Halloween was a little different this year. JCK's husband was away, and JCK had to make all the important CANDY DECISIONS. You know the ones. How much candy do you allow your 6 year old children to eat on Halloween? How much after that, and... what do you do with the leftovers? A candy haul that screams of American Excess.
In past years, BOY & GIRL were allowed to eat the same number of candies as their age. Then last year, JCK was introduced to the concept of the Candy Fairy. Basically how it works is that your children eat some candy on Halloween, pick out a few pieces to save, and leave the rest to be picked up that night...while they are asleep, by the Candy Fairy. In exchange for the candy, the fairy leaves a small toy.
Why not? Too much candy, and the Candy Fairy takes it away. Saving young children's teeth and the ripening waists of their parents. All is well!
This year JCK considered her options. And surprisingly, the Candy Fairy didn't sit well with her. JCK started thinking about it, and decided she didn't want to have yet another time when fairies were flying into her home space. And, toys mysteriously turning up for her children who don't really need another toy. Especially not from a fairy who glorifies candy. JCK pondered... just what kind of relationship must this Candy Fairy have with the Tooth Fairy. Surely, they must battle each other to the death. Teeth or candy? CANDY OR TEETH?
Lest you think JCK was over thinking this a bit...well, she was. And, then she made a decision. JCK kicked the Candy Fairy to the Curb.
Instead, JCK decided to talk to her children. Explain that she thought they were old enough to decide how much candy they wanted to eat that night. But, to remember two things. If it looked like they needed help with that decision, JCK would step in. And...too much candy can make you throw up. Always good to throw in a little dramatic visual for good measure.
And, so... BOY & GIRL ate some candy. And some more. GIRL carefully chose each one, savoring every bite, and lining up the next choice. BOY figured that if he was allowed to decide how much candy he was going to eat, he would try everything. And, he did. Like a true candy aficionado, BOY took one bite of each one, and moved on. GIRL stopped on her own after several pieces. BOY needed a couple of prompts to wind down. Total consumption? Not extreme. And, then they were done. Teeth brushed, ready for bed.
Today, they had one piece of candy after dinner. And, have not asked where JCK has hidden the great stash. Fortunately, some of that stash has been devoured by JCK. It goes well with a little whiskey on a November evening...
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JCK is participating in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), writing 30 blog posts in 30 days.
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Anyone who can bring Jack Daniels into post-Halloween candy eating has my respect. Well done. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm with Jennifer.
ReplyDeleteI always complain about the lack of houses handing out candy in our neighborhood but the upside is my kids have low expectations on the amount of candy they get.
Love the costumes.
I applaud your decision to kick the fairy out! It sounds like your kids are mature enough to make good choices. My teenagers went trick-or-treating and have huge stashes of candy hidden in their rooms now.. but I actually worry more about the dogs finding it than I do about the kids making themselves sick.
ReplyDeleteYou had me at whiskey. Hmmm, whiskey.
ReplyDelete(I think you handled it just right, teaching them that they are in charge of their own little bodies. With guidance of course. We once had a kid at one of our parties vomit because he never had managed having candy sitting around AND I didn't see him cram his mouth full, in a mad hurry for the forbidden food. I felt bad, but I also felt like one little candy bowl shouldn't be THAT tempting.)
Enjoy your treats.
i have always, always just put limits on how much MQ can eat and when. I do get a little more lax in the few days just after halloween (she had a snack of candy this morning... she's off school) but for the most part it just replaces dessert after a meal, until it's gone, or we get sick of it and it disappears.
ReplyDeletejust because you have a big bowl of candy does not mean you get to eat it whenever you want.
Great plan JCK! I like the part about candy and whiskey too....
ReplyDeleteWhen my daughter was small she rationed her candy ever so slowly (great restraint) and kept it in a drawer in her desk. Only problem was: I knew where it was and my appetite was bigger than hers; she'd constantly accuse me of getting in to her stash and I had to 'fess up.
Love this post, Jennifer. What a smart mother you are -- respectful of your children.
ReplyDeleteI love your approach.
ReplyDeleteThe "candy fairy" reminds me of a friend who buried store-bought sea stars and shells for her children to find on the beach. God forbid that our children be disappointed at not finding a shell on their own. And God forbid that children should have to give up candy without gaining something in return.
My kids weren't big candy gorgers so we would often end up with a bag of year old candy, but they couldn't bring themselves to throw it away!
ReplyDeleteI let them eat and eat and it pretty much disappeared in a couple of days-I don't remember anyone getting sick.
ReplyDeleteI think it was my answer to a mom who controlled the sugar intake at our house a lot. Now that everyone is older the leftover candy from handing it out lingers for a very long time.
Smart smart smart!
ReplyDelete