Illinois Town Has $1,000 Fine For People Trick-or-Treating Over Age Limit
Save the Snickers.
The age-old question: how old is too old to trick-or-treat? You can start up an argument with this question quickly, with some people saying it's good that they're at least staying out of trouble if they're older and trick-or-treating. Other people say they should grow up and quit the trick-or-treating.
There aren't any age restrictions nationally on trick-or-treating, but one Illinois town is having none of it.
Belleville, Illinois has a law that's been in place since 2008 enforcing "Halloween solicitation".
Belleville is just outside of St. Louis. The law requires that trick-or-treaters be 12 years old or younger. Trick-or-treating outside of that age range could land you a "Halloween solicitation" fine of up to $1,000.
For a lot of towns, the concern isn't so much age limits but more time restrictions. Cities in our area have a trick-or-treat window set for Halloween.
If a town is going to have a cutoff age, 12 is probably a good one. It's the age that most parents feel comfortable sending their kid out trick-or-treating alone. In a 2021 survey, nearly half of parents (46%) said that kids are never too old for trick-or-treating. But for parents who did believe there should be a cutoff age, most of them said 15-16 years old would be the right time.
Belleville isn't the only city in America to have age restrictions on trick-or-treating. Several do, with 12 being the most common cutoff age in these towns. 14 and 16 are also a few legal cutoff trick-or-treating ages for cities.
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