Halloween 2008

Trick-or-treating ain't what it used to be, and not for mean streets, though fear trumps fact. On Halloween night, most houses present an unlit, non-participatory facade.
The demographics help explain why. Only about one-third of American households include children under 18, down from nearly half in 1950. On my block, only five households in 40 host young'uns full time.

In large parts of the city that sort of simple head count is anything but simple. The children of the well-to-do and middle-class are nearly invisible. Kids are shuttled to far-away alternative learning institutions or activities, where they spend dawn to dusk. Better than 50% are enrolled in after-school programs according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Unstructured outside play has disappeared in all but subsistence level neighborhoods*.

I was asked once by a parent, "if the neighborhood was safe enough for her kids to play outside."
"It's as safe as the next neighborhood," I responded, and in a reckless moment continued, "but since when do kids have time to play outside? Mine's in school till 3:30, with swimming or music lessons thereafter, homework to complete, dinner to eat, and a bath to take. Bedtimes's 8 pm."
"Gee," the parent responded after a moment, "I guess our schedule's about the same. Maybe on a weekend or during the summer, when they're not in camp or visiting relatives?"
"Maybe," I answered, "but with whom?"

*Traditional family values, in many forms, are most alive in the 'hood/barrio.