I would never "steal" my kids' candy or impose a "candy tax"

Yes, I'm one of those people. I always cringe a bit when Halloween brings out those phrases from people about how they "steal" their child's trick or treating candy, or mention "candy tax" for taking them door to door.

Seriously? You'd steal candy from your own kid?

It's no secret that I don't love holidays. I love candy even less.

Especially the candy you receive from trick or treating.

White sugar and GMO soy coated in GMO high fructose corn syrup. The concoction is enough to make anyone bonkers. And it goes against everything that I know is healthy.

But it's one day out of the year. The kids know that any candy with food dye is off limits, so that's not even an issue. H will break out in hives, and they're a team. So they happily put it in a plastic bag to go away with J to work for others to feast on. And in return I give them organic lollipops and gummi bears - it's a fair trade. Always.

Everything else, the chocolate stuff, is free game.

There isn't a ton of it anyway, because we don't trick or treat until they've got candy coming out the wazoo. We hit up a dozen houses and let it be. That's easy to restrict. They have fun trick or treating, I have the ability to control all the HFC going into their bodies without "stealing" anything from them.

With a handful of mini candy bars left - they're theirs.

Even if they have something I adore - I do not steal it. I do not impose a "candy tax" and declare it mine.

I do, however, ask.

And they have the right to say no. And it's okay if they don't forfeit their candy to me (they typically do, though - they're typically very happy to share with anyone).

I'm an adult. I have money. I can go buy a candy bar for myself if I really want one. No sense in stealing my children's candy just because I want it.

Because what is that teaching them?

It doesn't matter if you did the work to get something.

It doesn't matter if it's technically yours.

I can take whatever I want from you because you're small and I'm big.

No thank you.

That's not what I want to teach my kids.

So yes, I find the "candy tax" appalling and loathe when people laugh about "stealing" their kids' candy.

Go buy your own if you want it so badly. Use it as a teaching moment about how you have to work hard to earn money to buy the things you want. Don't use it as a teaching moment to teach your kids how you can take what you want if you're big enough or intimidating enough.