5 Strategies for Kids’ Halloween Candy Consumption. No arguing required.

You know what job is really the pits? The Candy Police. You know what’s worse? The emotional roller coaster of a kid high on Fun Dip from kids.

I used to get really nutso about limiting my kids Halloween candy intake and then I realized I liked not arguing way better. In theory, none of these strategies I’m about to offer involve arguing. Give it a try and let me know how it goes.

#1 No Limits

When I was 10 years old, my mom worked for Post Cereals. Needless to say, I was very popular in school. We had Honey-Combs, Alphabits and Fruity Pebbles coming out our ears and my mom let us eat as much as we wanted. Guess what? We got sick of it and to this day, I’m not a big fan of sugary cereals. Let the kids gorge on Halloween candy and learn their own lessons of moderation. This might actually take a couple years, but that’s ok. Better to discover healthy limits now in adolescence rather than in college (“freshman 15”, binge drinking and all the other fun choices young adults face.)

#2 Kids Set the Limits

Ok, if you’re not comfortable with the “no limits” thing, try letting the kids decide how much, per day, is a fair amount to consume. This is a great lesson in helping kids communicate and negotiate their point of view. It’s also a great way to avoid being up all night with a kid who’s stomach feels like Sigourney Weaver in Alien.

This solution also allows kids to feel more in control of the outcome rather than receiving a candy limit mandate from you. Once you’ve agreed on an appropriate number of pieces allowable per day, have your child baggie up the daily allotment and boom, done. One baggie per day until you’ve thrown out what they can’t remember having.

#3 Candy Buy Back

The only thing better than candy is cold, hard cash. Many dentists’ office offer a Candy Buy Back program where they pay kids $1 per pound of candy. Call your local dentist’s office to find out if they are participating!

Please be sure to check with Halloween Candy Buyback to find your local practices participating and contact your nearest buyback dentist for specific times and dates of collection!

#4 Offer Trades

How much are five Kit Kats worth? A trip to the park? An outing for ice cream? An extra 15 minutes of screen time? Everything has a price. Find your kids’ currency and offer some healthy trades. Then throw away the candy! Do not eat it yourself!

#5 Donate It

What to do with leftover Halloween candy? Consider bringing some to Discover Portsmouth, at 10 Middle St. They love to share and provide treats to visitors attending the upcoming 33nd Annual Gingerbread House Contest and Exhibition! Or better yet enter the contest and use the candy to build a one of a kind gingerbread house with your family.

This year Building Block Commons at 125 Kingston Rd., in Exeter is continuing to collect candy for the troops. From Wednesday, November 1 through Friday, November 3rd, 2023 you can drop your candy off curbside. There is a large plastic container located right by the white mailbox in the drive through.

Hampton Academy is participating and would love your help filling up barrels of candy. They have containers in the front office to drop your candy donations in. 29 Academy Ave, Hampton, NH

Many other schools and local organizations collect candy for Treats for Troops – Soldiers Angels. Treats for Troops is an an organization that mails care packages to deployed service members and veterans. It’s the perfect way to unload excess candy & give back to our troops!

The Town of Newton office at 2 Town Hall Rd, Newton, NH 03858 is open from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and will be collecting during those time from 10/25/23 to 11/7/23.

If you can’t find a drop off near enough to you you can always send your candy directly (if you sign up ahead of time) to Treats for Troops now Soldiers Angels.

Operation Blessing at 600A Lafayette Rd and The Chase Home at 698 Middle Road in Portsmouth. Contact your local food pantry to ask if they are collecting candy and the best spot to drop it off.

Link House located at 37 Washington Street in Newburyport.

We Fill Good at 42 State Road in Kittery is also collecting candy wrappers this year to recylce. Store hours are Tues – Thurs 10 – 6, Fri 10 – 5, Sat 11 – 5 & Sun 11 – 4. See here for more details on dontating a bag of wrappers.

Always check with your local dentist office. Many collect candy in exchange for cash or a nice gift for the switch.

Stay tuned for my next article titled, “Just Say No: A Parent’s Guide to Not Eating All the Discarded Almond Joys.” Happy Halloween!

To find more places to donate candy and/or or your pumpkins read here!