On the way home, I let my son open the plastic eggs that he had found during the hunt to see what treats they held. Guess what was in one of the eggs? A miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Seriously?? There were several hard candies in some of the eggs, some questionable, but there is no question about the safety of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Was that a busy mom that just didn't think or an irritated mom that was making a statement. Given that I know all the parents, I'm going to choose to believe it was a busy mom. Regardless, I made a call to the mom of the little girl giving her a head's up of what he found in one of his plastic eggs. I told her I felt her pain. Abigail is all the time bringing home unsafe treats from school and birthday parties. As a second grader, she knows that she's not allowed to eat anything until we look at the treats together.
I was reading through a copy of Family Fun yesterday and came across a really good tip that had been submitted by a reader whose son had several severe food allergies. She found a really large jar and put lines around it at several places. Each line had a dollar value associated with it. When her son received treats that he couldn't eat, he'd drop it in the jar. When the candy reached one of the lines, he could choose to keep saving or turn it into cash to then spend on something he wanted.
I have 2 one gallon bags full of candy that my kids have received from various parties and holiday events. It's not all unsafe, I just limit the amount of candy my kids can eat. Not only the amount though, but the type. I'd rather they have something that I've provided that is either organic or that does not contain artificial sweeteners and dyes. I might try this tip and make a treat trade-in jar for our house as well. In the meantime, does anybody know what to do with all that candy?
