Kids Trick or Treating Alone: What Age is it Ok?

Trick or treating is always such a fun time. There are so many kids running around getting candy from the houses in the neighborhood and enjoying themselves. But the question I have to ask myself this year, how old do kids have to be to go with friends trick or treating alone without any adult supervision? Would it be safe to allow them and their friends in small groups where they can all look out for each other?

While it’s true that there are real risks to allowing young children (or anyone) to go out alone, keep in mind that today’s tweens and teens seem more independent than ever before. Kids want more freedom, and they’re asking for it at younger ages than we might expect.

Halloween has changed a lot in recent years. Long gone are fancy costumes and treats from just your neighbors. Now, Halloween is an opportunity for tweens and teens to collect treats from strangers. In fact, surveys show that more than half of teens will go trick-or-treating without adults present, which means safety issues need to be addressed before your child goes out solo on All Hallows Eve.

They never said parenting would be easy. There's not a specific age that I think it would be ok. It probably depends on the child and their friends.  At some point we have to give them some freedom and on a night where there are a TON of kids out and about seems like the best time instead of a random weekend.

I'd be really interested to know what age you let your kid go trick or treating alone.