TRICK OR TREAT - DON'T DO IT!

My vote for this year's best Halloween costume

"TRICK OR TREAT – DON’T DO IT!”

SydneyGhostTour.Com founder comes out against Australians adopting US style “Trick or Treat” ‘sugar soliciting’ this Halloween…

“Don’t put your ‘Little Monsters” on the door step of a REAL Monster this Halloween”!  Ghost Tour operator and local historian Daniel Phillips, of SydneyGhostTour.Com warns …

 “Trick or Treat” originally was an extortion demand from Scottish hooligans of the 15th and 16th centuries, of “Give me food or alcohol to go away & party, or I will play a trick by hiding  something you own.”  Today, more and more parents are being pressured into the North American custom of “Trick or Treat” or “Sugar Soliciting”.  Children dressing up in costume, either on their own, in a group, or dragging a parent, are landing on the doorsteps of people they don’t know , expecting to be given sweets.

At first, it seems like an innocent request, asked by a child saying things like “ Mum / Dad, all of the kids are doing it now...” Yet parents have to consider the wider implications of what their kids do.  

At best, as a parent you would have to be very trusting of what total strangers are giving to your children to eat, most of which is not good for them. It is also imposing on your neighbours for your kids to turn up uninvited, and then demand things . Yet there are much more uncomfortable things to be concerned about than upset stomachs, rotting teeth, and angry neighbours.
 

Paedophiles have to abide by rules, as terms of their release from prison, like staying away from schools, parks and places that children frequent.  “For a parent, as a practical matter, you won’t know where paedophiles live – they can literally be anywhere. Having your kids “Trick or Treat” by going house to house, asking for sweets, is like a home delivered, moving smorgasbord for a paedophile. We have to be mindful that there are people in the community who have committed crimes driven by a mental illness we still don’t know how to treat, and as a result, they have a high chance of re-offending." 

With this in mind,  if you “Trick or Treat” you might as well be painting a bullseye on your child’s forehead –  you are making them a target.

“Rather than put your kids at risk – it makes more sense to have a Halloween party at home or with other parents, in a controlled, safe environment. Music, food, party games and fun activities like decorations, costumes, and fortune telling, have a long and established Halloween history.  www.sydneyghosttour.com has links to party, music, and decoration ideas to keep your little kids – and your “big kids” – happy and safe."

Of course, if you would like to have a spooky, yet safe night out this Halloween, SydneyGhostTour.Com & Beyond the Grave History tours are approved by the NSW Commission for Children & Young People, and vetted by the Australian Federal Police, as passing the “Working with Children Check”.  SydneyGhostTour.Com Ghost tours are  run on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in Cammeray / Crows Nest, and in St Leonards / Gore Hill. ‘Family friendly” tours are running from 6.15pm to 8.00pm during Halloween week, and “Adults Only” Ghost tours start at 8.20pm 

Enquiries or Bookings for either of these Ghost tours can be made on 02 8197 0363, or here on the web at SydneyGhostTour.com