I was at the store the other day when I came across a woman holding out an apple for the taking. I wasn’t sure if she was legit or not, so I did what any normal girl with a dilemma would do. Slyly take a picture and text it to my mom and my best friend to get their opinion of the situation.
My mom quickly responded, “STRANGER DANGER, RUN AWAY.” My best friend, “You should take it, she seems legit.” My grandmother, who was with me, just rolled her eyes and walked away… laughing.
Later on, when retelling the story to my husband – I wonder why he doesn’t like to go shopping with me – I started thinking about how strange it is that we teach our children the importance of Stranger Danger and not taking candy from strangers.
My son was easy, he is shy and naturally shies away from people he isn’t familiar with. We taught him well, so well that once when he was about 7, he saw a dark colored van driving by with no windows and started screaming, look it’s one of those candy vans you said to stay away from! FYI- someone was having their house painted and this was the painters work van. But he at least got the gist of what we were trying to teach him.
My daughter on the other hand…. has zero problem taking candy from anyone. Ever.
We have a very nice mail man who we see 6 times a week and hands out peppermints to the neighborhood kids. This might seem weird now a days. But the first time this happened, my son was in the front yard helping with yard work while I was in the backyard. The mailman had him go get me so that he could introduce himself and ask my permission to give my son a peppermint. This was great! Then the next day came around and my daughter was outside with my son and when offered the candy, she took the peppermint and popped it into her mouth without a second thought. Thankfully, I came around the corner about the same time and explained to them all that candy was not to be given or taken unless I was there.
This leads me to the same thought circle I have every year at this time of year. How strange is it that we spend all of our children’s small/medium lives teaching them the horrors of stranger danger, and then one night a year we dress them up and take them to every stranger’s house in the neighborhood, in the dark, sending them up to ring the door bell, asking for candy?
Yes, a lot of neighborhoods have festivals and carnivals, and we take the kids to those as well. But we still partake in the strange event that is known as Trick or Treating.
What odd creatures we are…
~AJP
For the Love of ... 
Hahahaha! Okay the picture is hilarious for a number of reasons. The biggest reason is – seriously you thought this was a real person?? I would’ve taken that apple though.
Your kids remind me of my brother and I when we were kids. I was suspicious of everyone and everything. My parents only had to tell me something once. And my mom was super paranoid, she always shared whatever horrific story that was on the news. My brother, on the other hand, just blindly accepted everything. He talked to strangers, wandered off, he just did whatever. You couldn’t tell him anything because it went in one ear and out the other.
Hmm, this would make a good post …
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Lol no, I knew she was just a halloween decoration but I snapped a selfie and sent it to my mom to be funny and it just went from there. (I’m always taking weird selfies for mom’s amusement.)
That’s funny. I’ve noticed that usually there’s a social sibling and then a shy one. Both of my brother’s and I are shy. It’s our parents that never meet a stranger.
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Love the selfie. (And the responses are even funnier.) I just posted about trick-or-treating today–all the festivals and carnivals you mention. We’ve been there, too. Ironically, I miss the old-fashioned walk up and ring the doorbell and get candy thing. Everyone knew everyone else in the neighborhood back then so it was different. I do see your point, though, and raise you a our-Halloween-was-cancelled.
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Thanks, fortunately I was blessed with a mom who feeds my quirkiness.
Yeah, your neighborhood needs a good egging… I mean who takes away Halloween?! That’s like trying to kick puppies – you just don’t.
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Great photo! I LOVED Halloween as a kid and took my kids trick-o-treating up until they were teens, and yes, they became “those” teen who still dressed up and went out to collect the sugar. My 26-year-old daughter and her husband are planning to go trick-o-treating! Okay, it’s getting out of hand. But the stranger-danger thing is not something I ever taught. I mean, in my family growing up, danger came from within. I taught my kids things to empower them–“good touch/bad touch,” how to recognize adults that you trust, how to scream and self-defense. Back to Halloween, I can see your point about keeping kids safe, and I like your rule that candy can only be given in your presence. So you get to go trick-o-treating too! But don’t cancel the holiday! Give that lady with the apple a chance to have fun! I love Halloween!
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Honestly… I hated Halloween as a kid. I am extremely shy and self-conscious and the idea of knocking on the door wasn’t my idea of a good time. But once I was old enough to take the younger kids and not have to go to the door, I started enjoying the holiday a lot. My husband and I dress up with the kids every year and I think our kids love that more than anything – well and getting candy too.
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So you took the apple then? You’re the one smiling and holding the apple, right? Good on you. And I just saw my book in your widgets. I’m beyond excited. You are too kind. Hope you like it (but even if not then your most honest review will be much appreciated); if you need any explanations of the 1970s England context let me know. I tried to make it both generally understandable and true to its time which is fine if you lived here then of course… 😉
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I am laughing so hard. That was funny. Yes. I am the one holding the apple!
So far I am really enjoying the book. And I think the context reads well, there’s only been a few words I’ve had to look up to make sure I knew what they were.
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