Halloween: Urban terrorism or a fun time?

For those of us that went trick-or-treating several decades ago, it’s amazing how things have changed: fear of razor blades in apples, poison candy, lots of tricks that are actually crimes, shooting in the air within certain urban settings, childhood obesity to name a few.

But I’ve experienced zero problems with my own kids (and live in the ‘burbs so shooting in the air is a non-issue). My daughter is now 17 years old and we had nothing but delightful experiences when she went trick-or-treating, except for the Halloween blizzard in 1991 when she went out as Batman wearing a down jacket underneath looking like Batman-on-steroids. My son is 11 (and this might be his last year) and the same thing has happened with him…just fun and few incidents other than an upset stomach the next morning.

So what is it about us that causes fear to outweigh critical thinking? Is it a natural fear as a parent to protect our kids at all costs? One could think about the razor blade in an apple as an example of terrorism against trick-or-treaters, couldn’t one?

Though watchful at all times for anything out of the ordinary as I accompany my kids on their appointed rounds getting candy (and yes, we check ALL candy before it can be eaten), my goal is to let my little guy tonight revel in and delight in the traditions around Halloween tonight. Nothing more, nothing less.