What do you do with your Halloween candy? Whoops, did I say that? I mean your preschooler’s Halloween candy.
We’re not really a candy-eating household, and this is definitely a candy-eating time of the year. Sure, my daughter eats candy, but it’s not in excess and it’s just upon occasion. That said, I’m not interested in banning Halloween. We have a lot of fun in our neighborhood on Halloween, and yes, part of it is about the candy.
What can you do if you don’t want your child overdoing the candy?
Provide alternatives. Go to a Halloween party and do a minimal amount of trick-or-treating. This means that there is sugar involved, but it’s a lot more minimal than it would be if you go out trick-or-treating.
Pick and choose. I always go through my daughter’s Halloween candy. We might make some into crafts or do candy experiments with them. I choose what fits our family’s lifestyle, and we don’t eat the rest. Although I think that wasting food is not a good idea, I have to break away from this on Halloween. Candy is not real food!
Set daily limits. Every day, my daughter can choose a candy from her pile. To prevent both of us from sneaking into the candy, I keep it in the freezer. That means that we need to plan to take it out and eat it. It also means that after a while, she forgets to ask because it is not in sight!
Trade up. If your child has food allergies, diabetes, or you just don’t want your child eating a lot of candy, allow him to trade most of his candies for something he does want. Maybe it’s a toy, maybe it’s a really big chocolate bar. In any case, it’s something that you can control.