What To Do With Halloween Candy

Now that Halloween is over, there’s the question of what to do with all that candy.

Nutritionists say there are ways to get around the effect of all those empty calories.

Parents can start by making sure kids don’t try to eat it all when they get home. The key is to dole it out in over the course of several days or weeks.

An appropriate amount is “not more than the size of the palm of their hand.

Too much candy in a short period of time can not only make kids feel sick to their stomach, it can cause blood sugar to spike, leading to a crash later on.

Sugary foods can also damage teeth.

To prevent damage, kids should be allowed to eat their sweets for a short period of time ? no more than 30 minutes ? then brush their teeth immediately to stop the acid attack.

Parents should set rules for eating Halloween candy and explain them to their kids well before the holiday so that they know what to expect, says Dorian Traube, an assistant professor at the USC School of Social Work told the Los Angeles Times.

Kids should know in advance how long they will be allowed to trick-or-treat and what will happen to their candy once it enters the house; children who are old enough to understand should also be told why those rules exist.

Another pitfall is allowing kids to negotiate how much candy they should be allowed to eat after they’ve brought it home.

“That negotiation might start to bleed into other areas” and give children the impression that they can make deals about homework time or hanging out with friends, Traube says. “It’s very confusing to children.”

And when that day comes, there are creative options for disposing of leftover candy.

A growing number of dental practices are offering to buy candy from kids and send it to the troops.

You can find out which dentists are participating by going to halloweencandybuyback.com