So I have to ask: are there other parents out there as frustrated and bewildered as I am by the staggering amount of candy being foisted upon our kids these days? Candy and junk food offerings no longer seem relegated to holidays, birthday parties, and a visit to the doctor’s office that ends with a token lollipop. Instead, just about every single kid-related event or gathering we attend includes the opportunities to ingest sugars, dyes, and high-fructose corn syrup. WHY? While I can’t answer that question, I can make decisions that influence how my kids respond to the junk food buffet they’re repeatedly exposed to. And with Halloween fast approaching, I’m sharing this year’s plan for dealing with the Great Candy Onslaught of 2025.
But first, I want to address the question you might be asking. WHY? Why be so concerned with the simple, childlike pleasure of amassing a mountain of candy? My answer is this: how can we expect kids to intuit their natural rhythms and form a healthy relationship to food if we encourage them to fill up on some of the worst offenders: toxic dyes, artificial sweeteners, and every unpronounceable ingredient found on the back of a candy wrapper?
In our home we talk a lot about making better choices, moderation, and swapping low quality treats for more elevated options. I don’t want to ban sugar or treats, I want my kids to be able to tell the difference between junk and quality. I want them to sense what their bodies are telling them when they eat poor quality ‘food products’, and to seek alternatives. I long for them to enjoy high quality and/or homemade options so that they no longer desire junk. Actually, they already do this so much more than I did when I was young and I’m so impressed by their shifting preferences!
This past year I’ve given my kids the option of trading out treats they receive (Everywhere! All the time! What on earth!?) for good quality chocolate, home baked treats, pastries from a local bakery, etc. Almost every time they come home with junk, they ask to swap it out for something that doesn’t make them feel gross. When we are out, they mostly choose non-dye options when offered, and also choose homemade desserts over store-bought ones (my 11 and 9-year old girls are much more prone to this than my 6-year old boy, but that’s to be expected). On the odd occasion when they choose the less healthy option, I don’t criticize, and sometimes even join in.
This Halloween I came up with a new idea for how to handle the incoming candy: they’ll each keep a small bag of favourites and trade the rest in for an outing to the movies where they can enjoy their treats. When I proposed the option to the kids, they were fully on board. Not only will we have the fun of dressing up and trick-or-treating together, but we’ll also enjoy more time and create more memories together as a result of the trade. My girls also suggested we keep some candy to use for gingerbread constructions come Christmas. I love that they too, are looking for ways to enjoy the collecting of candy without ingesting it all!
Here are a few more ideas for what to do with all that leftover halloween candy:
- Offer for your kids trade it in for a shopping trip (doesn’t have to be big or lavish!). Last year I told them that a specific amount of pieces of candy would earn them a specific cash value, so the more candy they gave me, the more they had to spend.
- Swap out the candy in exchange for a trip to an old-fashioned candy store and purchase a small amount of better candy to enjoy and learn about.
- Trade candy for baking a dessert of their choice together and enjoying it with a movie.
- Set up a prize box where kids can barter/swap out their candy over time. This might help with kids who don’t want to immediately part with their loot all at once!
- Find a dentist that has a buy-back program where they offer to purchase your leftover candy. Let the kids do some shopping, save it up, or even better, do something to serve someone in need.
How do you handle the candy collection and consumption during this season or throughout the year? I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions in the comments below.
