What I do is put no limits on when/where/how they eat any candy they've
been given, and then stand back.

People think I'm nuts, but despite mountains of candy coming in here on
Halloween, essentially its all gone within a week or two (I find most
of it isn't eat - its unrapped, a bite or two taken and then its
abandoned). I actually prefer this, since I'd rather deal with a weeks
worth of ruined appetites than have the candy being rationed and
hanging around for months and months...which is what many of my friends
face.

Same goes for Christmas. They did get some chocolates in their
stockings, and there were chocolate ornaments on the tree, but once we
said GO, they all vanished. I don't think there was any left by New
Years, unless someone has a private stash hidden away.

What I would be concerned about is having candy on hand routinely,
since certainly with my kids, they WILL eat junk 9 times out of 10
before they will eat "real" food if they have a choice (i.e. not just
candy and pastries, but chips, soda etc. etc.). For example, we have a
pantry full of food, and I can't imagine them sneaking in there to
gobble tins of tuna as opposed to the cholate chip cookies meant for
their lunch bags.

If weight and health were no issue (and they are not really something
most kids think about too much), most of us would probably have a big
hunk of cheescake or some chips and dip rather than our steamed
broccoli and skinless chicken breast. We do come biologically wired to
crave high sugar, high fat foods - and don't the manufacturers know it!
Mary G.