Two US towns have slapped age limits on trick or treating in a bid to make Halloween festivities safer.
Since 2017, Pennsauken in Camden County has been turning away teens over 14 from the spooky tradition, and now Upper Deerfield Township in Cumberland County is getting in on the act. Laying down the law, Pennsauken’s website says: “Trick or treating is for kids, not adults. Anyone over the age of 14 cannot go out trick or treating, unless you’re acting as a chaperone.”
In a stern warning for candy-craving guardians the website adds: “And unfortunately, chaperones can’t ask for any candy or treats. They have to wait until they get home to help their kids ‘sort’ the candy.”
Upper Deerfield Township, meanwhile, has set its own bar, banning those over 12 from the door-to-door candy quest, though it confesses that this rule is more bark than bite, having never really been enforced.
(Image: Getty Images)
It’s not just a New Jersey thing; across America similar restrictions are popping up like ghosts in a graveyard.
Take Chesapeake, Virginia, where since 1970 only youngsters can legally don the mask and ring the bell, following troubles with older teens causing mischief.
Chesapeake’s rules were so strict that breaking them could land you behind bars. But in 2019, the city council softened the stance, bumping the age limit up to 14 and scrapping the jail threat, according to Mirror US.
Local authorities have confirmed that no arrests or charges have been made under this ordinance. A recent poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University questioned 800 Americans about their views on an age limit for trick or treating.
(Image: Getty Images/Image Source)
Around a quarter of those surveyed believed there should be no age limit, while the remainder suggested children should cease trick or treating around the ages of 13-14. Older respondents felt children should stop at approximately age 13, whereas younger ones believed all ages should be permitted to participate, as per the study.
The poll was carried out between October 8 and 14, utilising a list of registered voters nationwide conducted by Braun Research of Princeton.
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