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Halloween: Should you confiscate the candy?
Posted on Oct 28th 2007 11:14AM by Martha EdwardsFiled Under: Nutrition & Supplements
There are about a billion articles floating around on how to make sure you or your kids don't OD on Halloween candy, including this one, which suggests that you let your kids have a couple of treats, but them give away the rest to your co-workers or the local soup kitchen. Or, just throw them out.
What do you think of this idea? I understand that sugar isn't good for kids and they should be taught moderation when it comes to treats, but I don't think it's fair for mom or dad to take away all the treats that the kids braved the cold and the neighbourhood dogs to collect. The message there is that they shouldn't bother working for something they want because it will just get taken away (though that's a good lesson to prepare them for taxes later on in life.) Plus, it ruins all the fun.
Here's a trick that my parents used -- they kept our Halloween candy and let us choose a few pieces for our lunch every day until it was gone, which was sometime around Christmas. It still allowed us to feel like the candy was ours, but it kept us from bingeing (except when we found where they hid the candy -- bwahahaha!) And I turned out ok, so I can honestly say that if you allow your kids to actually eat their Halloween candy, it won't ruin their lives.
What do you think of this idea? I understand that sugar isn't good for kids and they should be taught moderation when it comes to treats, but I don't think it's fair for mom or dad to take away all the treats that the kids braved the cold and the neighbourhood dogs to collect. The message there is that they shouldn't bother working for something they want because it will just get taken away (though that's a good lesson to prepare them for taxes later on in life.) Plus, it ruins all the fun.
Here's a trick that my parents used -- they kept our Halloween candy and let us choose a few pieces for our lunch every day until it was gone, which was sometime around Christmas. It still allowed us to feel like the candy was ours, but it kept us from bingeing (except when we found where they hid the candy -- bwahahaha!) And I turned out ok, so I can honestly say that if you allow your kids to actually eat their Halloween candy, it won't ruin their lives.
