Let kids control halloween candy intake? - Page 2

[meemee]

it was easy for us.

till dd was 5 she did not like chocolate. so her intake was way limited.

now she is choosy about what she eats.

so free reign in our house. always been that way.

her bag of candy is sitting at the house without her touching much. we still have to sort out what she and i will eat and then i'll bring the rest to my school.

[grniys]

I let my boys have free reign over the candy for a few days, then it goes in the trash. I threw ours away today. One of my fondest memories of childhood is gorging on candy the night of Halloween and watching Halloween movies with my cousins, and I wouldn't want to steal the chance for an awesome memory like that from my boys. :)

[34me]

My kids are older than most (if not all) who have posted.  They have always been able to have as much as they want for an hour after they get back.  Then one piece at lunch each day and then some after dinner each night.  Mostly they stop after just a couple pieces but every once in a while when I can see that reaching in the bag is mindless I'll ask them if they want to play a game or something and they'll be done.

[mamazee]

My older daughter usually does gorge on Halloween night, but it was a school night this year so she couldn't stay up late, and she has reflux and can't eat that before bed.

[Calliope84]

I have no intention of allowing free reign for DD.  That might change when she is older, though.  My plans for Halloween are:

Have fun making our own costumes sometime before Halloween... Have a fun night out, collect the candy knowing full well no one is eating it, then enjoy a favorite healthier somewhat sugary treat / treats at home...maybe we'll even make the favorite treats together.

Then watch a kid's halloween movie or play a game and leave the candy out for... the "Switch Witch" ? and wake up to a toy or book or whatever. Maybe when DD is a lot older she can choose to keep some of it, but I want to start the other traditions earlier so the candy she collects is not the whole central point of it all.

and I'll make sure to tell my kid(s) the Switch Witch prefers chocolate.... bwhaha just kidding...

[~Boudicca~]

I let them go to town on the candy.  It was gone in 2 days and now we don't have to worry about it because aside from special occasions (such as Halloween), we don't keep sweets in the house anyway.  We just made sure we did an extra good job with the teeth brushing.

...mommy of course helped the situation by taking 10% off the top after they went to bed...

[NYCVeg]

Dd is 5 and this is the first year that we've let her have free reign over her candy. (Well, all the candy she's not allergic to--we buy the allergenic stuff from her at ten cents a piece). I've been very impressed with how she's handled it, actually. She's definitely eating a little more than we'd normally allow her, but she's not going overboard--she'll have a few pieces after school, after a healthy snack, and maybe one more piece after dinner. She has to give up about half her candy due to allergies, but even counting only the safe stuff, there's still plenty left in her bag. 

An article on Slate about this issue:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2011/10/26/a_radical_approach_to_the_annual_problem_of_kids_and_the_hallowe.html

[Tigerchild]

I like the idea of free regulation, but haven't been able to bring myself to allow it just yet.  We are not a "dessert every day" family (NOT because of a philosophical objection, more because it involves having leftovers from a party or a special purchase as I don't keep sweets in the house because of my binging problem), but after Halloween the kids can have 2 pieces of candy in their lunch, two after school, and two after dinner for as long as they request it or until it's gone (they've never run out before just forgetting about it).  I try not to make a big deal of it or turn it into a big forbidden fruit OR let my own baggage burden them overmuch (I guess it still does though, since I can't allow free reign, inside of me there's always going to be the worry that one or more of them will have the same problem as me!  Which is stupid, but I can't really help it right now.).

I like that they get to enjoy it for a time (we always end up throwing out most of it after they've forgotten about it for a few months).  It's not like they won't eat fruit and "good" stuff during that time, and we're fortunate that sugar/fake stuff doesn't affect them very much, so we're pretty lucky.

[One_Girl]

I have always just let my dd do what she wants with the candy.  Usually that means she eats several pieces while trick or treating then a few a day after that until she forgets about it, she also shares it with the family very nicely but there is often a lot that just doesn't get eaten so I bring it to work or the student center for the chocolate stash.  I was worried that I would have to regulate it this year though because last year she gorged herself and got sick a few times on sweets (only once at Halloween).  She has been very good about regulating herself though this year so I am leaving it up to her still.

[LynnS6]

We just let our kids do what they will. It's a week + since Halloween and they both have their buckets 90% full. They eat the stuff they like and are pretty good at controlling the rest of it.

[CatsCradle]

On Halloween night, DD ate two mini packages of Whoopers and a mini Reeses.  The basket sat by the front door all week, untouched, even though she walked past it many times.  DH finally took it all to work.  It's weird, when it is blatantly available, she won't touch it...but if we go for long periods of time without it, she'll mention that she's craving chocolate.  She's more of salt person, like myself, which means I tend to have to limit the amount of salty things that make their way into the house rather than sweets.  

[sharon71]

I have 3 girls 16,14 and 6 yrs and we all love candy including DH so Halloween candy last maybe a week here at the most. I don't ration it out but I don't let them gorge themselves or limit when they can eat it except for the youngest one.

[Imakcerka]

I did free reign, it's the 12th and they have almost all their candy left.  They were done when the chocolate was gone.  Dh asked if he could throw it away and they both said yes.  Not all kids really like candy that much.