We’re less than a week away from Halloween. Most kids are excited and ready to dress up in a costume to go trick-or-treating. The real trick, though, is apparently the majority of parents who steal their kid’s candy. Hey, it’s only fair, right? They drag you along from house-to-house, so it’s not stealing if you’re owed that sweet relief.
WalletHub conducted a survey to find out what other hijinks parents and kids are up to on the spookiest night of the year. 72% of parents admit to stealing their kids’ candy. Usually it’s after they go to bed. Parents don’t really let their kids keep all the candy anymore. Instead, it’s put in a central location where they can “monitor” it. If only the kids knew what was happening late at night!
83% of parents say they routinely check their children’s candy to make sure there isn’t anything dangerous going on. There are always rumors of razorblades or needles in the candy. It’s estimated that 41 million kids will hit the street on October 31st this year. Only 29% of parents said they planned on taking their kids out. Usually parents might leave their kid with a group of friends or let them go out on their own.
36% of parents believe the older kids, around 12 or 13, can go trick-or-treating on their own. With that, only 35% of parents say they discuss Halloween safety with their kids. This is dismaying, as two times as many kids are killed than pedestrians each Halloween. That means it’s a good idea to add reflective tape to your child’s costume. Make sure they’re bright and visible.
Other Halloween Stats
Americans like to go all-out for Halloween. In 2019 alone, it’s expected that we will spend nearly $9 billion. $3.2 billion of that is on costumes. $2.6 billion will be spent on candy and sales to haunted houses could push past $300 million. There are a lot of other numbers to consider for this holiday.
76% of us will spend less than $50 on Halloween. 68% celebrates in some way, whether big or small. A little less than half, 49%, will decorate their homes. It’s interesting to see how many people do celebrate Halloween. Many people spend thousands of dollars turning their home into a haunted playground. It’s always a great time of year to decorate and enjoy the fall season.
