Three years ago, when Meghan was just two years old, I wrote about my dilemma with Halloween candy. With Meghan being my first child, I really had no idea how I was going to handle her getting so much junk that I know I don’t want her body littered with.
A lot has changed since then. At two years old, she didn’t even know what candy was, and therefore didn’t ask to eat any of it. That was easy. The very next year, however, her awareness grew. At three, she knew what was inside those bright little packages and wanted it. Of course, it’s only gotten harder since then.
So here’s how I deal with Halloween candy (and most candy we get from any holiday or birthday party, as well). When she gets home, she can have a few pieces of the candy. She’s gonna ask, no doubt about it. I try to get her to eat the chocolate candies instead of the bright, colorful ones that are full of artificial dyes, but I don’t ban any of it.
Then, all of the candy goes into a bowl. The bowl is hidden away in the cupboard. For the next few days, Meghan asks for candy here and there, usually for a “special treat” after lunch and/or dinner. I let her have it. She knows that when we have “special treats”, we only eat a small amount, so she rarely asks for more than a piece or two.
Before the candy ever runs out, something happens. She forgets about it. It loses its luster. And it either gets eaten by Tim or thrown out. This is what has happened after every Halloween, Easter, and other candy-filled holidays and occasions since I wrote that first post, a worried new mom wondering how I’d handle the candy situation.
Although I’d rather she didn’t eat any of the candy at all, I feel good about the relationship with sugary foods she’s developing. I’ve taught her that it’s okay to eat these things in moderation, but too much isn’t good for us. She’s learned that sugar suppresses the immune system and can lead to sickness if we eat it too often or too much.
One day she was given some candy at the library and I let her eat it. In the car on the way home she said, “Mommy, I don’t need to have a special treat after dinner. I think I’ve had enough sugar today and I don’t want to get sick.” True story.
Developing this kind of relationship with candy and sweet treats is something that takes place all the time, not just on special holidays. I work hard everyday to not restrict her, but teach her the value of moderation. I personally don’t buy candy with high-fructose corn syrup, chemicals, or food additives, but I can’t shield her from it 100 percent. She gets it from school, friends, and neighbors. The best I can do, in my opinion, is not ban the junky foods, but rather teach her that these are things we shouldn’t eat too much of. Ban them and they become a forbidden fruit she’ll only want even more. I’m not going down that road.
A new dilemma came up yesterday. She came home from school and said, “Guess what, Mommy! Did you know there’s a candy fairy?!” Apparently a friend at school told her that there’s a candy fairy who comes and takes candy away and leaves a toy in its place. She loved the idea of getting a new toy in exchange for some candy. Coincidentally, I’d just read about a similar concept called “The Switch Witch.”
While I think this is a clever idea, I don’t think it’s a good fit for our family. I’m trying to go in the other direction in terms of having too many “things” and the over-consumption of goods. The concept of simple living and “less is more” appeals to me and Meghan and Luke both have more toys than they need as it is. Plus, I’m not sure if she got the idea that the Candy Fairy will take all of the candy, not just some of her candy. I’m hoping she doesn’t bring it up again because for now I don’t want to start that tradition.
Luke brings on a whole new set of problems concerning Halloween candy since he is still milk and soy protein intolerant and there’s nary a piece of candy out there without one of those two things in it. I’m hoping this year he doesn’t know what he’s missing since he’s still at the oblivious age of not knowing exactly what candy is. But that’s another post for another day.
For now, I’ll keep up my bowl-in-the-cupboard method for Halloween candy and hope Meghan stays satisfied with having a few pieces a day until she forgets about it. Works for me.
How do you and your family handle Halloween candy? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
I also let my 8-year-old choose some candy on the actual night. And then the next day we pack up most of it for the troops / children’s hospital. She loses interest in the rest after a few days and it “disappears.”
It works out great!
We trick or treat early in the evening to only a few homes on our street. But we have candy from church, and other occasions to add to the pile. Emily (4) picks out about 10 pieces of candy and then she enjoys sitting on the porch & handing the rest out to kids as they trick or treat at our house.
