This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

SWAP THIS FOR THAT: HALLOWEEN CANDY
A child holding colorful candies in his hands with some candy spread out on the wooden table.

Halloween season is here!  That means the leaves are falling, the costumes are in all of the stores and candy is starting to fill our pantries.   While it may be all but impossible to entirely avoid sweet treats (speaking from experience of having four little trick-or-treaters bringing candy home), it is possible to watch how much we have and to take care of ourselves while we are indulging.   Thanks to Crest and CVS for teaming up with me today to share this sponsored post that we hope helps you and your family to have a fun Halloween without feeling guilty or having a mouthful of cavities when you’re done. 🙂

A blue plastic pumpkin with tubes of Crest tooth paste in it with candy spread out on the table.

It doesn’t surprise me that the result’s of a study that Crest did found that  86% of parents eat candy that was given to their child while trick-or-treating.  (Yep… I’m one of them!) They also found that the average parent eats one-fourth of their children’s Halloween candy.
Three tubes of Crest tooth paste lying on a table with a variety of candy  spread around.
That being said, the survey shows that a responsible 58% of adults do limit their candy consumption on Halloween night and 75% of parents limit the amount of candy their children eat on the holiday.   


An advertisement with text and Halloween characters.
They found that  41% compensate for Halloween candy by serving a healthier dinner on the holiday itself or the next night, and when the candy-eating was done, seven in 10 parents enforced a stricter teeth brushing and flossing routine on Halloween.  

My favorite finding is this one: “Over 50% of parents admitted that they snuck a few pieces of candy from their children’s candy stash without them noticing. 34% of parents insisted on “inspecting” the candy, only to hide a stash for themselves.”  hahaha! Don’t tell the kids! 😉 The downside is that only 48% of adults enforce stricter teeth brushing/flossing routines on Halloween for themselves.

A tube of Crest sitting beside a blue plastic pumpkin with more tubes of  Crest in the pumpkin resting on brick steps.
What can we do about it?  
1. Brush your teeth with a toothpaste that will fight the cavities.   

You won’t have to feel so bad about eating candy if you know that you are taking care of your teeth. 🙂   Stop by CVS from 10/28 – 11/3. They are hosting major savings that can be combined with a buy one get one offer.  Across select P&G products, if you spend $20 or more, you’ll receive $5 extra bucks. On top of that, you can take them up on their offer of the Buy One, Get One deal on any of the following:  twin packs of Crest Pro-Health and Crest Pro-Health Advanced, Crest Complete, Crest 3D White, Crest 3D White Brilliance, and Crest 3D White Luxe.
Don’t forget – on October 28th, you can check your local newspaper for a $1 off coupon insert for your favorite Crest Toothpaste.

Three boxes of Crest stacked on a table with a blue plastic pumpkin  in the background.

2- Limit Candy  
Yes, it’s fun to dive into the candy on Halloween night, but the Crest survey found that even on the night that the candy comes home, 72.7% of mothers limit their children to a maximum of 10 pieces of candy. Fathers set their child’s candy limit a bit higher (between 11-30!).  

3. Offer an exchange for the candy:  
I let our kids have the candy for a few days, but when the fun has worn off, I have the kids take the candy into their classrooms to add to the Treat Basket that the teacher’s keep for special rewards.  (Each of their classrooms has one, so why not use this candy to fill it instead of the teacher’s trying to keep it full.) Crest found that when kids were looking to swap their candy for cold, hard cash or toys, they had a better chance with dad. 🙂   In fact, 23.59% of dads said they would offer to buy back their kids’ candy as a way to limit their children’s candy consumption. However, only 8.95% used this tactic. They also found that 38.53% Dads are more likely to trade candy for toys or other small gifts, compared to 14.48% of moms.

4. Swap This for That.
This one is for me and you.  I know that as parents we have the ability to limit candy for our kids… but it is harder to limit it for ourselves.  We can reach that top shelf. We know where we hide the candy. We stay up later… alone with that candy… while our kids are asleep.  Hahaha! So what can we do? Check out the chart below. I’ve included a list of popular Halloween candies and their caloric values. I’ve also added in some healthy swap options to give you an idea of what you could have instead.  

A close up of text on a white background.
You are welcome to print or download this chart by clicking here.

Although… you may not want to try that with your kids.   This hilarious Crest Halloween prank will give you a little peek into what might happen if you try:


Happy Halloween!

Hi there!

I’m Becky, a former elementary school teacher turned certified child development therapist and blogger. I work at home with my husband and together we are raising (and partially homeschooling) our four children in the Carolinas. I love diet coke, ice cream, and spending time with my family.

You May Also Like

Leave a Reply to Jennifer Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

7 Comments

  1. As a kid I always blamed my siblings for my missing candy. Who knew parent’s took so much candy from their children’s Halloween stash? My mom always made us a healthy dinner before we went out for Trick or Treat and was sure we brushed our teeth before bed.

  2. Those are some interesting stats. I can’t even believe the amount of candy I usually swipe from my kids. Thanks for sharing this info. Great swaps.

  3. That video was hilarious, lol. That’s a great list! Will definitely be referring to it this Halloween 🙂

  4. yes! SO many great tips!! I eat so many candy this time of year.. and my kids too. Gotta keep our teeth healthy too!!