Taking Candy from a Baby

"Share and share alike.”

I remember learning this mantra on Sesame Street. I also recall using it on my brother a few times. Unsuccessfully.

Teaching children to share gives moms and dads one of the most challenging of parenting tasks. The best way for bigs to teach littles the art of sharing is to model that behavior themselves.

This Halloween, our family found a new opportunity to share our overabundance of sweets with a group of very deserving people – members of the U.S. military.

Our pediatric dentist holds an annual candy buyback, complete with free goodie bags, a prize raffle and a visit from a very popular college mascot. All candy donated goes to Operation Gratitude.

When I first heard about it, I was skeptical.

Before I was the mom of a preschooler on the trick-or-treating scene, I thought these programs were just a scheme for dentists to take away kids’ hard-earned candy so they wouldn’t have to fill their cavities later.

Aside from sneaking a piece here and there, what kind of parent takes away her children’s Halloween candy?

When I realized how little this candy meant to us and how much it would affect someone stationed away from their family, their friends, the comforts of home … I was convinced this was a good cause.

Our family’s effort started with baby steps, and I hope it will grow in the years to come and end with our child sorting the donations alone.

First, I removed the food we’re allergic to. Second step involved sorting the candy so we only donated candy from strangers – not the special gifts from neighbors, Grandma, aunts and uncles. Next, I donated the hard candies that might cause choking in a little one. Final step was giving our child the choice of which pieces to donate and how many.

He chose two pieces and placed them in the bag himself. I beamed with pride while I threw in the remaining candy that we didn’t give trick-or-treaters, and we were on our way.

I hope he’ll eventually work his way into actually trick-or-treating a block or two just for Operation Gratitude. Above all, the event provided an opportunity to explain to our son why we should support our troops. It also reminded him that candy represents a want, not a need.

In honor of Veteran’s Day, let’s all take a minute to remember their sacrifices and how our small gestures can make big differences in others’ lives.

And, finally, to the critics who think we should forego sending candy to military members, here are some points to ponder from the cause’s website, Halloweencandybuyback.com:

Isn't Halloween candy as bad for troops as it is for kids?

• Halloween candy represents a warm memory of life “back home” and children that care enough to donate candy in support of our troops.
• Those troops are risking their lives every day. If a little piece of candy can provide a moment of happiness, why not?
• Soldiers are adults and certainly understand how to keep their mouths health by now. Children are still learning how to brush, floss and take care of their teeth.

Until next time,

Tricia