A better purpose for that new app that helps kids find the best Halloween candy in NJ

By now you may have heard about this new app for kids that tells you where the best houses are on Halloween. The best meaning the best candy.

If there's a house that has those lesser common candies, kids can pull up the app and mark that house. Essentially, each house gets labeled based on which ones have the best candy.

Unfortunately, doing this defeats the purpose of trick-or-treating. It's bad enough less kids go out and that Halloween night has to compete with truck-or-treat. Now we're being lazy about it and just visiting the houses that have the candy we want.

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Maybe the concept of the app was meant to be good, but the reality is, it's a terrible idea. At least, terrible for what it's being used for.

Perhaps if the app was used for a different purpose, it would be more useful. One way to do that? Use it to mark where the teal pumpkins are.

What's a teal pumpkin?

Essentially, seeing a teal pumpkin at a house means that there are options other than candy that are available. It's especially important for kids who have severe food allergies.

Houses with teal pumpkins typically offer things like pencils, stickers, and other non-food items. It promotes inclusion, which is very important for some families.

In addition to the teal pumpkins, the app can also be used to mark homes that keep the decorations simple for those that are overstimulated by over the top decorations with animation, audio, or lots of color.

Sometimes, simple and quiet is what some kids need, and this app can be used for that useful, but important purpose.

Make the app worth it

For those reasons mentioned above, I think having an app like this is a good idea. But for who has the best candy? I don't think so.

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 weekend host & content contributor Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.