That’s cute! I bet she loves being able to pass out the candy.
Love this post! I forwarded it to all my mom friends. 🙂
Thank you, Tammy!!
I use the exact same method in my house and it works great. Out of sight, out of mind.
I let the kids pick 15 pieces and they definitely get to eat one while trick or treating and then one more that night when we get home. The rest is split between a buy-back at our dentist’s office and my husband delighting his coworkers by bringing in a big bag of halloween candy on Nov 1. Of the 15 pieces in the bag, only about 4-5 get eaten as they too forget about it.
If she really wants to do the candy fairy, the fairy could always leave a DVD, a bag of coins or tickets to an event. My kids brought it up last year, but thankfully forgot about it. 🙂
I love seeing how your philosophy has matured over the years. I too want to teach my kids how to handle ‘treats’ in the day-to-day realm, not hyper-control their choices and leave them with no idea how to handle things when I’m not around.
Halloween is such a fun and festive time – it does not need to become a battle ground over a few pieces of candy.
Meghan definitely eats more than 4-5 pieces total. Girl has a serious sweet tooth!! But I think it’s still much, much less than most of her peers. So far, the candy fairy has not been brought up again. Hoping it stays that way!
It has kind of worked out this way for us too. The first day or so Libby is obsessed and asks constantly if she can have a treat. Then it wears off a little and she asks less & less. She still eats way too many treats but we’re working on it. I’m curious, what do you give out to trick or treaters?
Yes, this was going to be my question! Inquiring minds want to know 🙂
Haha! Weeeeelllll, we pass out regular candy. Miniature chocolate bars. Our past neighborhoods have had so many kids that we just couldn’t afford to pass out organic or natural candy and I’m not going the raisin route! 😉 This year, however, we get to dodge that bullet as we are going to a different neighborhood to trick or treat and won’t be home. Apparently not many kids trick or treat in our new neighborhood.
gosh I loved your blog but this post is the ‘icing on the cake’ er….pumpkin seeds in the breakfast cookie? 🙂 I love love love this philosophy and as I find myself getting worked up at the potential of my kid’s first Halloween and “how will I handle all that candy that’s bad for him?!” this just reminded me that it is ok. Its about equipping our kids with the knowledge and skills they can use for the rest of their life and that requires looking at the BIG picture. This is a good strategy for us to implement!
Awww, thank you, Alison!
Hi,
I think my 20 month old daughter has an inkling as to what the sugary substance is as we took her to a pumpkin party at church and one of the crafts was to fill a water bottle with candy corn and some of the kids were eating the candy corn, imagine that! 🙂 I think my daughter picked up on that and put one up to her lips but she never ate it. I kept applauding her for how great she was doing putting the candy corn into the water bottle. I like your approach about having some in moderation. This year all the candy we collect will go to either the church or the gym, they both box it up and send to the troops, maybe the soldiers can enjoy a piece or two as a special treat.
Sounds like a good plan!
I think fruit salads are great for kids with apples, oranges, and bananas. But if kids eat too many sugary sweets they just don’t have a taste for “the real thing.” My neices go to Grandma’s house and eat sweets all weekend while they’re there almost to the point of throwing up. I don’t know what to do. I don’t buy any sweets, but Grandma (my mother) and Grandpa (my stepdad) buy it and have cabinets full of it.
That’s so tough!!
Today I made a pumpkin dip today with Coolwhip and vanilla pudding, so that will be healthier than Little Debbie treats I hope! 🙂
Thanks for this post. This seems to be how we handle the loads of candy that come with the holidays also. My four kids ask for the candy for a while, and we give them a piece or two a day, and then its forgotten about and slowly thrown away. Now the only real problem is my husband and I not eating it all after the kids go to bed!
Same problem here! I’m actually pretty good at resisting, but my husband doesn’t have that much will power when candy is in the house!
Love the costume pics! so cute! I agree with the way you handle all the candy. I just wrote a post (’tis the season!) about our allergy-friendly Halloween since my son still has food allergies to dairy, nuts, eggs and sesame.
