in front of the door are just as bad. How would you feel if you took your kids trick or treating and found that everyone had gone out, just leaving candy on the doorstep? That would be kind of a bust.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why you'd put the bowl out anyway. Halloween is supposed to be about the interaction between trick or treaters and neighbors. Not an opportunity to collect candy in the abstract.

And I don't understand what is so hard to understand. We put a bowl of candy out with a note to please take two pieces each because my family enjoys trick or treating as a family. Neither my husband nor I want to be left at home while the other is having fun with our kids, seeing our neighbors and friends. Yet, we want to make sure that those trick or treating can collect some candy. It is really quite simple.

Ok then as long as you understand a kid will likely take the whole bowl, fine. you broke the social compact of "trick or treat" and so you got a trick.

I really could care less

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why you'd put the bowl out anyway. Halloween is supposed to be about the interaction between trick or treaters and neighbors. Not an opportunity to collect candy in the abstract.

And I don't understand what is so hard to understand. We put a bowl of candy out with a note to please take two pieces each because my family enjoys trick or treating as a family. Neither my husband nor I want to be left at home while the other is having fun with our kids, seeing our neighbors and friends. Yet, we want to make sure that those trick or treating can collect some candy. It is really quite simple.

If kids just want candy, they or their parents can buy a bag at CVS. The point of Halloween is to get dressed up, knock on the door of a house belonging to people you may not know, say "trick or treat," and THEN get candy. People always complain about kids who don't play by the rules--kids who don't dress up, kids who don't say anything, etc. But adults who just dump a bowl of candy in front of the door are just as bad. How would you feel if you took your kids trick or treating and found that everyone had gone out, just leaving candy on the doorstep? That would be kind of a bust.

It would be way worse if we went out to trick or treat and all of the houses were dark...no candy at all.

[Anonymous]

Taking 2 pieces of candy from an unattended bowl is more like scavenging than trick or treating.

[Anonymous]

I think the guy who posted this video has far worse judgment than the children. First, the candy was placed there for the taking. There was no crime, just bad manners. If my child did something like this, I would certainly correct him or her. But how would you feel if it was your kid who made a mistake and it was publicized all over the neighborhood? I'm on the listserv and the guy who posted the video had to include his name. I'd like to identify him here but I would not want to stoop to his level. I hope he sees the article in the Post and this forum and is ashamed of himself. He certainly should be.

[Anonymous]

They put a bowl out for people to take candy and people took candy. What is the issue exactly?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is so interesting - my first reaction (I'm on the listserv) was that it was not okay to post the video of these kids. It was a public shaming that I'm not okay with. OTOH, the *behavior* was wrong - if they had just described it and people commented on it then I think that's fine. I'm surprised that this thread is 7 pages long and nobody is really discussing the video part of this. Kids make mistakes and a whole bowl of unattended candy is tempting, but parents should still let their kids know it is not okay.

I'm the PP who walked in (err.. out) on a girl dumping our bowl of candy into her bag.. despite the "please take one" sign. We have video of it. I spoke to her at the time I saw her, but if I wanted to notify our neighborhood listserv, I'd probably just describe her and mention that any parent who thinks it might be their kid is welcome to contact me for a copy of the video.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why you'd put the bowl out anyway. Halloween is supposed to be about the interaction between trick or treaters and neighbors. Not an opportunity to collect candy in the abstract.

And I don't understand what is so hard to understand. We put a bowl of candy out with a note to please take two pieces each because my family enjoys trick or treating as a family. Neither my husband nor I want to be left at home while the other is having fun with our kids, seeing our neighbors and friends. Yet, we want to make sure that those trick or treating can collect some candy. It is really quite simple.

If kids just want candy, they or their parents can buy a bag at CVS. The point of Halloween is to get dressed up, knock on the door of a house belonging to people you may not know, say "trick or treat," and THEN get candy. People always complain about kids who don't play by the rules--kids who don't dress up, kids who don't say anything, etc. But adults who just dump a bowl of candy in front of the door are just as bad. How would you feel if you took your kids trick or treating and found that everyone had gone out, just leaving candy on the doorstep? That would be kind of a bust.

