It’s just a couple days before Halloween, and time to think about what to do with all that Halloween candy. You know what the kids will want to do with it, and it’s up to the parents to decide whether or not to let them do it.

Many, perhaps most kids will want to just gorge on the candy, and that may not be the worst of ideas. It gets rid of the candy quickly. A single day of eating a ton of candy is not going to produce instant cavities. You can work on control later… say the next day or two, at which point it really makes more sense to limit candy consumption.

Of course, even letting them overdo should be within limits. You don’t want vomiting children if you don’t have to.

I’m really not the type of mom who throws the Halloween candy out. So far we just put it in a single bag for everyone to share, but as the kids get older and more possessive I suspect that won’t work. Changing tactics as kids get older is often necessary.

I remember my sisters and I going through our bags in detail, figuring out what to trade and what to hide. We had some pretty good hiding spots for candy, and it was pretty much a competition to see who could have a stash of Halloween candy the longest.

I think it’s important for parents to remember how much they enjoyed their Halloween candy as a kid and to not spoil it for their own children. Combine good habits to balance the candy intake with healthier foods, and proper dental care, and the short term added candy intake shouldn’t be a big problem.

[tags]halloween,trick or treat,halloween candy[/tags]