We do have candy in our house. I actually think we are just about out of our candy from the
Harvest Carnival last year. Good timing. My husband grew up with a candy drawer. When we first got married, we ran our of room in our kitchen drawers for our utensils. I suggested we rid ourselves of the candy drawer, and he was aghast. The candy drawer stayed. Knowing my weakness for candy, I would stock it with stuff I didn’t like. He didn’t like the stuff either, so we had a candy drawer full of stale candy. Our candy bin is still pretty lame. What is interesting is that my husband grew up with a candy drawer as did his mom and his siblings. I did not. None of them has as big of a sweet tooth as I do when it comes, specifically, to candy. I know people who grew up without candy in the home at all, and they absolutely love it now. I know some that isn’t the case for too. I have heard that often times in food, what kids feel like they never get and need to hoard is what they crave. I watched a Discovery Health program by Dr. Oz that studied a number of health concepts, and this was one of them. The outcome was interesting. The kids who had limits (I think it was on peanuts) wanted more desperately. The kids who were allowed to eat what they wanted had a healthy amount. Now, I’m not saying my parents kept me away from candy. That wasn’t the case. The point of all of this is that I’m trying to find a healthy balance. We have the candy, and I became tired of the kids asking for it and me saying no so often. When we were on vacation, one of their aunts brought a big tub of licorice. She said to her kids (and I adopted the rule for my own) that they may have 2 pieces a day. She didn’t care if they were eaten first thing in the morning or were spread out throughout the day. We have carried this rule into our homes for sweets. It avoids the asking and the sneaking. Once you have had your two pieces, you’re done.
