Badly behaved children, and their parents.

[YoYoAurora]

That's crazy rude.

I'm lucky it's just neighbours, and usually they say 'just take one' preemptively to the tiny kids who just reach a hand in, though I mean them to actually take a bunch, heh. I have to specify and reoffer and most look to their parents to make sure it's ok to take more.

I was shocked at parents too!! I had a family of 3 kids last night that rang the door bell...as I was walking to the door with candy bowl in hand (they could see me through the glass) the boy, who was old enough to know better, opened my door. I said, "I'm coming hang on"...he then proceeded to walk into my house. I was so shocked! I told him...nooo please don't come in and I will meet you on the porch! His mom said NOTHING!!!!!

They then proceeded to grab half of the candy from my bowl.

I had some other kids go crazy grabbing...which I can understand, but its when the parents see this and say NOTHING!! That is what bothers me....not the kids so much. How are they to know differently if the parents say nothing.

Wow!! I was actually pleasantly surprised last night - only two kids grabbed big handfuls. Most had obviously been coached to take one piece and to say thank you.

I had the grabby kid problem when I lived in an apartment complex, years ago. I found a solution that I still use.

When I gave out loose candy, I didn't bring the bowl to the door with me. I held a handful of candy only. I put a chair out of sight with the bowl on it, but near enough to reach from the door, and grabbed candy from it as needed. Now I make up treat bags ahead of time and only take a few of those at a time from the bowl. If I need to grab a few more while the children are waiting, that's OK.

 

[disneychic2]

Wow! OP, that was crazy behavior! I'm sorry you had that experience. All of our kids were great! Got lots of thank yous and good manners. But you're right, it's parenting problems, not kid problems. Love the idea of two bowls of candy!

 

[cheerful chickadee]

wow, we've never experienced that kind of rudeness around here. The fact that the parent was there and either instigated it or didn't reprimand the kids makes me sad.

The only rudeness we saw last night was at houses that left out a bowl of candy with a note saying "take one", we saw some kids take handfuls and their parent stood right there saying nothing. I made sure my DD only took one and explained that if we all took handfuls then there wouldn't be enough for all the other trick or treaters. My DD even said a loud "thank you" at those houses, even though no one was out there handing out the candy, she figured they must be inside the house and they'd hear her if she was loud enough. lol IDK if it was because she was polite or not but she did get a few full size candy bars. Many of the houses even offered candy to both DH and I.

 

[RitaE]

I think I must have a neighborhood of really polite kids.

I had to do the put the bowl on the front stoop thing last night while I took my child out and when I came back most of the neighborhood kids had already been by and my bowl still had candy in it! I was shocked.

 

[monkeybug]

We didn't get any rude trick or treaters, but one of the places we took the kids to was rude!
We were a group of 10 kids (two of my friends have husbands deployed so they came to our house and my husband handed out candy while us moms took the kids out) In our group was my son who was 2, and my friends daughter who was 2 1/2. They are the youngest and want to do everything the big kids do, including trick or treat! I pushed them in the stroller, but we would park on the end of the driveways and they would walk up to the door with us. They were both in costumes too.
At one house when the older kids had been given candy and the two younger ones walked up and said "trick or treat" and held out their little buckets the woman said "No, you're obviously just trick or treating for mom and dad, they can buy their own candy or go trick or treating on their own street and get some" (I was on my own street!!)
What? The older kids immediately gave the younger two a piece of candy from their buckets, so no tears were shed, but holy rude batman!! None of us adults said anything (until we were out of earshot at least), but I kind of wish I had!
I wish my 2 year old didn't know what candy was or eat it, but with older siblings, he does! The little 2 1/2 year old that was with us has 4 older brothers, she knows too!
Another mom in the neighborhood said she wouldn't give her 20 month old candy either and said the same thing (minus the "their own street" part). Yikes!

 

[ilovemk76]

We always get polite kids and teens.

 

[cornflake]

We didn't get any rude trick or treaters, but one of the places we took the kids to was rude!
We were a group of 10 kids (two of my friends have husbands deployed so they came to our house and my husband handed out candy while us moms took the kids out) In our group was my son who was 2, and my friends daughter who was 2 1/2. They are the youngest and want to do everything the big kids do, including trick or treat! I pushed them in the stroller, but we would park on the end of the driveways and they would walk up to the door with us. They were both in costumes too.
At one house when the older kids had been given candy and the two younger ones walked up and said "trick or treat" and held out their little buckets the woman said "No, you're obviously just trick or treating for mom and dad, they can buy their own candy or go trick or treating on their own street and get some" (I was on my own street!!)
What? The older kids immediately gave the younger two a piece of candy from their buckets, so no tears were shed, but holy rude batman!! None of us adults said anything (until we were out of earshot at least), but I kind of wish I had!
I wish my 2 year old didn't know what candy was or eat it, but with older siblings, he does! The little 2 1/2 year old that was with us has 4 older brothers, she knows too!
Another mom in the neighborhood said she wouldn't give her 20 month old candy either and said the same thing (minus the "their own street" part). Yikes!

People are amazing.

If you'd like, held out a 6-month-old with a bucket draped round her neck, I could see that reaction, though I think I'd just laugh.

If a kid is old enough to walk up and say 'trick or treat' they're, wait for it, trick or treating! They know what's going on - there's free candy afoot!

 

[monkeybug]

People are amazing.

If you'd like, held out a 6-month-old with a bucket draped round her neck, I could see that reaction, though I think I'd just laugh.

If a kid is old enough to walk up and say 'trick or treat' they're, wait for it, trick or treating! They know what's going on - there's free candy afoot!

The woman across the street from her was dressed as a Nun and had a table set out with "holy water" for the adults! I'm thinking maybe it's because she knew they'd need it after they visited her neighbor!

 

[WDmommyof4]

That is horrible and there is just no excuse for it. I have always told my children to take only one piece unless they are specifically offered more. We also do not bring our cell phones trick or treating and you better believe my boys always say thank-you at each house or there would be no more trick or treating. Several people offered my 10 year old more than one piece and he just said no thank-you. I told him it was okay if they say so, but he said it would be greedy LOL. My youngest on the other hand will help himself to another piece if they ask him if he wants more.

 

[Christopher Robin]

We didn't get any rude trick or treaters, but one of the places we took the kids to was rude!
We were a group of 10 kids (two of my friends have husbands deployed so they came to our house and my husband handed out candy while us moms took the kids out) In our group was my son who was 2, and my friends daughter who was 2 1/2. They are the youngest and want to do everything the big kids do, including trick or treat! I pushed them in the stroller, but we would park on the end of the driveways and they would walk up to the door with us. They were both in costumes too.
At one house when the older kids had been given candy and the two younger ones walked up and said "trick or treat" and held out their little buckets the woman said "No, you're obviously just trick or treating for mom and dad, they can buy their own candy or go trick or treating on their own street and get some" (I was on my own street!!)
What? The older kids immediately gave the younger two a piece of candy from their buckets, so no tears were shed, but holy rude batman!! None of us adults said anything (until we were out of earshot at least), but I kind of wish I had!
I wish my 2 year old didn't know what candy was or eat it, but with older siblings, he does! The little 2 1/2 year old that was with us has 4 older brothers, she knows too!
Another mom in the neighborhood said she wouldn't give her 20 month old candy either and said the same thing (minus the "their own street" part). Yikes!

Which would trigger the 'other' part of Halloween, the trick part. Toilet paper, soap, eggs, shaving cream, pumpkin smashing...

Nah, j/k......maybe.

 

[punkin]

People are amazing.

If you'd like, held out a 6-month-old with a bucket draped round her neck, I could see that reaction, though I think I'd just laugh.

If a kid is old enough to walk up and say 'trick or treat' they're, wait for it, trick or treating! They know what's going on - there's free candy afoot!

3 years ago my "new parent" neighbors did that because they wanted to have fun with the new baby. I thought it was adorable.

 

[monkeybug]

Which would trigger the 'other' part of Halloween, the trick part. Toilet paper, soap, eggs, shaving cream, pumpkin smashing...

Nah, j/k......maybe.

 

[BlovesC]

I've noticed a huge difference in trick or treaters since I moved to FL. Back home in NJ we mostly got teenagers with no costumes, holding out their backpacks, who would rather die than say "Happy Halloween" or even "Trick of Treat".

Last night was our third Halloween here and I was yet again amazed at how it went. Even the older tweens and teens who come to our door are A)dressed up and B)exceptionally polite. I was told "Thank you!!" and "Have a nice night!" or "I like your dog/house/yard!" so many times! We get a TON of kids and when we were running low on candy I told DH "OPEN THE PANTRY! I'll give them anything they want!"

And yes, we had several babies come trick or treating. I mean four, six, and eight months old, in carriers and strollers. Of course the candy isn't for them, but if their parents are willing to dress them up cutely and walk around all night to get a fun-size candy bar, I have no problem giving them one.

