Not letting your kids have all of their Halloween Candy

Started by DeterminedJuliet, October 31, 2011, 05:30:31 PM

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DeterminedJuliet

This isn't really religion-related, but I guess this would be the best place to put this?

I have just discovered that, apparently, it is a parenting "thing" to "sort" your kid's Halloween candy and dispose of the majority of it? One of my co-workers was talking about how she used to tell her kids that "the Great pumpkin" needed their candy every year, so they would get a couple of pieces from their trick-or-treating loot, but then she'd dispose of the rest (bring it into work, eat it, throw it out, etc).

THEN! I saw a post about this on Facebook and apparently this is common! (not the "Great Pumpkin" part, just the getting rid of candy part).

I was shocked! Has anyone else heard of this? I have a little boy and once he's old enough, I'm going to let him trick-or-treat for as much candy as he likes and let him eat it until he hurls! That's the whole point! 364 days of the rest of the year he has a reasonable, balanced diet without crap or junk, so what could one day possibly do? If anything, it'll teach him the virtues of boundaries when it comes to indulging.

This is sacrilege, I tells ya! sacrilege!
"We've thought of life by analogy with a journey, with pilgrimage which had a serious purpose at the end, and the THING was to get to that end; success, or whatever it is, or maybe heaven after you're dead. But, we missed the point the whole way along; It was a musical thing and you were supposed to sing, or dance, while the music was being played.

Stevil

I hate Halloween.
It's an American tradition, not a NZ one, so why are kids starting to come a knocking?

Bugger off, I say, leave me alone, don't you know its dangerous to take lollies from strangers?

Tank

I'd ration it after collection. Stick it in a tin and let him take some to school each day.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

hismikeness

I don't have kids, but once I do I plan on teaching them about taxes using their Halloween candy. 30% right off the top for me!
No churches have free wifi because they don't want to compete with an invisible force that works.

When the alien invasion does indeed happen, if everyone would just go out into the streets & inexpertly play the flute, they'll just go. -@UncleDynamite

Whitney

We always dumped it on the floor and sorted it to make sure it was all safe and then could have whatever we wanted (though I think we probably were encouraged not to completely pig out).  What didn't get eaten that night was placed in a cabinet which we had access to.

I think when I have kids I'd let them eat all they want that one night and then find some place they could donate the leftovers to...but that would be just as much for my health as for theirs.  Our to give away candy is going to school with hubby tomorrow so it won't be in the house.

Sandra Craft

Quote from: DeterminedJuliet on October 31, 2011, 05:30:31 PM
I was shocked! Has anyone else heard of this? I have a little boy and once he's old enough, I'm going to let him trick-or-treat for as much candy as he likes and let him eat it until he hurls! That's the whole point! 364 days of the rest of the year he has a reasonable, balanced diet without crap or junk, so what could one day possibly do? If anything, it'll teach him the virtues of boundaries when it comes to indulging.

This is sacrilege, I tells ya! sacrilege!

It certainly isn't Halloween as I knew it.  When I was trick-or-treating, the friends I'd gone with and I would dump all our candy out and start trading for favorites, then I'd go home and do whatever I wanted with it.  Between me and younger brothers who couldn't go out on Halloween yet, it usually lasted two weeks at most.

But we live in more health conscious times.  There are a couple of candy buy back programs, including one that sends it to troops who give it to local kids.  Apparently it's part of community building.
Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany

Willow

Good excuse to post a link to my favourite parenting blog.
http://crappypictures.typepad.com/
I gave out so much chocolate on halloween, some kids must have a masssive haul.  However my 5 year old wants to go trick or treating himself next year rather than staying in and giving the stuff away.  I know he'll be fine because he's not too keen on sweets, but he has a tendency to be kind and give unwanted candy to his little brother.  I will certainly try to get a bit for myself, but that's because I have a sweet tooth, not out of consideration for their health.

It's only once a year, I think maybe I'll just chill.

Willow


DeterminedJuliet

haha, awesome!

