The issue: Bowling Green officials have asked trick-or-treaters to be off the street by 7 p.m. on Halloween.

Our view: Trying to make Halloween safer for children is a noble effort, but the city has gone too far by installing a superficial curfew on trick-or-treaters.

Halloween is supposed to be a night filled with crazy costumes, pillowcases full of candy and late-night scares for trick-or-treaters.

But thanks to Bowling Green’s new policy suggesting that trick-or-treating be completed by 7 p.m., children are likely to lose part of the classic Halloween mystique by heading home before the sun goes down.

So much for “letting kids be kids.”

Bowling Green’s effort to make the holiday safer is respectable, but it’s the job of parents to say when their children should finish celebrating, not city officials.

After all, some parents don’t even get home from work until 5 p.m. or later, which seriously cuts into a child’s trick-or-treating time under the suggested curfew.

The move is even more puzzling this year since Halloween falls on a Saturday instead of a school night, meaning children will be up later than usual anyway.

Allowing city-sponsored activities to extend past the curfew also weakens the argument from city officials as it represents an obvious double standard.

Bowling Green police said they are concerned about the combination of trick-or-treaters and drivers being on the street late at night.

However, most of the trick-or-treating done in Bowling Green takes place in neighborhoods where there’s less traffic and activities are closely supervised.

Furthermore, any sensible driver will expect children to be in the streets on Halloween and will use extra caution as a result.

If city officials are concerned about children trick-or-treating outside of neighborhoods, they should install more sidewalks to help ensure their safety instead of recommending a curfew.

It’s bad enough that children now have to deal with health-conscious neighbors who give out apples and toothbrushes on Halloween instead of sugary treats.

The last thing they need is another attempt to sanitize and suck the fun out of such a beloved holiday.

What’s next, a policy recommending children be in bed by 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve so they don’t see Santa Claus?

This editorial represents the majority opinion of the Herald’s 11-member editorial board.