Most kids’ Halloween movies children watch seemingly always have a scene where the mother forces an older sibling to be dragged along, kicking and screaming, to take their younger brother or sister out trick-or-treating when the elder of the two could just as easily go hang out with their friends and trick-or-treat too. But, what happens when the older sibling graduates from middle school, becomes a high schooler and still wants to go get free candy with their friends?

People who get upset with high schoolers trick-or-treating are unjustified in their opinion. Halloween is supposed to be enjoyed by everyone, and there is certainly no law saying people over fifteen aren’t allowed to put on a costume, grab a grocery store’s plastic bag and head out onto the streetlamp-lit road with close friends to go house to house-except in Bathurst, Canada, where no one over 16 can trick or treat. The holiday we all celebrate was originally an ancient Celtic holiday called Samhain, where people of all kinds would make bonfires and dress up in ghostly costumes to ward off specters, according to History.com. The difference in costumes may be apparent now, but the restrictions we put on it shouldn’t be here. And why do teens need to stop? Most of us really enjoy the experience, and also the free candy.

Adults also bring up the fact that teens tend to wear risque costumes that they wouldn’t want little children to see. Although teens may want to dress up as Johnny from “The Shining,” Freddy Krueger from “A Nightmare on Elm Street” or even the masked killers from the newer movie, “The Purge,” and a parent may not want their little one seeing fake blood or a grim-looking mask, they have to remember that teens ultimately can dress how they want on the holiday. It’s a parent’s responsibility to shield her 6-year-old in angel wings and a halo from the costumes if she is made uncomfortable by them. Would you rather them wear just a blank T-shirt and ask for candy, not putting any effort into their costumes at all? The whole point of Halloween is to make a costume you’d be proud of, and it’s taking advantage of the people handing out candy if you put no effort into it at all.

Though teens should be able to go out as old as they’d like to get candy, there should be some expectations. They shouldn’t just walk around with a costume with no effort put into it, or cause a ruckus in the neighborhood they are trick-or-treating in. They hold responsibility into how parents, grandparents and general candy-givers see senior Halloween-enjoyers. Besides, they’re more likely to get a king-sized chocolate bar than a mini-size mint if the person holding the bowl doesn’t catch them playing ding-dong-ditch or knocking over a full trash can on the other side of the road.

As far as people complaining that there are too many older kids asking “Trick-or-Treat?” There’s also the point that most kids in the latter half of their teens forgo the Halloween experience entirely. They themselves feel they are too old or are fed up with taking their younger sibling and tell their friends and parents “I don’t think I’ll go this year.” This makes those complaints null, as for as many knee-sized angels, Ninja Turtles and Spider-mans there are running around, there are fewer Chucky dolls, grim reapers and sheriffs. If parents are really concerned with their child’s wellbeing, there are measures they can take to prevent them from seeing these sometimes-scary outfits. Alternatives include asking people trick or treating at your house to skip if they’re dressed up as a zombie, guts, blood and all, or even scouting houses ahead if their tyke is in tow to make sure there’s nothing too scream-inducing going on.

All in all, Halloween should be able to be enjoyed by anyone of any age. Though the ghosts of Samhain may not be real, (or maybe they are), everyone still has a right to partake in what this ancient tradition has become. There shouldn’t be a limit to going trick or treating. There are people in their 60’s still doing this, every year, and they still love it just as much as any 5-year-old.