This is how we handle it!
http://www.mamacado.com/2013/10/our-5-fun-halloween-favorites.html
I loved reading your post on Halloween! You are so fun and festive. 🙂
Love the idea of the Candy Fairy!
Our dentist office pays cold hard cash for Halloween candy! You get $1/lb of candy. I told my son (who just turned 4) that he’ll be able to keep 10 pieces of candy. From there, we’ll take all the rest of the candy & bring it to the dentist office. I let him know they ship the candy overseas to the soldiers (which they do.) The money he “earns” will then go in his piggy bank, which he’s always excited to fill.
I not only don’t want him eating all that candy… I’m afraid I’d eat it too! :p
Sounds like a great plan!
Great advice. I thought you’d be stricter, but I’m happy to see we handle this similarly. I use the he’ll forget philosophy often. Especially when he asks for a TV show. If I play a catch or trains/trucks/cars with him he quickly forgets about TV. Trying to teach this trick to Daddy. Thanks for adding that too much sugar affects the immune system. I was not aware. Hudson’s motto is “body by chocolate milk”. He doesn’t actually say it, but he lives it. He constantly gets ear infections. I need to moderate this and tell him it’s to avoid his ear owwies. We’ve moved him to Pediasure’s, but dang they are much more expensive (I’ve purchased the low sugar kind too). I may use the “candy fairy” idea only because I think sometimes he feels powerless that nothing is truely his. This was my problem with the binkie – it was his only true possession and therefore coveted. Thanks for sharing. The kids are so cute in their costumes! Wish we could get together!
This is EXACTLY (like, to the “T”) what we have done and are currently doing (my son is 3.5 years old). Even down to the, “I am not in to the switch fairy because I don’t want junk and toys all over my house and he has more than enough toys around” thinking! One step I do (especially during Halloween) is my husband and I sort out the candy that we are actually keeping in our top-o-the pantry basket. We throw away any that are the cheap REALLY bad stuff, jawbreakers, bubble gum, etc. and just keep mainly chocolate and some approved other stuff. So that when he does ask for the basket to choose one, I am not cringing at the choice he made. I also try to go through his bag from school parties before he does to take out any that I really rather he not have at all so that his choice is based on the stuff I am more ok with him eating.
Hmmm, I am not sure why this posted under your comment instead of the main thread. However, because it did I read your comment and wanted to say that Pediasure is not a good solution. Take a look at the ingredients and it is full of junk and sugars and more harmful, artificial sweeteners and additives. May I suggest maybe trying Kefir instead. It is a probiotic yogurt tasting drink, gluten and 99% lactose free and only a short ingredient list of REAL foods, my son has a milk allergy and this does not affect him (however he only drinks it for breakfast and at dinner, the rest of the day is only allowed to have water).
That’s a good idea to throw away the really bad stuff. This week Meghan came home with a “juice barrel” of fluorescent liquid from a Halloween party and I had to draw a line. It went straight to the trash.
If you don’t buy the chocolate milk, he can’t have it, right? 🙂 Also, why Pediasure? Is he not eating regular foods well?
You have such a refreshingly realistic perspective on balance and I would do the exact same thing if I had kids. I especially love this line –> “the best I can do, in my opinion, is not ban the junky foods, but rather teach her that these are things we shouldn’t eat too much of. Ban them and they become a forbidden fruit she’ll only want even more. I’m not going down that road.” Good for you! Prepare for lots of questions on my end when I become a parent! You’re such a great role models for moms 🙂
Awww….thanks so much, Alexis!
Thanks for this post! We are just at the age where my daughter is aware of candy…and likes it! I think we will adopt your bowl in the cupboard policy and see how soon she forgets.
Beth
I hope it works as well for you as it has for us, Beth!
I think we will adopt in the cupboard policy and see how soon she forgets
I hope it works well! I actually have a bowl of forgotten candy from the 4th of July parade I need to pitch! haha 😉