It would be way worse if we went out to trick or treat and all of the houses were dark...no candy at all.

+100
This exactly. A bowl a candy left on a stoop is better than dark houses up and down the street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only idiots leave a whole bowl of candy on their front step. Drunks who are too busy drinking to actually hand out candy. Just turn off you lights for goodness sake.

This is CC, did they hire lawyers yet... that is my favorite part of CC.

Doesn't CC "own" the police department, have they blamed the police for not doing their job.

Oh, CC, I miss living there... not!

Wrong. The people on my street who did this were busy taking their own kids out trick or treating.

Agree. I did this. We don't have a lot of traffic and my husband and I both wanted to go. We expected the bowl to be emptied. Who cares.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why you'd put the bowl out anyway. Halloween is supposed to be about the interaction between trick or treaters and neighbors. Not an opportunity to collect candy in the abstract.

And I don't understand what is so hard to understand. We put a bowl of candy out with a note to please take two pieces each because my family enjoys trick or treating as a family. Neither my husband nor I want to be left at home while the other is having fun with our kids, seeing our neighbors and friends. Yet, we want to make sure that those trick or treating can collect some candy. It is really quite simple.

It's not the same walking up to a bowl as it is ringing a doorbell, saying trick or treat, and getting handed a candy. I think it's lame to leave a bowl. Rotate walking DC around and handing out candy.
I also think you can expect to have the bowl emptied quickly and the people that posted the video are jerks.

[Anonymous]

I have five kids. Four adults and one teen. I've been doing Halloween as a parent for 27 years. Thankfully, we have never lived in a neighborhood where parents thought it was ok to just leave a bowl out. That is so completely lame and takes the fun out of Trick-or-Treat. Who exactly do they say Trick-or-Treat to? It's really not complicated - One parent takes the kid. The other passes out candy. Just like parents have been doing for generations, and still do in saner parts of the country. It's just Halloween, not their wedding day. If you are by yourself, turn off the light till you get home or send your kids with a friend.

If one of my kids was caught dumping a bowl of candy into his bag, I would immediately realize that I had 100% failed as a parent. Any embarrassment I felt from a video would be well-deserved by both me and my child. My kids were far, far from perfect, but would never have done that. If your kid did, you raised him with no moral compass. Own it and fix it.

[Anonymous]

I have 4 kids over the age of 16. You people need to get a life. I hope nothing really bad ever happens to you if you think it's ok to post a video of kids taking your candy and publicly shaming them. Is it rude behavior? Yes. Kids are sometimes rude and self centered but MY God get a freakin grip! You people have some high class problems on the mean streets of Chevy Chase. I'm telling you!

[Anonymous]

My son has a friend who always came trick or treating with us because he lives in Anacostia, and they don't trick or treat there. His mother would come and bring his 2 brothers. Every time parents would leave out a bowl of candy these kids thought that meant take as many as you want! Awesome! The mom would try to be polite and say, just take two but we were both looking at each other like WTF. Who leaves a bowl of candy out and expects kids to be on some kind of "honor system". It's candy for Christ sake. There are bigger issues in life. Seriously.

[Anonymous]

Identify the kids and put their names and photos out on the list serv and Facebook. Shame them, and their parents for raising grubbing, dishonest children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son has a friend who always came trick or treating with us because he lives in Anacostia, and they don't trick or treat there. His mother would come and bring his 2 brothers. Every time parents would leave out a bowl of candy these kids thought that meant take as many as you want! Awesome! The mom would try to be polite and say, just take two but we were both looking at each other like WTF. Who leaves a bowl of candy out and expects kids to be on some kind of "honor system". It's candy for Christ sake. There are bigger issues in life. Seriously.

He can't help it. Positive social norms are more challenged EOTR.