To all parents of teenage children: Keep them home this Halloween.

Halloween is a holiday made for children — not all your children, just the small ones. Dressing up in costumes to parade through neighborhoods is for children. Mustachioed teenagers in street clothes demanding candy in deeper tones than the adults handing out said candy is an abomination.

Like many holidays geared toward children, at a certain age that holiday loses the luster it once held. The allure of free candy will attract people of all ages. But as with most good things, the chance of its being sullied by those over the age is elevated.

In Warren County, trick-or-treating hours will be on Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. City and county leaders were correct in having trick-or-treat hours on the actual Halloween night instead of bumping it back to a Saturday night. On a Monday, many of the older children will be headed to school on Tuesday, hopefully limiting the chances of shenanigans.

We must avoid those shenanigans at all costs. The Vicksburg Police Department and Warren County Sheriff’s Department will have beefed-up patrols in neighborhoods all over the county. It is the hope of right-thinking members of this community that the presence will keep the mischief at a minimum.

We also hope that the teenagers themselves will realize that this night is made for children. We have much more confidence in the police and deputies doing their jobs than the teenagers acting appropriately on their own.

We also urge parents of teens to sit down, let them know what Halloween is for and who it is for. Nothing is wrong with staying home handing out candy to the youngsters. Maybe it will take them back to their pre-teen days when Halloween really was special. There was a time when today’s teens were small children seeing other teens act foolishly.

Teens, make other plans on Monday night. This one is for the kids.

Have a safe and happy Halloween.