Eating All the Candy Yourself is NOT an Option, however, it Has Crossed My Mind

Last year's Halloween was simple. She was 16 months. She put the candy in her pumpkin and then we just snatched it away from her later when she wasn't looking.

We're not cruel. I just don't think a 16-month old needs to be munching on 14 Tootsie Rolls and a pack of Smarties.

But this year she knows about candy. I don't think she realizes the amount that she will be getting on that fateful night, but I know it will be a lot tougher to hide it all away.

And so I've asked Moxie to comment on appropriate and reasonable ways to deal with ALL THE CANDY that is about to enter our homes in a couple of weeks. I tend to just want to dump it back into the giveaway bucket and save a few small pieces for her to have now and then. And with older kids, they get to keep a certain # of pieces and then I'll buy the rest off them. Or trade them in for some type of non-candy prize.

But let's see what Moxie has to say:

There are a bunch of different ways you can go with Halloween candy. If you're truly candy-averse, then you're going to have to put the kibosh on trick-or-treating by taking your kids to a party instead. This might mean that you end up throwing the party yourself. You can do all kinds of Halloweeny things (costume parade and prizes, snacks, bobbing for apples, pin the hat on the witch, etc.) so the kids are happy and don't notice the conspicuous absense of candy.

If you do go trick-or-treating and want to allow some candy, you can establish a firm rule from the time your kids are tiny that the house takes a cut of the total take. If they ask why you need your 10% of the candy off the top, it's because you got them their costumes. My dad was always very generous in taking his candy by letting us choose which pieces to give him (he also reinforced our math skills by having us count out how many pieces we got and then figure out how many pieces he should get as 10%), but he did end up with more Charleston Chews than Kit-Kats. If you're not willing to risk getting the substandard candy, you can assert your right to choose which pieces you get as your tariff.

Once your kids are down to 90% of their original haul, assess the situation. If your kids did gorge themselves and eat everything they got, would it give them a stomachache that could serve as a useful lesson? Or do they have so much candy that they could eat until they burst for a few days in a row? That's going to wreak havoc with their immune and digestive systems, so the object lesson wouldn't be worth all the extra work it'll cause you. You'll have to decree a limit on consumption.

In my house, you have to eat a decent meal (determined by an adult) before eating any candy. And then you can eat as many pieces as you are years old. So my preschooler will be able to eat 4 pieces after every meal. You could also allow candy only once a day, with a limit per day (of the kids' age or some other number you make up). As usual, the trick is to make it sound as if it's just the rule and not something you'll bend on, and then just stick to it.

(If your child is younger than two, you can probably eat most of the candy while s/he's asleep, and it'll never be missed.)

So, tell me what you do with all the candy, particularly you experienced moms. And also, how do you check for safety? Do people try to do crazy stuff to Halloween candy still?

And if you have a question for Moxie, in the form of "Am I the Only One," please email me. I'd like to think I'm not the only one in need of help every week...

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And if you're up in arms about the whole Project Runway mess, then read my post below and comment. I just want to know I'm not the only one who thinks it's A HOAX!

Comments

[Amy]

Hi! Got the link from Moxie's site!

I was an only child, and was pretty resentful that my parents would eat most of the candy that I got for halloween (my mother always ALWAYS took all of my chocolate bars, that was before "snack-size", and they were the full size ones which was a rare find).

Now that I have two kids, we get double the candy, and double the "PLEEEEZE can I have ONE MORE CANDYYYY???". We have rules. We sort all of the candy into separate bowls - no His candy vs. HER candy in our house - (choclate/gummies/suckers/chips). Any wrappers that are damaged/open/missing and the candy is instant garbage. They are not allowed to eat any while we are out trick-or-treating. They get two candies/treats after school, and if we don't already have dessert after supper, they can have two more then. I dole the candy out in their lunches (usually the crap candy or they will never choose it), and we refrain from inhaling all the chocolatey goodness out of their bowls while they're in bed. We are a sharing family, and honestly most of the time the kids offer the candy to us (it helps if we say "OOO that's Daddy's favourite candy and you have X number of them, you are so lucky! How many would you share?") They tend to divvy it up on their own, and are praised for sharing.

[Michele]

My kids are still too young for candy but my sister has a great approach.

Halloween night the kids are allowed to eat to their hearts delight.

The day after Halloween her kids each get to pick out one sandwich bag full of candy to be spaced out in their lunches over the next few weeks. Then my sister and her husband "buy" the rest of the haul back from the kids for $5 each, which is spent on a trip to their favorite dollar store.

This year they will be sending their non-chocolate (because of melting) candy to soldiers in Iraq, an idea I gave her after seeing some of what they have been sending via Dad Gone Mad's "Project Lovebomb". Their adopted soldier wrote back that twizzlers and blow pops are a huge hit with all of the soldiers.

(I apologize for not linking Project Lovebomb but I cant get into my bloglines subscriptions right now to find the URL)

[Kristen]

That's great Michele. Thanks for the link (or not link...) :)

[mothergoosemouse]

Ooooh, I like that Project Lovebomb idea. I think we may just give that a try this year.

Our procedure is pretty similar to the others outlined here. After Halloween night itself, we do limit the candy consumption to one piece per day, assuming that some sort of green vegetable has also been ingested prior to the candy. Last year, even in spite of parental scavenging, the candy lasted nearly until Christmas.

[Darlene]

After Trick-or-treating we go through the bags and throw away anything that isn't wrapped or that the wrapper is damaged in any way. Then the kids can pick out a couple of their favorites and eat them that night. The rest goes into a community bowl to be doled out a piece or two per day. The best part about that is I don't have to keep track of who's bag I took candy from after they are in bed.

[Michelle]

The kids get to have a few pieces of whatever they want that night and then we do the plastic sandwich baggies. They get to pick out the candy they want to keep and put it into their baggies and then the rest leaves the house as soon as possible. I like the Project Lovebomb and we may give that a try this year.

[coraspartan]

My son is 13 and this will be his last year trick-or-treating. Generally we allow him to eat candy to his heart's content on Halloween night. Then he is allowed to eat a few pieces per day for a few days; then I take most of the candy that's left to work for my co-workers to eat like the scavengers they are! We usually have some candy left for a couple of weeks, after which time whatever is left gets thrown out, or if there is any chocolate left, it goes in the freezer to keep.

[linda c.]

project lovebomb link:

http://humanwrites.typepad.com/lovebomb/