Halloween Treats can be a dream come true for children and a nightmare for parents. Nutrition experts suggest limiting candy intake and maybe throwing it out when the kids are asleep.

This was the first year my kiddo actually went trick-or-treating. We didn’t hit downtown, we just went to a few friends’ houses and on a loop of the neighborhood. He was too shy to knock on doors, so for about two-thirds of our mile loop last night, his answer to my asking if he wanted to go up to this house or that house was, “No, we’re on a walk.” By the time he finally got up the courage to step up to a doorway and trick-or-treat, there were only a handful of houses left on our loop.

So, we came home with 10 pieces of candy … and to an empty candy bowl. My husband had given away four bags-worth of candy and ended up having to appease latecomers by dipping into the leftover pumpkin-chocolate chip cookies I’d made for the kiddo’s class party. Thus, he was really hoping that the kiddo and his Diego (of “Go, Diego, Go”) costume would bring home enough loot that he could steal a few pieces after bedtime.

Um, no.

So, this year, I must say that we don’t have an “oh my gosh, there’s so much candy in this house” problem. Which is equal parts a bummer and a mercy because then we don’t have to eat it all. (Oh man, I’ve done some damage in past years when we’ve had fewer trick-or-treaters than I have fingers.)

Which problem would you rather have?