For those of you who have children - what on earth do you do to keep your children from consuming HUGE amounts of candy in October? We have our tradition concerning candy on Halloween: on Halloween night the kids can eat as much candy as they want. Then after they go to bed - we throw the rest of the candy in the trash. A dentist once told me that it's better to eat more candy at once than eat one piece a day for a month. So - that is our tradition, but what I'm worried about is the candy that is coming at my kids from other sources. Gymnastics: they give candy to my kids once a week. Why do they need candy after gymnastics? It certainly won't help them become more agile or perform better flips, etc. What do you do to prevent your kids from going candy-crazy this time of year?
Update on my lapband surgery: the incisions are still healing. I am meeting with my surgeon this thursday for a follow-up. I am not used to eating such small amounts. I will be honest in saying that there have been times where I have eaten more than I am supposed to eat and my tummy feels SO FULL. This is a good thing, but I wish my mind would realize that I don't need a lot of food to be satisfied.
We found out today that there is some paperwork that needs to be filled out for us to be moving to FL. I had to hurry up and get an appointment on thursday to get that done. Whew! Stressful!!
We are working with an organization to see if Kristina has ARND (alcohol related neurological disorder). Thus far, Kristina has not had any formal diagnosis for her special needs. ARND seems to be a great fit for her, but apparently it takes some months to ascertain if this is what she has. So when we move to FL we will be meeting with a specialist there to see if ARND is what our sweet Kristina may or may not have.
11 comments:
This is the first year my kids are too old to trick or treat!
This was the tradition we always had- the kids dump their candies out
-then we take out anything questionable and all the chip bags.
-the rest of the candy is put in a large bowl that they take to their room
The biggest problem with Halloween is that I like the candy more than the kids. I find after a few days they forget about it- and eventually the rest gets thrown out.
I wouldn't try this if your kids can't control their candy consumption- or under age 8.
My 17 yr old doesn't eat junk at all anymore- we are still working on the 15 yr old!
Have fun!
I also want to add- as a Canadian I am very, very, jealous of your move to Florida!!!!
I wrote about the whole candy and Halloween thing on my blog yesterday. We used to do exactly what you mentioned with all the trick or treat candy. The first year the boys were home we were pretty clueless and did what we've always done and let them do this. HUGE, HUGE, HUGE mistake!! It was through that experience that we learned just exactly how big of a trigger candy really is for both of them. It ended up being an incredibly hellish experience that I would never wish on another human. So, do consider yourself warned and use caution in this approach. :-) Along those same lines, DO NOT allow them to ever take candy or treats to their rooms! That's a hoarding nightmare in the making.
What really chaps my hide is the amount of candy and treats my kids are bringing home from CHURCH! Sheesh. We were not allowed to do candy or treats of any sort in our last ward. Here, they hand out multiple BAGS of candy and various treats every single week. We've tried explaining to the primary presidency that this is really harmful for our kids, but the treats still keep on coming. I have to confiscate the treats every week after church and let them eat only a little bit of them after lunch and then get rid of the rest.
We just went through the FASD/ARND thing with Joseph. Hopefully yours will lead in a more productive direction. I had heard from some of my other blog buddies shortly before our appointment of their experience, so I WAY lowered my expectations about what might happen with ours. Good thing I did. All I can say is at least the doctor was nice! But, he would not diagnose Joseph as even being on the FASD spectrum because he doesn't have any typical FAS physical markers. In a nutshell, after waiting 9 months for that appointment, we still don't know anything more now than we knew then. His "diagnosis" is exactly what we thought it was before we met with the geneticist..."assumed exposure with assumed, yet undetermined physical and mental effects, but he doesn't have full blown FAS." Unless you absolutely NEED a formal Dx in order to continue with and/or obtain special ed services for Kristina, you may well end up in our same boat. The doc did, however, point out some possible autistic markers with Matthew. We already knew they were there, but it still stung a bit to hear them from a professional. That's our next thing we get to explore. Joy.
A dentist has to say that it is better to eat lots of candy once than over a long period of time because he is only worried about the teeth. It is actually healthier (especially if you brush their teeth well) to eat a piece a day, preferrably after a meal when a little more sugar won't make that much affect.
We do the one piece after supper thing until Mom gets sick of it and sneaks the rest into the garbage.
Love Halloween, HATE the candy!!!
Yeah...I remember my mom asking our dentist growing up what to do and said that as long as you brush your teeth after anything sweet or at the very least swish around water in your mouth (until you get home) you're teeth will be fine. now, if that's not the reason why you don't want your kids to eat lots of candy...then keep on doing what you're doing. :)
Hmm, I personally don't HATE candy. I think it's ok for kids to have in moderation. I think we should let kids be kids and enjoy Halloween! It's only once a year. But I agree that the amount of candy they bring home can be excessive... especially for little ones. So I like your idea. Maybe we'll try that this year. :)
I know some moms that have a halloween fairy. On halloween night, the kids leave their trick or treat bags out and in the morning the candy is gone, but replaced by a fun new toy. On church-I thought it was a church wide thing that candy shouldn't be used in classes? All 3 wards I've been in said that. On gymnastics-that's just ridiculous, but maybe they could "trade in" the candy for a coin for their piggy bank, or save it up to cash in for a toy or something? My kid has only had 1 piece from trunk or treat and hasn't even asked for more, but I totally want to dig in. We also don't take her trick or treating, though after the holidays I always go pick up some candy on sale.
When I adopted my little girl she was 2 and had never had enough to eat her entire life. She did not weigh twenty pounds. Food was a biggie.
I let her eat what ever she wanted, as much, and when ever she wanted it, candy included. She had a drawer in the kitchen I filled up with snacks and drink boxes. I tried to keep her snacks healthy but if she loved a paticular treat I got those too.
She ate a lot at first but as time has gone by she has gotten picky like most kids her age and rarely eats candy though it is there.
I don't like candy very much, hate chocolate, so I never knew it could be a problem. We always had three main good balanced meals a day. She always ate at meal time.
Everyone told me she would get fat eating what ever she wanted etc. but she didn't and her appetite evened out.
I have had her five years now and she is healthy as a horse. It did not seem to hurt her.
M
Well, we all know that candy isn't very healthy, so I think moderation is the key. A little bit won't hurt - I wouldn't do all of it at once. I let them dump out their candy and pick 3 or 4 things to eat that night. Then I take them, raid it for my favorites :) and then they might get one a day until they're gone. But their stash seems to be gone fairly quickly for some reason ;)
I like candy too.
I love chocolate, he he. Here are things I think kids learn by being able to have candy:
1) they like to share their stash with Mom and Dad; happy parents = happy kids.
2) when they get a tummy ache from eating too much, they learn that too much candy isn't good for them (when their old enough).
3) Little kids won't figure it out if you decide to throw it out.
4) Making a rule that if they have candy, they have to brush their teeth afterwards will help nix the cavity problem. I agree, having more at once is better than snacking all day on it.
5) If kids are active and taught good eating habits, candy can be something to enjoy on special occassions.
=)
I am glad your recovery is going well. I hope everything works out with the kids paperwork. Good luck.
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