Pre-School and Daycare

Goody bags filled with candy at preschool. Aarrggh!!!

I'm not by any means the candy police, but it really bugs me when I pick up DS from preschool on/near a holiday and other parents have decided to pass out transparent goody bags filled with candy. Every parent that picks up their kid has the same frustrated look on their face while listening to their kids demands for candy at 5pm.  All the way home, during dinner time and after clearing up, DS has asked to eat candy.  

Now I have to deal with DS's meltdown while I explain that he's only eating dinner tonight while I have to figure out where to dispose of this candy.  He has a small cavity on his left molar--thanks to the usual knockdown drag-out fight over brushing his teeth all during his 2nd year.

I'm know that it was a nice gesture, but still....arrgggh!!!! If he hadn't seen the bag, I would've just left them at the center.

What do other moms do when you little one is given tons of candy at school?  Do you cross your fingers that they didn't discover it and leave it behind? 

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Re: Goody bags filled with candy at preschool. Aarrggh!!!

  • I very much believe in everything in moderation so if DD got a goody bag of candy she would be allowed to have one piece per day.  It works the same way for Halloween.  My parents chose to not let me have any candy or soda growing up so when I got out on my own I went overboard with it.  I'm hoping to avoid that with our kids.  
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  • I don't have a problem with one sweet treat occasionally, but because of the cavity, we've been very conservative with sugar.  Plus, by the time we get home and we finish dinner it's close to 7:30pm, and he's in bed by 8.  I've learned the hard way that you can't give our kid sweets after 7pm otherwise he's bouncing off the walls and won't settle down to sleep. 
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  • This is every single holiday for us.  I just get the bag, and tell Harm he can pick one.  Than I skim the bag and give him one more small piece for the next few days and than explain it is all gone (when in fact DH, my nanny, and I have eaten 7/8ths of the bag).  Just saying no would be a battle that is just not worth it.  I figure one small piece for a few days is no big deal.
    Mom to Harmon 1/17/08 and twins Rachel & Callum 8/28/09 Photobucket 29o0v13.jpg
  • Maybe I'm a mean mom, but I just threw away a bunch of the bags unopened-I didn't even know they were giving "gifts."  They did the same thing at Halloween, but a note went home about how it would be distributed.  So DD didn't have anything to give to the other kids.  I felt bad, but maybe some moms were relieved.  LOL

    DD has 15 kids in her class and there is no way I was keeping all of that candy in the house.  So, I looked through them and kept 3 bags.  The rest went into the garbage when she was in bed.  She gets one piece of candy after she eats all her dinner.

    One kid gave her a goody bag with a bunch of Nativity-related items-a pencil, a sticker manger scene, a coloring book and a stamp (she goes to a Catholic preschool).  I kept that one!  Another kid gave her a Clifford book from Scholastic-I liked that one too.

    I am reading a story to the class about Epiphany so DD is taking a small bag of chocolate coins in for Three Kings Day on Jan. 6. Each bag has 4 pieces of chocolate. 

    Momma to 2 sweet girls here on earth and a precious baby boy in heaven
  • This is why I am glad our preschool doesn't allow goody bags of any kind to be passed out!

    But I agree with the others, give him a piece or two of candy and pitch the rest.  Or eat it yourself!  Wink

     

    image

    My twins are 5! My baby is 3!

    DS#2 - Allergic to Cashew, Pistachio, Kiwi

    DS#3 - Allergic to Milk, Egg, Peanut, Tree Nuts and Sesame

  • I would just let DS have one, but not if he was throwing a fit.  However, our school doesn't allow food favors in gift bags for birthdays and stuff, so that is a huge help. 
    DS born via c/s 11/08 and med-free GD VBAC DD 3/11! Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
  • What are these goody bags for?  Are they from other parents or the teachers/school?

    Whenever DD gets candy - at a party or Halloween, we let her have a set amount every day/night - so maybe 2 pieces a day and then she normally negotiates for one more which I allow most of the time.  After about 2 or 3 days, she normally forgets about it and I throw away the rest. 

