Trick or Treat By Tristin Krecota
Trick or Treat is a holiday that has long been a part of the United States history, and it shows no signs that it will ever stop. With Halloween on its way each day, candy goes on sale, and people buy in huge bulks, with 3.6 billion dollars spent on candy alone last year. This alone states that not only this number will increase drastically this year, but that any of those who can be out trick or treating most definitely will be.
Most if not all towns around Armstrong County are having Trick or Treat open, with each county having their own times according to both the people staying there and for the dozens if not hundreds of children who will go out and go from door to door asking for a trick or treat. Following Halloween Lenape Tech’s own LEO club is running their yearly Trunk or Treat event allowing local kids in the Ford City area a chance for some candy and some fun with it.
With Trick or Treating soon different towns are going to set times for the event for children to go out and ask for candy for safety reasons, all of which can be found on a site “Trick or Treat Times 2025” which allows for different towns to openly when Trick or Treating starts and ends. As of writing this article, Kittanning and Ford City have yet to post their times.
Often start times being set the biggest concern many parents have when it comes to Trick or Treat is making sure that the children are safer, Angel Beckett , a student from Lenape Tech says, “My biggest concern is when someone is going around causing trouble in a mask and the authorities can’t identify him.” This concern also leads to parents fearing that their child getting lost and they can’t be found from either taking the wrong turn and they can’t find their way back or they were taken forcibly by someone else, a worst-case scenario that parents always must think about.
Haylee Schafer, another student from Lenape Tech says, “When I was younger I got lost really easy… but my parents were able to find me before I could go any further…” Particularly what really strikes this fear in parents is that no one can tell the difference between anyone because everyone is wearing a costume and this fact can even go off the thought that the parent could be watching a child dressed as Batman walk around Trick or Treating but they’ll find it isn’t their child dressed up as Batman.
The safest way for a parent to make sure that is to make their costume visible at night, through painting it with bright colors that reflect off the light. Or by adding a decorative item to the costume that can allow the parent to easily identify them. Having something reflective and even having a glowstick be a part of their costume or just wrap it around the child’s wrist is a good idea. However, the easiest ways to keep Trick or Treat safe is by sticking together and planning the route to take ahead of time.
When it comes to Trick or Treat there are several if not dozens of safety concerns for children and even other adults but it’s a holiday and tradition that still finds itself everywhere in the United States that allows for others to give out treats and young children growing confidence to go up to others. Of course, every parent can be worried, and others don’t have to have children or be related to someone who’s going to go out Trick or Treating to have concerns, but the safest way to enjoy Halloween is to be confident but secure with whoever anyone is going to take out for the holiday.
