Am I Evil????

I wouldn't skip it completely... I take my son to a community halloween party where he gets some candy (not a lot!) and plays a bunch of games & then we trick or treat a few blocks. I used to bring a lot of the candy to work... Let my coworkers get fat instead of me

I would let my kids go trick or treating, let them keep like a sandwich bag FULL of candy (whatever candy they choose) and just buck up on my self-control. If there is tons of candy left over, there are many places that will "buy" your candy by the pound to send to soldiers over seas... at least that's how it is in my town..

:noway: ...WPP

I could never imagine telling my kids no just because I couldn't handle it. I love Halloween as much as they do and it's the one day of the year I'm allowed to be a childish as they are. Put on a costume, throw on your running shoes, and take them house to house. My kids never walk, they run so it's a little bit of a workout for me to keep up. A lot of people have food addictions and they work through them, they don't just completely avoid everything.

I never got to go trick or treating as a kid until I was 16 years old. I was kinda sad I never got to go and never dress up for fun. When there was a halloween party in high school, I made my mom make me a Tinkerbell costume so I could go. I definitely want to take my kids when I have them!

The walking with your kids as they trick or treat will be plenty of exercise for the night. Especially if they're like mine and so wound up that they run from house to house!

W out all the candy in one big bowl, and they get one piece each day after dinner. Ssme rule for mommy and daddy. They get tired of it In a few weeks and forget about it. They we toss or donate the rest. Pretty easy answer.

I agree with the others. You need to go trick or treating with your kids. It’s once a year and a wonderful night. Plus, if you make candy seem like a bad thing, they will want it even more and will over indulge when they finally get some. Trick or treat with them, get some quality time with them, and get a good walking at the same time. Good luck.

I agree with others. Let your kids go ToT'ing!

Let them keep a portion of the candy, and donate the rest to something like this: http://www.operationgratitude.com/halloween-candy-buy-back-2012/

This is a great idea! Or, allow yourself one piece a day out of a small bag you set aside for you. It is not a bad thing to have a couple. But, you also don't want to make stuff SO off limits that they grow up to gorge on it when they are on their own just because they CAN...... Don't be THAT mom!

I don't think you are evil. I don't plan on buying candy this year and won't be home to hand it out because I plan on being at the gym for a TRX/cycle class. My ex will be taking the kids out on his own. Maybe you can get someone else to take the kids while you are at Zumba?

One rule we always did was the kids got to eat all they wanted Halloween night. Not healthy but one night a year of candy binge doesn't bother me. In the past, I would take the excess candy to work and leave it in a breakroom. It would disappear pretty quickly. However, after I stopped working I would just sit and eat the candy on my own. It still disappeared quickly but all by me!

My current philosophy is to throw out the extra after the binge night. No one needs as much candy as they bring home. The kids are pretty used to this. I instituted a "sugar detox" a few summers ago and now that it is part of our daily routine they accept that sugary treats aren't a daily event.

why are you depriving your kids from a staple of childhood, because you lack self control?

if you don't want to take them trick or treating because of zumba, then you can find a neighbor or friend with kids that is taking them out, and have your kids go with them.

I don't have kids, but yes, you are evil! lol

These are the holidays kids look forward to!

Let them TOT, give them a small bag of candy and give the rest away.

It's OK mom. You go do Zumba. I don't need to trick or treat this year.

Everyone has already said it, but I would not make the kids skip trick or treating for Zumba. How would you feel if your kids told you they were not coming to your birthday dinner because they wanted to play hide and seek, something they could do any time? It is also likely to teach them an unhealthy relationship with food and exercise. As you struggle with your own food issues, which could be what is driving this need to go to Zumba, I'm sure you don't want them to go through that.

Kids do get a lot of candy on Halloween. If you don't want them to keep it all, tell them (before they go) that they are trick or treating for two reasons tonight: to have fun for themselves, and to help collect for people in need. Let them know that you as a group will take part of what you collect to a worthy cause: a soup kitchen, a child respite home, a nursing home, a child hospital if allowed, homeless shelters, you name it.

I really do get where you are coming from--when you have food issues, you can become desperate not to derail yourself in any way, even by missing one workout. But in the long run, the negative consequences (guilt, shame, resentment from the kids, judgment from others) you experience from that will be worse and will likely contribute to some kind of sugar binge anyway.

I used to bring excess to work and put it in the break room for my co-workers. That always made it disappear fast.

OP! You very recently said that Halloween is your favorite holiday AND your birthday. Do not have your children always associate your birthday with a day they were hurt and angry with you.