If I know myself, and I think I do, I'm sure I might sneak a piece of my son's candy here or there. That's one thing. But throwing it in the garbage? That's just crazy!
"We've thought of life by analogy with a journey, with pilgrimage which had a serious purpose at the end, and the THING was to get to that end; success, or whatever it is, or maybe heaven after you're dead. But, we missed the point the whole way along; It was a musical thing and you were supposed to sing, or dance, while the music was being played.

Asmodean

Quote from: hismikeness on October 31, 2011, 06:17:52 PM
I don't have kids, but once I do I plan on teaching them about taxes using their Halloween candy. 30% right off the top for me!
Nice!  ;D I am likely to do the same if ever I should get my hands on a few kids. Let the little freeloaders pay for monopolising my TV time, killing my bandwidth and emptying my fridge  ;D
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on July 25, 2013, 08:18:52 PM
In Asmo's grey lump,
wrath and dark clouds gather force.
Luxembourg trembles.

Will

Don't you disrespect my faith in the Great Pumpkin! He will appear in 2012, Harold Camping said so!
I want bad people to look forward to and celebrate the day I die, because if they don't, I'm not living up to my potential.

Good and Godless

I have two young girls, but we did go trick-or-treating with my 2 and a half year old this year.  I jumped on the parenting bandwagon to minimize candy eating for both health reasons and for sanity reasons (because sugar is 2-year-old speed).  Anyway, we did the "Switch Witch".  The Switch Witch comes along and trades most of the candy (she left 3 pieces, which was about a quarter of my daughter's stash) and in return leaves a toy or toys.  (Psst...I'm the switch witch).  My daughter got a book, some stickers, some new jars of play-dough...nothing big.  Anyway, she loved it, and now she won't be eating all the candy.  I don't mind the chocolate but I really hate the pure sugar "Fun Dip" stuff and I want to keep it out of her world as long as possible.

I know this brings up the whole issue of lying to your kids about Santa and the Easter Bunny and now the Switch Witch.  I think the myth is okay as long as you don't insist upon it when the kids start asking questions.  Let them think for themselves.  It's a rite of passage and could open up some doors for talking about people's beliefs in other illogical characters...

Anyway, I know I went off topic a bit...

As for what I will do with the candy...probably take it to my community college students. 
"A man's ethical behaviour should be based effectively on sympathy, education and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death." -Albert Einstein
http://goodandgodless.blogspot.com/

history_geek

I don't have any kids, and Halloween is a bit too new for us here up North, but we do have a similar candy hunting tradition during easter (we call it Virpominen, which basicly means dressing up as a trulli, a type of witch or something and.....yes, I've done and yes, I mean putting up a dress and going dor to door giving out decorated pussy willow branches and chanting an old childrens rhyme.
'

I'ts tradition, damn it!

;) )

Anyhow, we usually get to keep the candy, but the parents also say not to eat it all at once. And here steps in the weekend, with one day for eating stuff like candy, potato chips and such. I think most people call it saturday  :P Basicly you can eat some of the candy you got and save up the rest for comming saturdays, and I think that is a good system, since it allows the kids to keep the candy, but it won't compleatly get out of control. The same thing also applies to the chocolate we get during xmas....

But Good and Godless' "Switch Witch" idea sounds rather good for younger kids.  ;D
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Arthur C Clarke's Third Law
"Any sufficiently advanced alien is indistinguishable from a god."
Pierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace:
Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothése - I do not require that hypothesis[img]http://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/a/4eef2cc3548cc9844a491b22ad384546.gif[/i

Willow

Is that the Easter Bunny trying to thumb a lift with Virpominen?

history_geek

Quote from: Willow on November 03, 2011, 09:45:58 PM
Is that the Easter Bunny trying to thumb a lift with Virpominen?

Yes, that's the Easer Bunny (we kinda combined the hiding of the chocolate eggs, and doing virpominen rounds ;) ), but he's trying to take a lift from a trulli or witch. Virpominen is the activity, of going door to door and saying the rhyme and exchange the pussy willow and it's good luck for a payment of chocolate ;)
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Arthur C Clarke's Third Law
"Any sufficiently advanced alien is indistinguishable from a god."
Pierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace:
Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothése - I do not require that hypothesis[img]http://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/a/4eef2cc3548cc9844a491b22ad384546.gif[/i