Treat Your Kids to A Good Halloween

Though it's beginning to fall out of practice today in many communities, there are still many where Trick-or-Treat night is still the Holy Grail for free candy.
I feel the need to tell you all that the key to a problem-free trick-or-treat night all comes down to good costuming, and perhaps a little etiquette along the way.
As the name implies, the kid plays a trick on the poor sap who doesn't have candy at the ready on the night of the blessed (pun intended) event.
They can range from corning, soaping windows, and toilet-papering to even more extreme tricks.
The more extreme can land your kid in juvenile court.
Some people just aren't into the whole trick-or-treat concept.  They may even react negatively to the presence of kids on their porch.
And your kids need to be cognizant of this.
Most parents stick to the pretext of having their kids scout for candy in their own communities at the homes of people they know. 
Know this...playing tricks on your neighbors, especially nowadays, just ain't cool.
Because the tricks are getting more extreme.
Having read police blotters over the course of my career, 'tricks' have involved flattening tires, poisoning outside pet feed dishes, throwing stones at windows, and keying vehicles.
None of this ever was, is now, or ever will be, OK.
And your kids need to know this as well.
Because an 'innocent' prank or otherwise, can land them before a juvenile court judge.
Tell your kids to only approach neighborhoods with illuminated porch lights, and for those saps who have lights on simply because they let the dog out, do the classy thing.
Walk away.  Even if the guilty party isn't very nice about it.
Take time to examine your kids' candy before they eat it.  This is for your sake as well as theirs.
After all, you need to take a mental inventory.
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers Bars, M&Ms.
For when they're at school and you know where they keep it.
You can insert your own evil laugh here.
My dad showed mercy. He only wanted the Black Jacks, Bit-O-Honeys, and Butterscotch disks.
Yeah, he can have those. 
I guess I can part with the Cracker Jacks too.


NEXT WEEK:  Breast-feeding...right idea, wrong time.