Halloween Candy - We're in Disagreement Here

Nick and I are having a bit of a disagreement today about this big pile of Halloween Candy that Owen has collected.

It actually started last night when I thought we should go trick-or-treating for as long as Owen wanted to and Nick wanted to try to limit how much candy Owen collected.

In part this disagreement stems from Nick not going trick-or-treating when he was a child. He grew up overseas in places where Halloween is not celebrated. So, I don't think he can appreciate the excitement of Halloween the way I can. I have great memories of planning elaborate Halloween costumes and spending hours trick-or-treating.

Anyway - we follow Ellyn Satter's philosophy about feeding children, so I figure we should follow her philosophy when it comes to Halloween candy as well.

Here is what she says...

Let your child lay out all of their candy on Halloween night, count it, gloat over it, and eat as much of it as they want to. The next day, let them do the same. After that, put it away and only have it for snacks and dessert.

She says that if you are feeding your child well and they are eating healthy most of the time, a few days of candy will not hurt them. And if they aren't eating healthy and well, then limiting their Halloween candy won't help anyway.

She also sees Halloween as a learning opportunity. They can learn to manage their own pile of candy.

Allowing Owen to eat as much candy as he wants (even for just one day) seems to be very hard for Nick. It just seems to go against common sense.

I do admit that I did not let him eat as much candy as he wanted last night, since it was late already and I didn't want him up all night. He did have a fair bit, but I did limit it.

But today, the candy is on the table and I have told him that he doesn't need to ask if he can have any - he can just take it. He is getting some mixed messages since Nick keeps trying to intervene and suggest he save some for later...

At 9am (new time), Owen has had two mini chocolate bars and a candy straw. He has been up for 3.5 hours. That's really not too bad, is it?

Here are some of her books:
Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense
How to Get Your Kid to Eat... But Not Too Much