Halloween as a parent means navigating everything from costume choices to candy negotiations, while also managing your own memories of trick-or-treating past. But when does healthy caution cross into helicopter parenting? And how do modern safety concerns compare to the anxieties our parents faced?

Matthew, Mandy, and Pete explore the evolution of Halloween traditions, from the Wild West days of unsupervised neighborhood roaming to today's trunk-or-treats and group text coordination. The conversation shifts to homecoming culture, examining how high school social events have transformed and what pressure teens face around these milestone moments.

Questions We Explored:

• How has Halloween changed from our childhoods to parenting in the present day?
• Are trunk-or-treats replacing traditional trick-or-treating, and what does that shift mean?
• When does protective parenting become overprotective hovering?
• How do we balance teaching stranger danger without creating unnecessary fear?
• What role should parents play in teen social events like homecoming?
• What happens when kids opt out of traditional milestone events altogether?