The Aftermath of the Halloween Haul.
What a joy to behold the boys, simply saturated in sugar cravings fulfilled, joyfully munching on usually forbidden treats, slowly shucking their costumed alter egos as they plow through the pile of candy.
The photo does not capture the volume of candy that came through our doors, since Rowan is only one of three trick or treaters in this house, and it does not capture the joy. He was positively giddy.
True story: When Griffin was five, he came home with a massive load of candy, and my colleague at work and I discussed how to handle the volume of junk. She said she had a rule that worked well: one piece of candy a day. Her son’s Halloween loot had lasted until Easter the previous year. I jumped on the idea. It was perfect: it let him enjoy his haul, he policed its consumption himself, I did not have to play the authority figure, he would see the value of “budgeting,” and it was only one little bite of candy a day.
Except it wasn’t perfect. The next trip to the dentist revealed SIX cavities. That’s right. Six. The daily exposure to sugar, even to one bite-sized serving, took a massive toll, and I was horrified.
So now we let them binge for two days, and then it goes into the garbage.
To be honest, I don’t really like that approach, either. I hate throwing it away, not only because that makes me a killjoy, but also because it feels wrong to throw away food, even if it is junk. Then there’s also the whole bingeing aspect.
So I’m still looking for the perfect plan: something that will balance health and fun, something that does not make me the wicked witch or the clean teeth police.
What rules do you have with the Halloween Haul? Do you do trades for stickers and such? Slow and steady consumption? Binges?
4 Mothers 
We let the kids eat extra candy the night of (not quite binging), but then pack it away out of sight. They might get the occasional treat from their loot later on, but they don’t really associate it as Halloween candy.
Our kids are young, so this may get harder as time goes on, but we’re hoping the early precedent will work. Our 4 year old asked the next day for some candy, but we said no, and it was not much different than saying no to other treats that we want him to eat in moderation. The real issue is getting the grown-ups to practice what they preach…
As for the extra, take it to any workplace setting – people at work will eat anything! A local shelter might welcome it too, although they might want healthier donations.
We let the boys have one a day but then we edit the stash (after they have gone to bed). Anything with nuts has to go (allergies) and I don’t let them eat hard candies (too paranoid about choking) so they go into the garbage. This year our babysitter’s son couldn’t go out trick-or-treating because he had the flu, so I gave him a generous portion of the boys’ loot.
Not sure how we are going to handle the situation as they get older. I imagine when the out of sight, out of mind trick doesn’t work any longer, we will need to re-address the issue.
Look into local military donations – many of them are perfectly willing to take your halloween candy and donate it to troops. Or local churches sometimes will take it. Ask school teachers if they would like to use it in their classroom as the occasional reward/treat.