I told my 8 yo that every time he wants candy he has to pay a “hug tax”. Today I got three big hugs. Not that this answers OP’s question, but it was adorable.

Once the chocolate is gone I save the leftover oddities in the back of the pantry and we then use them to decorate the gingerbread houses over winter break!

Anonymous wrote:No restrictions. I grew up super close to a cousin with the ultimate candy cop dentist mom. My parents never restricted me. Guess which one of us has had an eating disorder for decades?

My kid eats the candy for a few days and then just forgets about it.

I'm the same way. I grew up with no restrictions. I consumed all my candy in a couple of days. My sister made hers last forever. Once the candy was gone, I felt like eating healthy food again. I don't have a binge eating disorder or anything, just a bit of a sweet tooth I guess. No big deal. I've always been a healthy child/adult.

My kid has the same (no) rule.

No restrictions. I grew up super close to a cousin with the ultimate candy cop dentist mom. My parents never restricted me. Guess which one of us has had an eating disorder for decades?

My kid eats the candy for a few days and then just forgets about it.

After a few days my kids start to think about Christmas. And, about 75% of the candy they don’t have an interest in.

No restrictions. The quicker they eat it, the quicker it's gone. The only rule is that for every wrapper I find laying around instead of being thrown away, I take a piece. That helps reduce the volume a little.

My kids are all teens now. They get a gallon size ziplock bag for the candy they want to keep.

Until they were teens they were allowed to eat a bunch on Halloween then keep double their age. 2 pieces a day at home. None in lunch boxes because it was against school rules.

The rest goes in the share bowl. I pull out all m&ms from that to use when making pancakes.

We do about 4 of the small pieces a day. My 1st and 3rd boys are very reactive to sugar so we monitor it. My house would probably be reduced to rubble if it was a free for all!

Anonymous wrote:I have no idea how much candy my kid eats or when. I don’t particularly care. She eats plenty of healthy stuff too.

+2
Same here.

It's all in moderation. And we don't turn it into a control issue or forbidden fruit

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are 14, 11, and 8 and I just finally realized that it doesn't matter. I had no rules this year and notice no difference in behavior.

It's wonderful that's your experience. I had a raging sweet tooth as a kid and would eat so much I'd throw up. Numerous times. I really needed my candy to be restricted and doled out to me.

I guess I would too if my kids threw up!

As much as they want, but they inevitably forget about it after awhile and I throw it away in January to make room for Valentine's Day influx. I frankly have never wanted to add "policing Halloween candy" to my list of things to do.

3rd and 5th grader. I really don't care anymore. They are into it for a week and then forget about it. I don't police it. I find the more you police, they more they want it. We use Halloween candy on gingerbread houses, I bring some to work and it eventually disappears by the Spring.

Anonymous wrote:My kids are 14, 11, and 8 and I just finally realized that it doesn't matter. I had no rules this year and notice no difference in behavior.

It's wonderful that's your experience. I had a raging sweet tooth as a kid and would eat so much I'd throw up. Numerous times. I really needed my candy to be restricted and doled out to me.

Eating disorders abound oh my

Total free for all for 1-2 days. Then we put away, and they are allowed to choose 1-2 pieces after dinner. Once they forget about it, throw the rest in the trash.