Oh, and about grabbing: I have NEVER been a "pick what you want" person, probably because back in NJ that would have ended up with me running out of candy in five minutes. I hold our 'candy cauldron' high up on my left and reach into it and drop two or three pieces into each kid's bag. Kids don't need to pick their favorites, swapping candy afterwards is half the fun!

I did have one exception to the grabbing...I opened the door to this tiny, tiny toddler dressed as a cowboy and I bent down towards him and he reached right into the bowl. His parents chided him but it was so, so cute!

 

[design_mom]

So sorry you had such a bad experience.

The "worst" we had last night was a few kids who walked through the flowerbeds/yard to get to the new house rather than using the path/sidewalk. That's not something I'd allow my kids to do, but there's no permanent damage done.

We didn't get nearly as many trick-or-treaters as usual (and my kids didn't go as far as normal either), it was a cold, windy, rainy, nasty night here.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I wonder if it is a regional difference. It is unusual here for people to hold out a bowl and expect the kids to take the candy. Generally, the kids hold out their open bags, and the home-owners put the candy in. I have my candy in a bowl on a table beside the door, so I can grab it and hand it out. That approach helps me manage how much candy I have, too - if it is going fast, I can give out fewer items per child, if the numbers seem low, I will increase how much I give out.

TP

 

[ilovejack02]

We live in an area where parents are pretty on top of the kids, we don't have alot of rude kiddos, the middle school mean girls are a problem , but more with each other . Out of the 200 plus kids , I only had two neighborhood girls that stood out .
By the time they got to me, I had already heard they were running the neighborhood , being rude to other kids calling names etc, teasing younger kids.

When they walked up , I asked them about them teasing the younger kids , asked what their moms would think about it and reminded them to mind their manners . Sent them on their way minus candy . They looked shocked LOL.

I hate to see what happens to them in the next few days , they have been a dynamic duo picking on younger kids at school, on the bus etc. I think many parents will be making phone calls to school after last nights antics . They had been trying to encourage kids on how to handle it , but now everyone knows that they are doing this to lots of kids and they are done.

 

[erincon23]

I think all the kids who came to our door last night were very polite. But we did get quite a few less than normal! I was handing out (no bowl in my hand, I just grabbed the candy from the bowl and gave it to the kids) 2 pieces to each kid, because I really didn't want to have much left over. One boy accidentally knocked over one of our pumpkins, and he and two other kids rushed to put it back, apologizing as they set it upright. DS16 went out with a couple of his friends -- all in costume -- and said they got a lot of dirty looks at houses, so they didn't stay out too long. I don't have any problem with teens at the door as long as they're in costume -- it's fun for them too!

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

My husband and I went to the fall festival that our town hold downtown on Halloween each year. We stayed until it started to get dark and then came home. Turns out, our neighborhood is "that" neighborhood. The one that everyone around town likes to come to for trick-or-treating. Every street was lined with cars on both sides. Then, we got stuck behind a parent whose son was on the sidewalk going door-to-door while she followed in her car. We couldn't pass her because of cars on both sides of the street, so it took us quite a while to get to our door. She would just cruise down the street, then, when her child stopped at a house, she would throw her car in park, put on her flashers, and just sit there. Don't worry, lady, no one else has places to be.


When we finally did get home, it was dark out, but there were still hoards of families on the street. Since it was time for DD2 to take her bath and then go to bed, we made sure all of our lights were off that could be seen from the street. Didn't stop the trick-or-treaters, though. They were still ringing our doorbell after 9:00 - again, even though there was not a single light on in our house. Call me paranoid, but I am not opening the door to complete strangers that late when I have no lights on and cannot see who is at the door. I'm sure my daughter is going to be a real delight when she wakes up this morning, too, since she didn't get much sleep last night.

 

[Disneefun]

This kind of stuff is why we stopped giving out candy. I don't like not participating because there are a few decent kids around here, but the majority are just awful and the parents are no better. I got tired of the gabbing and the property damage (trampled shrubs and flowers, etc. b/c they won't use the sidewalks) and the rude teenagers showing up in no costume and demanding candy and just gave it up.

 

[Ceila]

Oh, and about grabbing: I have NEVER been a "pick what you want" person, probably because back in NJ that would have ended up with me running out of candy in five minutes.

Weird. We've lived in NJ for about 8 years now and we've always done the "pick what you want thing" with no problems and lots of "thank yous."