Halloween candy guilt
 

When my husband and I were discussing what to hand out for Halloween, I told him I wanted to hand out a healthier option. He flat out refused, but made a valid point. He said,"So many parents push that healthy eating crap on kids now, and Trick-or-treating is their chance to break free of that."

After I pointed out that I was trying very hard to eat "that healthy crap" I also pointed out that kids also regularly get candy at Christmas, Easter, Valentines, and Birthdays. Inevitably, I gave in and we bought a big bag of chocolate for the kids. Still, in the back of my mind, I kind of wish we would have bought mini bags of popcorn, or cool pencils or something... Maybe next year I can convince him to have TWO options, a healthy and candy and let the kids decide.

ANYWAY.....

I was wondering if anyone else feels guilty for passing out candy instead of healthier options... or if you do hand out better choices, what do you hand out?

i feel guilty for eating it... LOL

Well I feel guilty for handing out crap but I did buy pretzels and some hard type candy. I really don't care... they aren't my kids :)

Nah, I don't feel guilty. My kids didn't get candy regularly when they were little. They pretty much only got it on Valentine's Day, Christmas, Easter, and Halloween. So I didn't feel guilty letting them trick-or-treat. They usually only ate candy for a day or so and then the rest got eaten by the grownups or tossed out. And like Nelie said--they're not my kids, so I'll give 'em candy. It's up to their parents to regulate it!

But--that doesn't mean that I don't like your cool pencil idea, too! Maybe some glow in the dark plastic spiders or something. There are lots of cool little toys that would be fun to hand out.

I also got the little bags of pretzels this year. My kids got them last year and thought they were cool, I suppose just because it was so different. Please, remind ur husband that people are starting to push the "healthy crap" onto their kids for the harm that they have already allowed them to do to themselves. I mean how sad is it that the human race(with all our wonderful technology) is regressing at this point.

i ate 8 mini twix tonight ! ughhh lolz nooooooooooooooooo

Its up to the parents to decide what the kids can eat. My Sister in law gives my niece a small ziploc bag and whatever she fits in it, she can keep. She can only have one a day. Don't feel guilty, honestly there is a good chance it will end up in their parents candy dish at work. I can't count the number of people I work with that brings in their kids Halloween candy to put out for others to eat.

I think that part of what causes people to develop problems with food is that there is this notion of "good food" and "bad food". The approach should be moderation and keeping treats as treats rather than to place some foods off-limits. It's up to the parents to ration their kids Halloween candy, or to not take their kids to too many houses so they don't get too much. I think that people who give out treats should just go with the spirit of the holiday, or simply not give them out at all.

That being said, I've read that many kids are delighted to get non-food items on Halloween so long as they're neat and kid-friendly. Stickers, cool stationary items, small toys, etc. are also welcomed by them. Toothbrushes, fruit, carob and granola, etc. are not. I think it's a good idea to go with two options and let the kids choose.

I got a great idea from a dentist a couple of years back that he practiced with his kids and now use it with my kids. They are unrestricted from whatever they want to eat from their Halloween stash for one day. After that, it goes to DH's office. Freedom, choice, restraint, sharing and healthy teeth!

I don't hand out candy, but when I did, I didn't feel guilty about it. I hand out toys that I purchase from the Oriental Trading Company. This year I handed out little bags that I filled with dinosaur eggs, tops, stickers, and temporary tattoos.

The main reason I hand out toys isn't guilt about giving candy to the kids, it's guilt about myself eating the leftover candy. We don't get a lot of trick-or-treaters and some years we get more than others, so it can be hard to plan the exact right amount of handouts. When I handed out candy, we either ran out (and I definitely felt WAY GUILTY about not having stuff to give out) or we had a lot leftover. I don't work in an office, so there's nothing to do with the leftover candy but eat it myself or throw it out (which my SO would be horrified about, even though he won't eat the candy himself). The toys are easy. I buy more than I need and whatever I don't give out, I just save for next year.

And the toys seem to go over well with the kids. When they would ask what they were, they seemed excited about them. Even the teenagers liked the dinosaur eggs. One even came back to ask if I had more. He said they were "tight," which I'm pretty sure is a good thing.

I don't get a lot of trick or treaters, but when I do I usually throw a few quarters in their bag. I won't buy the candy because I will eat the leftovers. I can think of three people's desks in my row at work who have big baskets of candy on their desks to share.

Some neighborhoods are having more block-party types of events, where they show movies on their garage or serve cider and/or cocoa to the parents of the kids.