Halloween question for parents

[JenInVirginia]

Curious how other parents handle consumption of Halloween candy.

In the past, we have let our kids eat several pieces of candy on Halloween night and then they save the rest and we let them have one or two pieces each night for dessert - on nights we have dessert (we generally only eat dessert on weekends or special occasions). This results in them still having candy weeks or months after Halloween is over. I'm not a total health food nut by any stretch of the imagination, but we normally try to limit the amount of candy and junk food in the house and I've always hated having the candy around so long after Halloween.

I'm considering this year letting them gorge themselves for a full week - as much as they want, and then tossing whatever is left after that. Would love to hear opinions on this and to find out what other parents do.

 

[golfgal]

We have always just let them eat whatever they want, whenever they want. We find that for the first day or two they eat a lot and then after that, not so much. We are usually throwing out the remnants of their Halloween candy somewhere around Easter. I think that once you start putting restrictions on it, it becomes more tempting and you create a needless battle. If you let them figure out for themselves that if they eat too much they feel sick, natural consequences take over and they learn a lesson that will stick with them.

 

[pyrxtc]

We let them keep about 10 pieces each and then the rest goes away. Usually my DH brings it to work to give away there. They can eat quite a few pieces on Halloween night. Depending on how much they give away, they get to buy something instead.

 

[mouseforcemom]

We usually go through it and let them have a few pieces when they get home. Then we scope it out, lol. They eat on it, and we do a bit. Mysteriously somehow the candy disappears before Christmas time.

 

[tiggerlover]

After trick or treating DS would make a keep pile and a give away pile and half of his loot usually went to work with me. On Halloween night he could eat a few pieces and then every night he would be able to make two choices from his bucket. After a couple of weeks the leftovers usually ended up in the trash.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

They took their candy bag to their room and hid it from us. We never had "candy rules". Then again we are a candy eating family and no stranger to chocolate.

Now I would go thru the candy when they brought it home and then they would generously give us all the stuff they did not want.

 

[LiberalPrincess]

We divide it up into their favorites. And they eat their fill for a few days. Then, we have found some amazing charities, including Operation Gratitude and Any Soldier which will send the candy to our troops and the rest goes to Ronald McDonald House, which always appreciates candy donations. There are local charities, I am sure, that also accept Halloween candy. That way, your kids get their fill and realize they can help at the same time.

 

[Tinijocaro]

Really honest reply: I give my kids a 15 minute binge after school every day till it's gone. It never lasts much more than a week. DH and I also do lots of damage while the kids are in bed and I toss suckers and stuff that takes too long to eat.

 

[luvsJack]

No restrictions. Not something I wanted to stress about. They NEVER ate all of it. By Christmas I was either putting out candy bowls at work or throwing it away. MIL gives lots of candy at Christmas, same thing with that--get rid of by Valentines.

 

[DawnCt1]

I used to let them eat all they wanted when they got home. Often they were interested in tasting this or that so anything that got opened with a bite out of it got tossed. It never hung around for more than a week.

 

[okeydokey]

When they were little we would do three pieces a day. Now they are 10 and 12 and it's up to them to police themselves.

 

[Stacerita]

When she used to trick or treat Id let her eat what she wanted. She picked out stuff she really liked and would eat that over the next week. The stuff she didn't care for was sent to work with me to pass out. But I never set this as a rule. Its just how it happened.

 

[TheZue]

I let them eat it as they like, no restrictions...well maybe not for breakfast but you get the idea lol. My FIL is a dentist and he's of the mindset that it's better for your teeth to just eat it all at once rather than constantly or regularly exposing their teeth to sugar over a long period of time...that's my excuse and I'm sticking too it!!! When I was a kid my parents let me do what I wanted too, I remember trying to make it last and it led to practicing restraint. I don't know if my kids will ever get to that point, but if I don't give them access they won't have the opportunity.

Somwhat OT but it is always funny to see the terrible candy left. When I was a kid it was those terrible hard toffees that were wrapped in that orange and black paper. Bleh.

 

[aprilgail2]

No restrictions. Not something I wanted to stress about. They NEVER ate all of it. By Christmas I was either putting out candy bowls at work or throwing it away. MIL gives lots of candy at Christmas, same thing with that--get rid of by Valentines.

Same here- she take the bag and keeps it in her room- come spring cleaning time it gets tossed and there is always candy left in there LOL!
She goes through it at the end of the night and keeps what she likes and then takes all the garbage candy like sweet tarts, laffy taffy, nerds,tootsie rolls etc and brings it to her orthodontist and he pays them 1.00 per pound for it!

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

No restrictions here.

I figure Holidays are a free for all when it comes to candy. Usually a day or two goes by and my daughter no longer has any interest it and I get to eat the rest

 

[MariDisney]

We let DD eat whatever she wants. She doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, so she'll have a few pieces on Halloween and then maybe one or two each night for two or three nights after. Then, she's done and it sits there until I throw it out or eat it myself.

 

[disneychrista]

We just ate it until it was gone or got sick of it.

One year I had to throw out candy that my youngest still had in her bag from the previous year and she got mad at me for it!

 

[mtemm]

I do it pretty much the way my mom did. I let them have what they want...maybe not carte blanche, but close to it, that first week. after that they are either sick of it or they don't like anything that is left. I will admit to throwing out handfuls here and there while they are at school. my mom says our dentist recommended going that route, and I talked to my kids dentist and she agreed. even their ped was fine with it...just said it was better to have a feast for a few days then put it behind us.

I'm lucky in that my kids are really fussy about candy, unlike me, they only like chocolate and even then they only like certain kinds of chocolate. so to be honest, its probably 20% of the candy they get that they would eat anyway.

 

[Colleen27]

No restrictions here once they get to 4 or 5 years old. Only as toddlers would they really eat so much it upset their stomachs or affected their behaviour.

Usually we all dig into the goodies on Halloween night while we watch old Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episodes on DVD, but then the candy is quickly forgotten. The candy bowl gets emptied for each candy holiday, and it never fails that I'm tossing the last of the Halloween candy before Christmas and the last of the Christmas chocolates to make room for Easter, so I think they do okay at pacing themselves.

 

[KerriSue]

Same here- she take the bag and keeps it in her room- come spring cleaning time it gets tossed and there is always candy left in there LOL!
She goes through it at the end of the night and keeps what she likes and then takes all the garbage candy like sweet tarts, laffy taffy, nerds,tootsie rolls etc and brings it to her orthodontist and he pays them 1.00 per pound for it!

Its funny that you call sweet tarts and laffy taffy garbage candy...those are my kids favorite

I let them go nuts!!! They can eat until they cant stand it! Then I throw stuff in their lunches to either throw away, share or eat.

I love the orthodontist you go to. I would love for mine to do that, and then to put the money towards my bill Two kids in braces is killing me!!!!!