What Do We Do With All This Tempting Candy Around The House?
Okay, parents, let’s be honest. How many of you buy the candy you like for the trick-or- treaters? What’s your favorite? Three Musketeers? Mounds? Gummies? For me it’s the Candy Corn and Snickers. If you’re honest with yourself, you choose your favorites because you know you’re getting the leftovers.
I would eat hundreds of candy corns, many of them before Halloween even arrived and I would dig out my favorites from the kids stash when they went bed. The next day the kids would go right to their bags of candy and ask who took my candy? I told them, “the candy fairy.” That was when they were young and naive. By the time they got to the second grade they knew better and hid their candy from daddy.
I was happy to learn that I wasn’t alone in my gluttony. 71% of parents admit to behaving the same way — the other 29% were most likely lying!
Okay, so we have two problems, how to limit the amount of candy the kiddies eat so they don’t rot their teeth out and daddies don’t gain five pounds over Halloween? Remember, it’s all about moderation! If you limit the amount you eat to say one or two pieces a day for a few of days, everything should be fine.
Not to put a damper on the most popular holiday of the year, but too much candy may result in hyperactivity, weight gain, tooth decay, chipped teeth or damaged braces. I had to say this, because, after all this is supposed to be a column on health!
So, what do you do with the rest of the loot? Here are some suggestions I came across:
- Exchange candy for coupons the kids can use to “purchase” a trip to the zoo, to exchange for more story time, buy a video or do some other favorite activity.
- Some dentists are buying candy from kids to send to the troops overseas; ask your dentist about this.
- If your kids are very young you can help them box up the leftovers for the “candy fairy” and toss it in the garbage when they go to bed 🙂
If you eat in moderation everyone will have fun and stay healthy. Just remember to give your child’s teeth a good brushing! And,
Happy Halloween!
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[Photo By respres]