Is it time to give Halloween the silver bullet?

I’ve got a great idea.

Let’s tell our children to take lollies from strangers.

It’ll be fun.

Tell you what, let’s make it easy for those strangers to give our children candy.

Let’s go to their homes. Knock on their doors. Ask for lollies.

What could go wrong?

Of course, for the 364 other days in the year, we’ll tell them not to talk to strangers. Not to go with strangers. And most definitely never, ever take sweets from strangers.

When I was a kid, Halloween may as well never have existed.

It was an American holiday. Almost unheard of in Australia.

Now, it’s another excuse for marketers to sell junk food to our kids. And scary costumes.

I packed Miss Four off to Daycare today dressed as a fairy. It’s about as scary as she gets.

We ran into a vampire, a ghost and several spidermen during drop off.

There’s no escaping the horror of Halloween.

There was a pumpkin in her room, with the requisite face cut out. Apparently, it wards off evil spirits.

Perhaps Miss Four can take one trick or treating, just in case she meets evil along the way.

Of course, you’d never send four year olds out alone to collect candy. See, I’m even calling it ‘candy’ now.

There’d always be adult supervision. You’d hope.

But, I do wonder what signal trick or treating sends young kids when as parents, we try so hard to reinforce the stranger-danger message.

Am I too old school? Am I being a wowser?

Or does Halloween deserve the same treatment you’d give your average vampire? A stake through the heart of an event that sends all the wrong messages to our children.

Follow Michael on Twitter @MichaelCoombes