Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a trick question. By the time they're old enough to go alone, they're too old to be trick or treating still.

That's sad.

I remember when my daughter was 4, long before I started reading about Free Range Kids, etc. I took her trick or treating around our upscale apartment complex in Arlington, and we met a group of kids from a much more working-class complex half a mile away. They were mostly around 10-12 but had a couple younger kids with them. My daughter decided to tag along with them and I followed at a distance as they crossed several streets on the way back home, stopping every once in a while to eat candy. I remember being amazed at how much more mature and aware of their surroundings they were than the kids their age I saw in my own neighborhood, still holding their parents' hand. We also got much better candy in their neighborhood than ours. My daughter is 10 this year and I plan on staying home and giving out candy.

I'm not quite Free Range, but I'm not a coddler either. I would trust a 10-11 year old with a lot (and a lot more than some moms would) but I just couldn't turn them loose in a neighborhood in the dark. And it's nothing to do with them, it's just that it would be so easy for a creep to snatch them. And if you weren't expecting them home for awhile, you would be in the dark about it for possibly a couple hours.

Stranger abductions are extremely rare. The reason we think they are not is that every time it does happen (to one kid in 10,000,000) we hear about it all over the news. If kids were getting snatched all the time while trick-or-treating, don't you think we'd hear about it every November? And besides, how would a creep go about abducting a kid who is part of a large group, knocking on someone's door every 30 seconds? Of course, I teach her to stay with her friends, never go off with a stranger, and ask an adult for help if someone bothers her. But the only thing I really worry about on Halloween is traffic.

The problem is if your child is snatched, it is beyond horrific. To think of my 8yr old boy raped, tortured and murdered, it unfathomable. I'd rather be outside when he is trick-or-treating and simply keep a distance, but still keep him in my line of sight.

heck, I could probably go out for hte night when my 8yr old is sleeping and party it up. He probably would be A-OK alone. However, I prefer to play it safe and not do that. It is unlikely he would get hurt while I'm out, but I'm not trying to risk it. Not worth it.

Yes. That poor little 10 year old girl who went missing in Colorado last week comes to mind. They found a body 2 days ago that they still can't identify, though it's likely hers, because it's "not intact." She was abducted by a stranger during the 2 block walk alone to a park to meet up with friends to walk to school, and her mother probably never thought to worry because she was 10, it was daytime, it was only 2 blocks, and stranger abductions are rare. And in a perfect world, she never would have HAD to worry about it. But we do not live in a perfect world and I know it's unlikely, but it DOES happen and it's my job to do whatever I can to minimize the risk.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a trick question. By the time they're old enough to go alone, they're too old to be trick or treating still.

That's sad.

I remember when my daughter was 4, long before I started reading about Free Range Kids, etc. I took her trick or treating around our upscale apartment complex in Arlington, and we met a group of kids from a much more working-class complex half a mile away. They were mostly around 10-12 but had a couple younger kids with them. My daughter decided to tag along with them and I followed at a distance as they crossed several streets on the way back home, stopping every once in a while to eat candy. I remember being amazed at how much more mature and aware of their surroundings they were than the kids their age I saw in my own neighborhood, still holding their parents' hand. We also got much better candy in their neighborhood than ours. My daughter is 10 this year and I plan on staying home and giving out candy.

I'm not quite Free Range, but I'm not a coddler either. I would trust a 10-11 year old with a lot (and a lot more than some moms would) but I just couldn't turn them loose in a neighborhood in the dark. And it's nothing to do with them, it's just that it would be so easy for a creep to snatch them. And if you weren't expecting them home for awhile, you would be in the dark about it for possibly a couple hours.

Stranger abductions are extremely rare. The reason we think they are not is that every time it does happen (to one kid in 10,000,000) we hear about it all over the news. If kids were getting snatched all the time while trick-or-treating, don't you think we'd hear about it every November? And besides, how would a creep go about abducting a kid who is part of a large group, knocking on someone's door every 30 seconds? Of course, I teach her to stay with her friends, never go off with a stranger, and ask an adult for help if someone bothers her. But the only thing I really worry about on Halloween is traffic.

The problem is if your child is snatched, it is beyond horrific. To think of my 8yr old boy raped, tortured and murdered, it unfathomable. I'd rather be outside when he is trick-or-treating and simply keep a distance, but still keep him in my line of sight.

heck, I could probably go out for hte night when my 8yr old is sleeping and party it up. He probably would be A-OK alone. However, I prefer to play it safe and not do that. It is unlikely he would get hurt while I'm out, but I'm not trying to risk it. Not worth it.

12

PP, I wrote the previous post in a hurry and I'm sorry if I sounded like I was dismissing your worries. Worry is in the nature of all parents. But I guess this is a bit of a sore topic for me. I don't mean Halloween, I mean people using an extremely rare event such as a stranger abduction to justify curtailing their childrens' freedom in a way that impacts not just their quality of life but that of all children: my child won't have a big group to go with if all the parents in our new neighborhood feel the way you do.

I would consider myself pretty free range. My daughter takes public transportation, walks around the neighborhood during the day and will, I hope, be trick-or-treating without grownups for the first time this year. But of course I still worry. And there are certainly 10-year-olds out there doing things that I am not comfortable with her doing yet.

Middle school age, on Capital Hill.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a trick question. By the time they're old enough to go alone, they're too old to be trick or treating still.

