This year I suggested to the boys that we combine all the Halloween candy into one bowl. They hesitated, but agreed. Since Bug had gotten tired running up and down all the steep driveways in our neighborhood, he had significantly less candy. Pook could tell this by looking, so I knew it factored into his decision making but he was the first to agree.
Once the candy was dumped into one huge bowl, all the peanut products were removed to be taken to CD's office. That may have reduced the quantity by a full fourth. Then, since Grandma and Grandad were visiting, they were offered the bowl to help themselves. (The kids already had full mouths.) And, each day since, CD and I have freely taken from the pot after dinner in full view of the kids. They've been rationed since the first night and they are only eating it for afternoon snack and after dinner. I'm keeping it up high so that it'll be out of sight and out of mind the rest of the day, but it has been generously shared when we pull it out. I'm quite amazed that this method has worked.
We're in the routine of eating dessert every night. I'm not exactly sure how this happened. I know I've got a sweet tooth so I haven't exactly worked hard to stop the trend. We usually have cookies around and each have two after dinner. I did buy a huge bag of frozen mixed berries once. As much as we liked them, I believe they've been lost in the back of the outdoor freezer. Since the huge Halloween candy bowl is almost empty, this might be the time to bring that back. In theory I agree that dessert shouldn't be expected. In practice, I want a sweet after dinner.
Dessert in our house is two-fold.
ReplyDelete1) The girls get dessert if they (this really only applies to the 3-year-old in residence) have eaten "a good dinner", which consists of at least 1 bite of the main course and 1 bite of whatever vegetable I am serving. I don't make strange dishes, so they can get over themselves and eat, dang it. It is usually cookies or Halloween candy or something else of that ilk.
2) Mike and I typically have a "grown-up" dessert after the kiddos go to bed. This is especially true if there is ice cream in the house.
I am all for my kids eating fruit and other healthy things, but seriously, a small snack-sized candy bar for dessert = perfect in my eyes. Just my 0.02.