Do most people really make their kids get rid of most of their Halloween candy

[Anonymous]

There is a huge Dad tax in our house.

[Anonymous]

No! My kids keep their candy in their “candy box” shoebox in the pantry and choose it for after dinner treats or other treat occasions.

We do clean out the treat boxes each year before Halloween because some candy never gets eaten - but it’s not much.

[Anonymous]

I let my kids eat as much as they want halloween night and that usually only really translates into like 10 pieces before they stop because they start to feel gross! I let them basically have free reign for a week but then they just forget about it. We will do the bowl on the table for awhile but then again, they forget about it and I'm stuck with a bowl of aging candy. Once we're all picking through and discarding the same stuff after a month I get rid of it. And my kids would not at all say I am a debbie downer.

But if you guys are suggesting like, allowing your kid to take their candy to their room and disperse it as they see fit for weeks well, I just am not sure you have children under the age of 7. I don't even care about the eating of the candy, but the trash accumulation that would come from that and the candy getting stuck to clothes/floors, no hard pass. When they are older maybe that will be a consideration.

[Anonymous]

My kid lords over his haul as though he raided a village to get it, spends a week talking about how much swag he has, then forgets he has it.

[Anonymous]

This really bothers me too. If you are only going to let your kids keep 5 pieces then they should not be out collecting 50. Its wasteful and rude to your neighbors. My kids get to keep their candy and they can have one or two pieces a day in their lunch or after dinner.

[Anonymous]

I agree with OP that it’s wasteful. I will also keep a bag of it and let my kids (and um, myself) comb through it for a few months until it doesn’t seem fresh anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid lords over his haul as though he raided a village to get it, spends a week talking about how much swag he has, then forgets he has it.

Same here! DCs love separating and trading the candy. I don't restrict it. They gorge for the first few days and then slowly forget about it. I throw everything out at Christmas, since a new batch of candy will be given in their stockings. Although I have been known to reuse Halloween candy as stocking candy.

[Anonymous]

Our UMC neighborhood vowed to be more mindful and healthy this year. I’ll be giving out these. You’re welcome parents.

[Anonymous]

No switch witch in our house - we let them keep it, although they are good about sharing with us. After a couple weeks it gets dumped into a common bowl. We use a few hints I read on here a while ago - any snack items go in lunches, we put aside some candy gingerbread house/Christmas cookie decoration, put aside lollipops for hiking/road trips/sore throats/etc.

Agree with other posters that the waste happens with generous people giving out too much candy. My kids love Halloween, they love going house to house. If people gave out just one or two small pieces per house, it would be a much more manageable amount. We give out snack items and kids are always surprised they only get one each

[Anonymous]

I end up taking most of it in to the office, but let it sit for about two weeks and kids can take 2 or 3 pieces a day. Then they lose interest and I get rid of the rest.

I would be happy to receive items besides candy. Something like chips or granola bars could be packed in lunches. Toys or stickers or pencils are welcome!

This year i bought pretzels and candy to pass out - because I know we'll use the left over pretzels if no one takes them.

[Anonymous]

I feel the same way about giving away candy that will be given to the dentist or whatever, although I think that probably doesn't happen as much in my less tony neighborhood anyway. I buy cheap candy (Dum Dums) partly because I have realized that those are what my kids go for first, before the chocolate, and partly because they are allergy friendly. Also, partly because they are cheaper.

I will say I do end up throwing away some of our Halloween candy in the spring, when I realize the same snickers have been sitting in the bucket for six months uneaten.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Drive me crazy too, particularly since candy is more expensive this year. If parents don't want their kids to eat candy then don't have them go door to door to collect candy. If you want them to have the experience just cut them off after 3-4 houses or whatever number of pieces you are going to allow them to have.

My kids love to show off their costumes from one end of the neighborhood to the other. If you all want to hand out something other than candy, have at it. I’m handing out pretzels that easily go into lunches.

None of the kids will visit you next year.

[Anonymous]

You sound insane OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think “most” people do that but some people definitely do. I think it’s a control thing for some moms + a reflection of their own disordered eating habits.

I don't get rid of any of my kid's candy but limiting how much sweets your kid eats is not "disordered" eating. It's a normal parenting thing. Letting your kids eat as much candy and junk food as they want, letting them keep candy in their rooms to snack on whenever they want, is arguably more disordered than simply having some rules around how much candy gets eaten each day.

Exactly. My kids are athletes and its important for them to understand the kinds of food that are good "fuel" for their bodies. At the same time, balance is important and denying any desserts/candy is very harmful. Teaching kids healthy balanced eating is a life lesson. Enjoying a few pieces of candy each day post Halloween is fine, but if you don't teach a kid why you don't eat unlimited candy (impacts of sugar), you are doing them a disservice. In fact allowing your kids to gorge on candy is an unhealthy habit.

If your kid gorges on candy a few times they’ll figure out fairly quickly that it makes them feel sick and learn to self-regulate that behavior. Unless your child has a disorder like PW then you don’t really need to regulate their behavior. Telling them no you can’t have x, y, and z more likely would result in more gorging when you aren’t around, not less.

[Anonymous]

We continue the family tradition passed down to us: You get to collect as much candy as you want and you get to eat the candy.

One finishes it off in about two days. The other one stretches his stash into the new year.