Parents, what's your rule re: Halloween candy?

[mommaU4]

Okay Halloween is almost here and soon all our houses will be filled with candy and kids begging for one more piece!

What is your house rule regarding the candy?
I have a relative who lets her kids eat all they want for the first 2 days then all left overs are thrown out. I always felt that was asking for some hyper/sick kids.

We usually sort through it that night and they keep the kind they like, there might be some trading going on between the 4 of them. We give the unwanted ones to DH to take to work. And then they are allowed 3-4 pieces per day till it's gone. Sometimes if there's alot, I throw some out while they're in school so it goes quicker.

Any one else have anything else they do different?

 

[barkley]

we go through it together, then they get maybe 3 pcs. that night. after they go to bed we steal out our favorites (leaving one or two to prevent detection). each day i toss out a handful, they eat maybe 2 pcs-anything left by thanksgiving gets tossed.

 

[SPAM]

i was always just allowed to eat as much as i wanted, but i quickly grew bored and i would always end up with like a stale bag of candy in the pantry. i never ate it all.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

Each child gets to pick 10 pieces. The rest are removed from the house.

 

[punkin]

My kids eat as much as they want the first night and then they don't want any more. They're not really into candy. If there's something there they really like, I'll save it for lunch boxes, but mostly it gets dumped.

 

[skiwee1]

My kids are allowed to eat as much as they want of it. Within three days they are sick of it. Within a week I send the rest to work with DH.

 

[SwedishMeatball]

i was always just allowed to eat as much as i wanted, but i quickly grew bored and i would always end up with like a stale bag of candy in the pantry. i never ate it all.

That is exactly what happens with my kid's Halloween candy, Christmas stocking candy and Easter candy.

 

[LadyBears]

A lady I know has taught her kids (3 & 5) about the "witch fairy". This will work while they are still young, but once school starts, I don't know how other kids will react to hearing about it.

Basically - she's like the Tooth Fairy. The kids keep a few pieces they like - then Halloween night, the witch fairy comes & takes the rest of the candy. In return for getting candy, she gives the kids something small. A stuffy, money, a book, etc.

I put the candy on a high shelf in the kitchen. My DD6 gets a piece or two per day when she asks. After about a week, since she doesn't see the candy, she tends to forget that its there.

 

[Nite0wl71]

DH and I go through it and take things we like, the rest goes in a bowl on the table. DD eats it a few days then it just sits and finally I throw the rest away.

We also have had candy sitting in bags, stockings and baskets that gets thrown out. I have boxes in my fridge from last Christmas

 

[MerryPoppins]

Halloween night they'd always choose a few pieces that they wanted to eat. After that, I always let them keep their own stash for a couple of days. By around the third of November it all got dumped into a big bowl for everyone in the family to share. Whatever was left got dumped around Christmas.

Now they are older and don't trick-or-treat. So we just share the leftovers from what we give out. It all goes into the shared bowl that first night.

 

[disneymom3]

I do what a lot have mentioned already. Halloween night they get a couple of pieces and then for the next week, probably they can have a piece when they ask--though I usually will put them off until after lunch or dinner and/or for afternoon snack. I find that after a week they don't really ask anymore except once in awhile. I like the idea of throwing the rest at Thanksgiving.

A friend of mine tells her kids they can pick out 7 pieces and then trade the rest for a prize. Then each day of the week they get one piece of candy.

I don't know, my kids are all really healthy, don't eat much junk and are all perfect weights if not a little on the thin side. But most of the fun of Halloween was getting tons of candy. I can't see myself making them get rid of it all the day after. What's the point of going to all those houses. I hate to think I am picking out good candy on purpose and all these kids are just throwing it away! I should just buy the crappy stuff!

 

[aprilgail2]

I don't know, my kids are all really healthy, don't eat much junk and are all perfect weights if not a little on the thin side. But most of the fun of Halloween was getting tons of candy. I can't see myself making them get rid of it all the day after. What's the point of going to all those houses. I hate to think I am picking out good candy on purpose and all these kids are just throwing it away! I should just buy the crappy stuff!

I agree...I can't imagine her getting a full bag of candy and me me saying, ok here are your 10 pieces, now toss the rest out! If you are doing that then they might as well just go to 10 houses and go home...my daughter does a lot of walking going house to house and I just let her eat what she wants most of the time until its gone.....she does have to eat breakfast before she can have a piece of candy though, we dont do candy for breakfast for any holiday other than Easter...that was always my favorite holiday as a kid..a whole breakfast of just candy!!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I let them have as much as they want the first night (and always have). After that I try to limit how much they eat each day (works well with younger kids). I don't throw it out until it's totally stale. When the kids were young we'd combine all the candy after a couple days, but now we don't do that

 

[kasar]

Okay, I win the bad mother award. Our kids just eat the candy, as much as they want. When they're done with it they throw it away but really there's not usually a whole lot left.

We don't go to too many houses so it's never a HUGE stash, but what they get is their's to do what they like with. It's once a year. Works for us.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I agree that I can't imagine having the kids pick out X number of pieces and then throwing the rest away. What a waste and why not just have them trick or treat at a few neighbors houses instead of collecting lots of candy?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I find it's not just a problem at Halloween. With all the other holidays and parties, there always seems to be candy hanging around here, it drives me crazy. I have to agree with most of the posters here - I let them eat some the first few days and then get rid of it - I usually bring it in to work.

I am a stickler on dental care so I make sure the kids take especially good care of their teeth when they're eating the junk. Our dentist, btw, told the kids that eating chocolate is like having a sandwich, not harmful. It's the sticky candy that's really harmful to the teeth. DS loves chocolate but DD loves the sticky stuff.

 

[Karel]

I've generally found that the more you try to deny, the more attractive something becomes.

Each kid got a bowl for their stash and it was left out for a few weeks. They would have a couple pieces a day but didn't stuff themselves silly. About Thanksgiving, when everyone's eaten their personal favorites, it all gets put in one container.

Don't throw your candy away! Give it to a shelter or a food bank. Everyone deserves a treat.

 

[Horseshoes]

... What's the point of going to all those houses. I hate to think I am picking out good candy on purpose and all these kids are just throwing it away! I should just buy the crappy stuff!

ITA!!

I spend more money on the good stuff, if I knew its going to get thrown out, I'll keep it for myself.

 

[dibey]

Halloween night I let my DD have a couple of pieces. We let it sit out on the table for a day or two and she may grab one or two pieces in the afternoon for a snack. After that we put the candy away and she can have two pieces for dessert after lunch and supper. She usually has candy left at Christmas and that gets thrown away and replaced with the Christmas candy.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

ITA!!

I spend more money on the good stuff, if I knew its going to get thrown out, I'll keep it for myself.

Ok, I've figured out what I'm going to do. Come Halloween night, when trick-or-treaters come to the door I'm going to ask their parents how they deal with the Halloween candy. If they throw most of it out, their little darlings are getting the Smarties. If they keep it all, at least until Christmas, then they're getting the Reese's and Snickers.