National Trick or Treat Day

I write this column every year, and this year won’t be different. Halloween has always been one of my favorites holidays with respect to spending time with my kids. The choosing of the Halloween costumes (always a long hard decision), trick or treating, and Halloween parties have made Halloween a huge event. (In recent years, the trend has continued to grow as more and more adults look to the holiday as one just for themselves and their families.)

However, I’ve always had one problem with Halloween: When Halloween falls on a Monday through Friday, trick or treating is difficult to monitor because most homes have one or two parents working. The sun sets in most parts of the country by 5:30 pm, which means a parent needs to leave work early (often not an option), or take their kids trick or treating in the dark (not the safest option). Children are also involved with school activities until after 5 pm.

Small towns across are now taking matters in their own hands. They are establishing daytime trick or treat hours on the Saturday or Sunday nearest Halloween for their residents. While I agree with traditionalists that you should not try to change the date of Halloween is celebrated, I am a big advocate of allowing parents to be part of the “trick or treat” activity, not only making it fun for the whole family, but also safer for our children. We should have a “National trick or Treat Day” on the last Saturday of October with defined hours while traditionalists/adults can still celebrate on October 31. There’s no reason we shouldn’t make Halloween safer and more family inclusive.

What’s your opinion? I’d like to hear from you.

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