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  • It annoys me b/c I feel like a slacker for not reciprocating.  Who has time for that sort of stuff during this time of year?  Not me!  And, I feel like I already contribute plenty for other school parties. 

    If it was me, I would ask the teacher to put those sorts of things in your DC's bag from now on so that you can determine at home when and where these treats should be given.  I would also encourage the school to adopt a candy/food free treat policy.  As a mom with kids with FAs, these treat bags annoy me since my kids can't eat half of what is in them.  I'd much rather they get a couple cheap trinkets from the dollar store if someone feels the need to pass something out for a bday or holiday.

    DS1 age 7, DD age 5 and DS2 born 4/3/12
  • You should have seen the look on my face when DH came home with an ENTIRE box of cupcakes the first night of Hanukkah. 1 cupcake for a special occasion (which the 1st night of Hanukkah definitely is) is one thing, but a freaking box? DD woke up the next morning asking for a cupcake for breakfast, to have one sent in her lunch box to school, etc. because she knew there was an entire box left in the fridge.

    Anyway, no help here. I try to give one piece and explain it can't all be eaten as once. Then I save the rest as special treats when DD's not expecting it.

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  • I guess I'm in the minority here, but that would really irk me. It's just not necessary to give kids a bunch of candy. As the parent, I'll decide when she gets special treats - and to me, that's a cookie, not a bag of candy. My DD starts preschool in a few weeks and I'm really hoping stuff like that won't be showing up in her mailbox.
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  • I agree about the other parenst about moderation.. but the holidays are filled enough with junk as it is - so it would be nice not to have the added stuff to have to fight over.  Especially at times with preschool pickup.. the kids are grouchy, hungry, so the candy can set them over the top. 

    I made goodie bags for DD's bday party that had NO candy in it, and my DD's cousin opens the bag and goes "MOOOOO-OM!!  There's NO candy in here!!" and pretty much stomps her foot and acted like a brat.  I think that's what we are avoiding!

  • It would irritate me. I like to be the one who chooses what candy my kids get and when. They may have some, but I don't want to fight over an entire bag. My daughter's preschool teacher actually gives them candy. Then my child comes home bouncing off the walls. Not cool.
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  • I let her pick a piece for the ride home, one after dinner, and again each night after dinner until it is gone.

    Doesn't bother me at all - it is a treat, and we treat it as such, something fun and yummy and a little thing to enjoy after a meal.

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  • I'm a little shocked. DD has never been given bags of candy at school, nevermind a ton. She sometimes gets goodie bags for a birthday, and its always stickers, mini toys and maybe an Annie's organic cheddar bunny bag or pretzels. And I'm not even in a hip or cool area. I wouldn't feel the least bit bad telling the teacher to remove any pouches of candy from her cubby. Especially considering the huge pain in the asss it causes you. Thanks but no thanks would be my policy. 

    If a bag did wind up in her cubby, she could have a piece in the car, then no more. It's not a habit and she'll still eat her dinner. 

    I also have a strict "stop asking" policy. DD is not allowed to badger me for something after I have said no. I will say "you know the answer, stop asking" and she will earn a TO if she continues. Its a weird thing to enforce, but we had some spoiled behaviors this year that needed consequences.  

    My darling daughter just turned 4 years old.
  • If she asks I usually let her have something.  I agree with the other posters everything in moderation.  If we get a sucker on the way home from the bank and she asks to have it, she comes home and says she is done with it. 

    girls photo zvczv.jpg

  • The kids at dd's and ss's classes all give gifts to each other... And a lot of it is candy. I don't see it as a big deal - i sent brownies shaped like christmas trees to dd's room (4yo) and coloring books to ds's room (2 and almost 2yo). Of course i let them have one after school. I dont see how a tootsie roll or some nerds is going to ruin their dinner. They know they have to share their treats so dh and i eat some too. Anything that seems excessive disappears and will wind up in their stockings.
    The former jen5/03.

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