We've all been there at some point or other in our lives - a bucket of sweets sitting there on the doorstep of someone's home on Halloween, clearly indicating they aren't in.
You're hit with a dilemma, do you take all the sweets for yourself or do you take one or two and leave the rest?
Before I cast judgement on the teen that chose to grab the lot and run, I should first disclose the truth behind my active trick or treating years.
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From a young age until I was about 11, I roamed the streets dressed in whatever I could get my hands on, be that as the Pink Panther in my sister's tights, or in my dad's Elvis Presley costume.
But shamefully, there's a smear on my professional record. Back in 2008, I was trick or treating with my best friend at the time, when we came across a house with a plastic pumpkin outside filled to the top with sweets.
The house was dark, no lights were on, hedges shielded the front garden from spying neighbors and like the wicked prepubescent boys we were, we raided the stash and fled the scene.
It was a shameful event, and one I sincerely regret. Reflecting on it now, did my guilty subconscious force my hand into retiring from trick or treating at the age of 12? Almost certainly.
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Well, with Halloween having just passed there will be scores of children all around the world feeling the same guilt today - but unlike while I was at large, security cameras are more accessible today.
Taking to Instagram, a mom from Australia has fumed at that exact thing happening to their candy they left outside their home - it was nabbed by a greedy kid.
She wrote 'Such a grub act' - grub as in grubby/dirty - over the video, and captioned 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.
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"This one is from bulleen [a suburb in Melbourne]."
While another 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.
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"Nice to see there are still some decent kids out there with a conscience."
Have you ever done something similar?
Topics: Australia, Halloween, Parenting, Viral, Social Media
Joe Yates