Most of us have experienced this situation at least once in our lives: a bucket of sweets left on a doorstep during Halloween, signaling that no one is home.
Faced with this scenario, you find yourself pondering whether to take all the sweets for yourself or just a couple, leaving the rest for others.
Before passing judgment on the teenager who decided to take everything, I must confess about my own trick-or-treating past.
From my early years until around age 11, I would wander the neighborhood in whatever costume I could put together, whether it was the Pink Panther using my sister’s tights or my father’s Elvis Presley outfit.
However, there’s a blemish on my trick-or-treating history. In 2008, while out with my best friend, we came across a house with a plastic pumpkin overflowing with sweets.
The house was dark, no lights were on, and the front garden was hidden by hedges, so we, mischievous young boys at the time, seized the opportunity and took all the treats, dashing away quickly.
This was a regrettable incident, one I deeply wish I could undo. Looking back, I wonder if my guilty conscience led me to stop trick-or-treating at age 12. It seems quite likely.
With Halloween recently behind us, many children worldwide might be feeling that same sense of guilt today. However, unlike in the past, security cameras are now more prevalent.
On Instagram, a mother from Australia expressed her frustration over a similar incident where a child took all the candy left outside her home.
She wrote ‘Such a grub act’ over the video, referring to the act as grubby or dirty, and added in her post: “Can these older kids please stop stealing all the lollies. I’ve been sent so many videos like this. Give us a spell.
“This one is from Bulleen [a suburb in Melbourne].”
Another user commented: “I caught some older kids emptying my cauldron at 16:30, I’d literally just put them out because I was about to head off trick or treating with my small kids. The main perpetrator quickly ran off with his stash.
“I told his friends if they had a decency they’d return the lolly’s. Lo and behold 10mins later, one kid came back and filled up my cauldron and some and was very apologetic on behalf of his friends.
“Nice to see there are still some decent kids out there with a conscience.”
Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation?