No, I Won’t Babysit On Halloween — I Have My Own Trick-Or-Treating To Do

With all the images out there of parents deciding on Halloween candy, agonizing over costumes, and prepping for Halloween parties, one would assume that parents wouldn’t dream of asking the nanny to participate in this childhood rite of passage. Not true. So not true.

I’ve been asked more times than I’d like to admit to babysit children on Halloween. Not necessarily taking over the trot around the neighborhood but specifically in supervising children’s Halloween parties or in accompanying parents with multiple children on said trick-or-treating routes. Aside from the assumption that I don’t have my own plans for the big night, I find something a little off about asking the babysitter for help on such a occasion.

Other parents I know have asked to me to sit their little ones while they head off adult Halloween parties of their own — you know, the kind I’ll be missing out on to watch your kids? I don’t judge a mom and dad for looking to get in their own Halloween fun, but the babies want theirs too — specifically with you and not me. I wouldn’t compare Halloween to Christmas or Thanksgiving directly, but the three holidays are akin in that children want memories with their parents.

To be fair, I’ve more so noticed this trend among parents with older kids. Either late elementary school or early junior high. Long ago were those photos of baby’s first Halloween costume or that first trick-or-treating with a plastic pale. But believe me, you only have a few years where your kids want to spend Halloween with you instead of heading to their own Halloween parties with their friends. Capitalize on these moments now because the next time you turn around, they’ll be more or less my age, wearing an Anna Rexia costume, and asking for the car keys.

(photo: Shutterstock)

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