Are parents generally incapable of knowing if the weather is good enough to Trick or Treat?

Probably want a lot of kids to still be able to go out and enjoy it.

My town is horrible with Halloween, Trick or Treat was on the 26th. It’s always the weekend before Halloween and during the day. Talk about lame.

Obama

It’s always on the 31st here. Rain, snow, cold, wind. I don’t recall it ever being moved.

Our town posted on FB to bundle up and take an umbrella – other towns in our area have moved it to friday night. I can remember, oh so many years ago, it was on regardless.
Parents need to determine if they feel safe letting their kids go out….

It’s warm here in Southern NY with a slight drizzle. Hopefully it clears up by this evening. If it were really bad weather, we would not go out.

Massive crime rate, massive obesity rate, widespread lack of education and willful ignorance, most people being religious…
Yeah, it is pretty obvious that parents, past, present and future, are incompetent nincompoops.

That’s so stupid! There were plenty of crappy weather Halloween’s when I was a kid, somehow I lived to tell about it. Really, do the kids care if its cold or rainy? I think not.

Ugh, I would have been so angry. There is a little thing called an umbrella! It’s supposed to be rainy and windy, it goes with the spooky Halloween atmosphere!

For an alternative to the “get off my lawn” approach here, I’ll let you know what has happened the past 2 years here in some Massachusetts towns…

In 2011 we had a snowstorm that took down trees and many towns were without power for days. As a result, some of the towns postponed trick-or-treating for a few days. In 2012 we had Hurricane Sandy arrive right, so again, many of us had no power and the streets were littered with power lines. Again, many towns rescheduled trick-or-treating.

The result: everyone we knew had at least two Halloweens. You could visit your friends in a town that was having it on Thursday, then have it again in your town on Saturday. The number of kids who complained that they had to do 2 or 3 Halloweens and wait a few days for their town’s official trick-or-treating: 0.

Am I saying that the weather you are referring to is as severe? No. But really, I don’t see a single downside to this. None. My kids are going out in tonight’s rain, but everyone would prefer to wait until Saturday, if it meant it would be better weather.

I don’t know how Halloween could not be on Halloween. Wouldn’t it take away whatever little magic is left to announce that it’s arbitrary and can be rescheduled by authorities? I remember trick-or-treating in sleet (worse than rain or snow), grumpy to be forced to wear a coat over my costume, but resolved to give the occasion its full due. Postponing it would have killed it.

This is what comes of forcing everybody to wear seat belts and bicycle helmets. Give the authorities limitless power to save us from ourselves and where will they stop? Or (as so many things are these days) is it a matter of Risk Management? Would some idiot whose kid catches a cold decide to sue the city for not preventing the opportunity?

Honestly, I’m being slightly facetious, but I think people ought to be allowed to take a little bit of responsibility for themselves so they remember how to do it.

@Jeruba When I was growing up it used to be on Halloween at night but then they changed it randomly. You’re absolutely right though, it felt wrong for it to be some arbitrary day rather than that night regardless of the weather.

There was however one day the town couldn’t reschedule for us kids….. mischief night :P

One reason that is done is, apart from the families doing trick-or-treat themselves, to make it more convenient for homeowners to know (if they want to take part in the festivities and see the kids come to the door, etc.) when most people will be doing this.

I think it’s silly to plan Halloween around the weather, but some communities seem to like it, I guess.

I’m sure they thought it would be safer for the children when the weather is better. Tonight, visibility will be poor and streets/walkways will be slippery.

Halloween is something the whole community does together. It doesn’t seem out of order for community authorities to coordinate something like this, especially since they will be held responsible for public safety. This hardly seems like a case of government usurping parental judgment.

Which would you rather tell your kid: “No trick or treating tor you tonight. The weather’s crappy and cars will have rain all over their windows” or “Yeah, the weather’s crappy so everyone’s going to be trick or treating Saturday night instead”?

I get the whole “don’t screw around with the date” argument, too. It’s a tough call, but one that needs to be made as a community.

I prefer to know the weather in advance, because it helps me decide where and when to put up my decorations.

My fence covers got blown to shreds this year because of unexpected wind gusts.

Beggar’s Night. I love it.