Get Your Kids to Eat Less Halloween Candy

If you’re like me, you’re already dreading the day after Halloween– that seemingly bottomless sack of candy is a huge temptation for my son, my husband, and for me! But what do you do with that excess Halloween candy? Let your kids eat it ad nauseum? Help them eat it till it’s all gone? Throw it out when they’re not looking?

This article offers parents a few creative options for what to do with all those extra Halloween treats so the kids eat less candy overall.

Select & Reject

When I was a kid, after trick-or-treating, my brother and I would sit on the floor, empty out our candy sacks, and start sorting through, separating the “good stuff” from the “bad stuff.” But just because we separated the good candy from the bad, didn’t mean we wouldn’t eat the bad stuff too. Oh, we’d eat it. We’d just wait till we’d already eaten the good stuff.

I noticed my son doing this a few years ago, but instead of letting him just keep the bad stuff, I asked him how he’d feel if I took the candy he wasn’t that fond of. To my surprise, he told me I could keep it. Then I asked him if how he’d feel if I just threw it out.  He thought about it for a minute, then said, “I don’t really like that stuff anyway. Go ahead and throw it out.”

If I hadn’t asked to keep the bad stuff, I have a feeling he would have eaten it just because he had it. The “select and reject” process is now a part of our Halloween ritual. It doesn’t take care of 100% of the candy, but most years it cuts down my son’s candy stash by half.

The Switch Witch

The Switch Witch is sort of a cross between the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus. Here’s the concept: You tell your kids that they can leave their sack full of sugary treats out on the porch and while they sleep the Switch Witch switches out the candy for a neat toy! There’s even a book about it.

I first learned of this concept back in my teaching days, long before the Switch Witch book was ever in print. Back then parents called it The Candy Fairy or the Great Pumpkin. It seemed to work for the students in my classes that did it—the next morning the ones who had opted for the “switch” chattered away about the cool new thing they had traded up for.

But I could already see that I would not be doing this with my own child. Here were my objections:

• I already have to be the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus. Now I have to keep up the charade of a Switch Witch, too?
• Why reward a kid who has too much of something (candy) for yet another thing he already has too much of (toys)?
• Toys are expensive and Christmas is just around the corner.
• How would I explain why the Switch Witch visited some kids and didn’t visit others?
• What if my child chose to keep the candy instead?
• This does nothing to teach my child about making healthy choices for the sake of making healthy choices.

I do like the idea of the trading the candy, but I would prefer that they traded for more than a random toy. This could be a great way to start a conversation about healthy decisions and a healthy lifestyle. Try modifying the Switch Witch concept to trade for other things, like a piece of sporting equipment, healthy and delicious snacks, or a day with Mom or Dad doing something fun and physical.

The trade doesn’t even have to be done under the guise of some mythical creature. It can simply be a decision your child makes with you about what to do with all that candy.

The Halloween Candy Buy Back Program

The Halloween Candy Buy Back Program is awesome. Kids can take their candy to a participating dental practice and exchange their candy for new toothbrushes or other sugar-free treats. The best part of it all: the traded-in Halloween candy is sent to troops overseas!

Kids are learning about dental health while giving to the troops. That’s a pretty sweet deal!

To find a participating dentist go the Halloween Candy Buy Back Program website and punch in your zip code!

No matter what approach you take with your kids’ Halloween candy, make sure you take the opportunity to talk to them about a healthy diet and dental hygiene. Stay safe and have a happy Halloween!

by Pamela Layug Laney