Yesterday a fellow mom reached out to ask how I deal with Halloween candy in my house since I’m a known anti-candy fanatic.
Here’s what she asked and here are my answers:
Do you let your kids eat the Halloween candy?
Yep. It’s once a year so I don’t stress too much about it. I do try to slow them down, though, particularly when they first get home from trick-or-treating because we’re inching close to bedtime and I don’t want sugar interfering with their sleep (because it will). Once 5PM hits, they’re done for the day; we’ll have dinner (which they probably won’t eat much of, but that’s ok) and then finish our day as usual.
Do you give them choices of what they can eat or just let them go for it?
I definitely prefer the less-sticky options for the dental health benefits, but also because I’m terrified of kids choking and super sticky stuff seems to get stuck a lot easier. That said, I let them choose for the most part I just moderate aka dish out one of each type vs. seven Starburst in one mouthful. Feel me?
How long do you keep the candy and let them have it?
I like to keep holiday treats confined to the actual day as best I can, but with SO MUCH candy at halloween (and Easter) it’s tricky. I’ll keep a bag up high where the kids can’t reach or see it and allow a few pieces here and there after Halloween, but I’ll eventually toss any extras in the garbage or give it away when no one’s looking. I like for the spirit of the holiday to linger, not the indulgences if that makes sense. Kids don’t need to eat candy for a month because they dressed up and gathered it for an hour one afternoon. The day is over, the junk is over.
Do you replace their candy with better options?
Eh not really. I’ll just let them have a little bit of the real thing and then get rid of the rest after a few days. I’ve found it’s easier to get them off the candy-coaster if we bake a healthy treat like cookies or brownies together so they feel like they’re still having goodies, but I know they’re made with clean ingredients… and we’re right back on track with our eating habits.
I hope this is helpful!! Let me know what other questions you have!!
Xo
