How old is too old to trick or treat?

How old is too old to trick or treat?

You can expect plenty of little superheroes and princesses making the Halloween trick-or-treat rounds tonight, excited with the prospect of getting some candy dropped into their bags. But occasionally, the costume-wearing person on the other side of the door is a teenager which raises the question: How old is too old to trick or treat?

There are no real rules when it comes to who can go trick-or-treating, though, one town in Canada tried to ban anyone older than 16 from trick-or-treating with the threat of a $200 fine for rule breakers. The town of Bathurst originally banned anyone over age 14 from going door-to-door but that was changed amid public outcries.

In the U.S. Chesapeake, Virginia decided the trick-or-treat cutoff should be age 14, though a spokesperson told TODAY it has not been enforced and is only on the books in case of a disturbance.

Generally, people consider ages 12 to 16 the cutoff for trick-or-treating but that varies widely.

A 2021 survey by YouGov showed people were divided on the question. About one in four of those surveyed said you can never be too old to go trick-or-treating. However, 12% think age 12 should be the cutoff while another 11% said trick-or-treaters should be 13 or younger. Another 8% think it’s OK to go trick-or-treating until age 14 and 7% think a child ages out of the tradition at age 15.

Age plays a role, too, according to a poll. The younger the adult, the more likely they are to say a child should never be considered too old to go trick or treating. Among those 18 to 29 years old, 41% said children or teens are never too old to go trick-or-treating. A similar percentage – 37% – of 30-to-33-year-olds agree but those figures from to 17% among 45 to 65-year-olds and 14% among those 65 and older.

No matter public opinion, the bottom line is unless there’s a local rule about age limits for trick or treating, it’s best to use common sense on when it’s time to hang up the candy bags.