That's sad.

I remember when my daughter was 4, long before I started reading about Free Range Kids, etc. I took her trick or treating around our upscale apartment complex in Arlington, and we met a group of kids from a much more working-class complex half a mile away. They were mostly around 10-12 but had a couple younger kids with them. My daughter decided to tag along with them and I followed at a distance as they crossed several streets on the way back home, stopping every once in a while to eat candy. I remember being amazed at how much more mature and aware of their surroundings they were than the kids their age I saw in my own neighborhood, still holding their parents' hand. We also got much better candy in their neighborhood than ours. My daughter is 10 this year and I plan on staying home and giving out candy.

I'm not quite Free Range, but I'm not a coddler either. I would trust a 10-11 year old with a lot (and a lot more than some moms would) but I just couldn't turn them loose in a neighborhood in the dark. And it's nothing to do with them, it's just that it would be so easy for a creep to snatch them. And if you weren't expecting them home for awhile, you would be in the dark about it for possibly a couple hours.

Stranger abductions are extremely rare. The reason we think they are not is that every time it does happen (to one kid in 10,000,000) we hear about it all over the news. If kids were getting snatched all the time while trick-or-treating, don't you think we'd hear about it every November? And besides, how would a creep go about abducting a kid who is part of a large group, knocking on someone's door every 30 seconds? Of course, I teach her to stay with her friends, never go off with a stranger, and ask an adult for help if someone bothers her. But the only thing I really worry about on Halloween is traffic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a trick question. By the time they're old enough to go alone, they're too old to be trick or treating still.

That's sad.

I remember when my daughter was 4, long before I started reading about Free Range Kids, etc. I took her trick or treating around our upscale apartment complex in Arlington, and we met a group of kids from a much more working-class complex half a mile away. They were mostly around 10-12 but had a couple younger kids with them. My daughter decided to tag along with them and I followed at a distance as they crossed several streets on the way back home, stopping every once in a while to eat candy. I remember being amazed at how much more mature and aware of their surroundings they were than the kids their age I saw in my own neighborhood, still holding their parents' hand. We also got much better candy in their neighborhood than ours. My daughter is 10 this year and I plan on staying home and giving out candy.

I'm not quite Free Range, but I'm not a coddler either. I would trust a 10-11 year old with a lot (and a lot more than some moms would) but I just couldn't turn them loose in a neighborhood in the dark. And it's nothing to do with them, it's just that it would be so easy for a creep to snatch them. And if you weren't expecting them home for awhile, you would be in the dark about it for possibly a couple hours.

I'm the "trick question" PP. I think 9 is still fine to Trick or Treat. Elementary school is the best time- they get input on their costumes, they have the stamina to be out for a long time. The tail end of middle school is where I draw the line, personally. And once your age ends in "teen" you need to just go to a haunted house or Halloween party on Halloween. You're too old for Trick or Treat. (Again- just my opinion.) I would not let a child younger than 12 Trick or Treat alone, and any older than that, they don't need to be Trick or Treating, hence my response.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a trick question. By the time they're old enough to go alone, they're too old to be trick or treating still.

kind of true, my nine year old is on the fence about going this year. I would let him go out alone this year if he wanted to.

Oh my goodness! That's kind of sad! That's the problem with starting trick or treating at age 1. Kids are jaded by it in 3rd grade!!

9 year olds should be the HEART of trick or treating!

Okey-dokey.

"safe" suburb and probably not until they are no longer interested in trick or treat. However at around 9 I probably would keep a good distance, but HELL NO will I be inside sitting in my house watching TV while they are out in the dark.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a trick question. By the time they're old enough to go alone, they're too old to be trick or treating still.

kind of true, my nine year old is on the fence about going this year. I would let him go out alone this year if he wanted to.

Oh my goodness! That's kind of sad! That's the problem with starting trick or treating at age 1. Kids are jaded by it in 3rd grade!!

9 year olds should be the HEART of trick or treating!

he is not jaded-not much into candy. Also he is in 4th grade.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a trick question. By the time they're old enough to go alone, they're too old to be trick or treating still.

kind of true, my nine year old is on the fence about going this year. I would let him go out alone this year if he wanted to.

Oh my goodness! That's kind of sad! That's the problem with starting trick or treating at age 1. Kids are jaded by it in 3rd grade!!

9 year olds should be the HEART of trick or treating!

Anonymous wrote:This is a trick question. By the time they're old enough to go alone, they're too old to be trick or treating still.

kind of true, my nine year old is on the fence about going this year. I would let him go out alone this year if he wanted to.

Anonymous wrote:This is a trick question. By the time they're old enough to go alone, they're too old to be trick or treating still.

That's sad.

I remember when my daughter was 4, long before I started reading about Free Range Kids, etc. I took her trick or treating around our upscale apartment complex in Arlington, and we met a group of kids from a much more working-class complex half a mile away. They were mostly around 10-12 but had a couple younger kids with them. My daughter decided to tag along with them and I followed at a distance as they crossed several streets on the way back home, stopping every once in a while to eat candy. I remember being amazed at how much more mature and aware of their surroundings they were than the kids their age I saw in my own neighborhood, still holding their parents' hand. We also got much better candy in their neighborhood than ours. My daughter is 10 this year and I plan on staying home and giving out candy.