OMG, why are you all so bad at halloween? It's supposed to be fun. Give them the candy. Give them the full bars. Give them the doritos. Whatever. It's about fun, not a life lesson. I was trading with 5 year olds, talking about our favorite kinds. One 7ish kid was into Thriller, but didn't like Michael Jackson. A tiny kid gave me her candy, so I gave her 2 back. It's all supposed to be fun!

Anonymous wrote:I was impressed with how incredibly polite all of our trick or treaters were. Probably more so than ever. Gives me hope.

+1, I don't let kids pick. I just toss some in their bags, they say thanks! and on to the next group!

Anonymous wrote:I agree kids are generally ruder than they used to be. Adults too. It’s also hard because we have much more variety of rules. Even nice kids don’t know what to do because at this house you take one, at the next the lady gives you two, then at the next a basket sits out with directions to take one large or two small.

Yes. Too much variety of procedures exacerbates.

OP. I realize you are trying to be generous but I would also recommend you not give out full size candy bars.

The fun is in the experience. Abundance/generosity is definitely fun. However, few kids really need this candy. Kids like to get tons of candy - more than they can responsibly eat in any length of time.

I have seen affluent friends' kids come home with more than a year's supply of candy for our family of 4 (whole pillowcase). And they will eat it all in a month or less. I realize parents control this - but it's still a good reason to give smaller pieces. This was in an area where kids travel to, because the area does have many houses that do full size candy bars.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree kids are generally ruder than they used to be. Adults too. It’s also hard because we have much more variety of rules. Even nice kids don’t know what to do because at this house you take one, at the next the lady gives you two, then at the next a basket sits out with directions to take one large or two small.

I agree this is more confusing for kids- when we were kids the adult usually were putting candy in our bags, now it's different at every house.

Agree. Why do you expect them to know? Many houses said "please grab a handful, take as much as you want"

Anonymous wrote:I’ll give out whatever I damn well please. And I expect kids to say THANK YOU regardless of the size or type or amount of the candy.
I spent less than $50 on candy. No, we are not wealthy but it’s a big deal we give out full size bars and it makes my kids very proud they are “that house.”
-OP

You just trolled your own post. It is done now.

What’s with all the threads with adults whining about giving kids candy on Halloween? Some people seem to be just itching to find something to complain about.

Either lighten up or turn your porch lights off next year.

I found the kids and parents who came to our house to be overwhelmingly polite, positive, and appreciative. (We're on Capitol Hill and get people from the both our neighborhood and lots of people from other nearby neighorboods who come because Cap Hill is safe, walkable, and had lots of houses giving candy.)

Please never stop the full size bars! It's so exciting to hit that jackpot when you are a kid. I also loved how many people asked about food allergies this year and had non-food or peanut-free treats on hand. It was an extra effort that made my kid feel included, and as their parent, that felt like a jackpot to me!

OP - maybe the kid who took 4 bars has special needs. Impulsive behavior and social skills deficits associated with autism and adhd and might look like "rudeness" to an outside observer.

Because they’re being raised by millennials and younger whose parents never tell them no or discipline them.

Anonymous wrote:I’ll give out whatever I damn well please. And I expect kids to say THANK YOU regardless of the size or type or amount of the candy.
I spent less than $50 on candy. No, we are not wealthy but it’s a big deal we give out full size bars and it makes my kids very proud they are “that house.”
-OP

You were "that house". You have to take the good with the bad. Most will say what you want them to and some may not. Overall you need to just enjoy halloween. AS someone always likes to point out here, you give because you enjoy it not because for the thank you.

We had about 700 trick or treaters. I didn’t see anyone being rude. Lots of kids said thank you.

Anonymous wrote:Some people ask the kids to choose one. Some kids have special needs. Also, no full sized bars please!

I'll give out whatever size I please. Kids absolutely love it. Gave out close to 400 last night. The kids were so grateful.
For the love of god, stop telling people how to do Halloween. You can't control everything.

This was our first year trick or treating (almost 2 year old) and I loved how many houses had non-food options- pokemon cards, glow sticks... He didnt know what any of it was but loved collecting all his "presents". He did not say thank you (just seemed overwhealmed/scared) and tried to go inside numerous houses... we'll have to practice more next year.

I’ll give out whatever I damn well please. And I expect kids to say THANK YOU regardless of the size or type or amount of the candy.
I spent less than $50 on candy. No, we are not wealthy but it’s a big deal we give out full size bars and it makes my kids very proud they are “that house.”
-OP

Anonymous wrote:We live on a crazy block with hundreds of trick or treaters and they were all SO polite. It was awesome!

+1 We let the kids pick at least two fun-sized pieces. We were surprised how many kids picked just one or were reluctant to pick another. Although we didn't have many trick-or-treaters, on balance, this was the most polite group we've ever had.