Let kids have Halloween

The mistakes the C.D.C. is making on Halloween mirror the mistakes we make all the time with respect to the pandemic. We treat all activities as if they are either “safe” or “unsafe.” We argue about whether schools are “safe.” We argue about whether sports are “safe.” We argue about whether restaurants are “safe.”

None of these are binary decisions. It’s possible to do all of these things more safely and less safely. Our goal should be to look at each activity and ask, “How can we do this as safely as possible?”

We can make trick-or-treating safer for kids. If we make it all about them, and less about us, we can pull this off.

We can figure out the logistics of marking off a lawn or street to tell children where to wait in line until it’s their turn to go collect the candy. We can walk around the neighborhood with them, even to the far-off house that gives out the king-size candy bar, to steer them to houses that are doing this right. We can put hand sanitizer everywhere, or carry it around ourselves.