Halloween Candy Out The Nose

What do you do with all your Halloween candy?

So many families manage Halloween candy in different ways. Do you let your kids binge and hopefully not purge on all the candy they can fit into their little tummies? Do you limit them to one or two pieces a day for the next decade? Do you let them eat all they want on trick or treating night and then toss the rest? WHAT DO YOU DO?

It is always a dilemma for me. One year I handed out a couple of pieces of candy every single day until Easter. Last year the girls picked out fifteen of their favorite pieces and I paid them for the rest. Yes, you read right. I gave my little pumpkins cold hard cash for free candy. It seems to be a controversial approach, considering the "strong" comments I have received about how I choose to parent my children during candy lalapalooza. Note a bit of sarcasm? The candy didn't go to waste... candy is like gold in my house. We mailed the entire huge box of candy to Gene in Iraq.

This year I have talked to the girls about the returning predicament. My idea is to have them pick out their favorite pieces again in trade for any book they want from the bookstore. We have many friends deployed so the candy will find good home.

Now, stop rolling your eyes. I am a democrat, normally, and I like the people to choose even if they aren't old enough to vote. But when it comes to running my household and parenting I have been compared to Hitler. I can be a bit firm. You know, kids want boundaries and need a firm leader but lots of love. In the case of Halloween, I feel like the girls have worked hard for their candy - I know I did. Hard work deserves a payment. That's how it works in the grown-up world, right? So, if you look at it that way, I am preparing them to be hard working members of society.

However, to my surprise, I am getting moans and groans about the trade being candy to deployed soldiers for a book. I thought it was perfect solution. The girls love to read and I don't like cavities or sugar induced melt downs. Should I go back to cash or make the trade for tangible goods? I like goods. I may put down my foot, which by the way will have on a sock with bits of candy stuck to the bottom, and say it is a book or nothing.

What do you do with all your Halloween candy?