Every Halloween, a lot of parents worry about how to manage their child’s Halloween candy. Do you resort to hiding it–and then re-hiding it every time your child finds it again? Well, there’s a better way. Today I’ve got some ingenious ways to manage your child’s Halloween candy–without hiding it. Free yourself from Halloween candy stress once and for all!

Ways To Manage Your Child’s Halloween Candy

As with anything else, the best way to manage is with a plan. Plan ahead for the Halloween candy you know you’re going to have to deal with, and you’re halfway there to maintaining control.

• One way to plan ahead is not to buy your Halloween candy too early. If your house is like mine, everyone knows it’s there, and that means we’re all fighting to stay out of it before Halloween. That just doesn’t happen! So don’t buy it too early and you won’t be tempted {and neither will the kids!}.
• If you get the chance to have a say in your child’s class Halloween parties, push for healthier choices. So many times our kids get sugared up before they’ve even left school–and trick-or-treating hasn’t even happened yet! A party full of games and healthy snacks is just as much fun, and I’m sure other parents will thank you for it.
• Hiding the Halloween candy isn’t actually managing it. What happens when you hide it? The kids just go on an all-out quest to find it and when they do they’re going to eat even more than if you just let them have it in the first place. So there’s something to be said for establishing rules over the candy.
• Rules to manage your child’s Halloween candy are individual, but I find that when they include all the times the kids CAN have some of their candy, they’re much less likely to go crazy. For example, your rules may state that you child can choose a piece or two of candy after meals, or as part of their after school snack. You might let your child choose some candy to include in his school lunch.
• Practice some swap outs. Have healthier choices in your pantry that the kids like and can swap out some of their candy to get.
• Some parents establish a candy buy-out after trick-or-treating. This allows your child to give you some or even all of their candy in exchange for money. For some kids, money is preferred over candy!

Do you have any additional ways to manage your child’s Halloween candy {without hiding it}? Please share with other readers in the comment section. And before you go, check out these deliciously spooky Halloween snack ideas!