It’s officially November. The creepy decorations are coming down, the costumes are being packed away, and the candy is going on sale. It has been yet another Halloween season, and I'm already counting down the days until next Halloween, the holiday I look forward to every year; all the candy, costumes, movies, and TV specials. It’s all spooky and wonderful. And with Halloween, in recent years, comes the tradition to watch Jimmy Kimmel's "I Told My Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy" videos, in which parents lie to their children about eating all their Halloween candy. The reaction? Anger. Tears. Acceptance. A little in between. It’s a tradition that has carried on for five years now, and Kimmel admits this year they hit an all-time high of submissions. Now take a second to think; all the people submitting these videos are parents. Adults. It’s funny to them. It’s funny to me, and many others my age.

So what is it that’s so funny about torturing small children by telling them that all their hard work, long excursion, and fabulous costume, was all for nothing? Is it wrong? Are parents the real devils on Halloween? As a 19-year-old college student, I have never been a parent to anything more than some small rodents and reptiles. So what do parents of human beings have to say about these videos? I asked over Facebook and these are the responses I received:

Question: Did you find the Jimmy Kimmel's I Told My Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy video cruel or funny?

MI: laughed at a couple of them... I don't think it's cruel... it's interesting to see the different reactions of the kids... couple of them we had to say were bratty about it.... Some was the reaction I expected... "Kids say the darndest things!"

CS: It is funny as an adult, to watch, but this would be devastating to a child. I feel some should have confessed to the prank to spare their kids the grief. On another note, good job to the family whose child did not become upset and forgave the parents immediately, they have taught their child what is truly important in life.

JF: Okay, so my first response, and perhaps shamefully, my primary response was to laugh at this. I took it in the vein in which it was given. It made me laugh. Although, I will say it was funnier in previous years ;) However, if I were to step back and put my parental cap on, I will admit that the emotional manipulation and age of the children involved does come across more cruel than humorous.

YS: I did not think this was very nice to do that to those children a little cruel if you ask me .

DG:  That is just sooooo cruel. You take the children out and tell them they will get candy then you tell them you ate their candy while they were away. Not nice!!!! You have just lied to your children and thought it was funny. Not good just saying.

Photo Credit: Karolina Michalak

MIKAYLA SPITSE

Mikayla is a Professional Writing student who makes bad jokes and expects people to laugh. She aims to work with Vice one day.

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