SwitchWitches.com
There are now multiple companies teaching kids about the Halloween Switch Witch.
Who needs sweets when you can have cold hard cash?
That's the thinking behind a new parenting hack that more and more adults are using in order to get their children to stop eating copious amounts of Halloween candy.
Instead of hiding the candy, donating it, slowly rationing it out, or throwing it all away, some parents realized the best way to get candy out of the house - whether it's because of food allergies or to protect everyone's teeth - is to have your child exchange their candy for something even better.
Speaking to TODAY.com last week, Houston-based health coach Stephanie Merchant said that she'll let her children choose a few pieces to keep and then exchange the rest of their Halloween haul for a giftcard.
"They get the best of both worlds," Merchant told TODAY. "We pick out our [favorite candies], but it's just for that night and then we make our switch."
The idea has become so popular in parenting circles that it launched a company called the Switch Witch.
The Switch Witch, which even appeared on an episode of "Shark Tank," is the "sister of the tooth fairy" who lets kids exchange their piles of candy for a present.
After leaving their Halloween candy in front of the witch before bed, when they wake up in the morning, the kids will have a new toy or money.
"We've had a couple of parents pushing back a little bit, like, 'This is something else I have to spend money on?'" Lara Spear Riley, one of the Switch Witch creators, told Yahoo Health. "But you can find so many things even at the dollar store that a 6-year-old would be thrilled with."
Switch Witch is not the only company to design a toy to go along with the new tradition - Switch Witch and the Magic of Switchcraft is another company that teaches the tradition to children.
And parents who are trying the Switch Witch are reporting that their kids are into the concept. Debbie Koenig wrote for Parents.com that not only did her son Harry take to the idea, but she and her husband liked it too:
Harry bought it, and bought it big. That night he placed his bag of candy at the foot of his bed, and a few hours later it disappeared, replaced with an oft-requested Lightning McQueen toy. My husband and I enjoyed a modest amount of candy that night (okay, maybe it wasn't exactly modest) and gave the rest to our starving-artist neighbors. Wins all around!
Instagram is also filled with satisfied parents who are posting snapshots of their children playing with their Switch Witch toys or rejoicing over money that has magically replaced their candy.
But not everyone is a fan of replacing kids' candy. Nutritionist Dina Rose wrote on her blog that the Switch Witch is a "short-term solution to a long-term problem."
"Halloween is an excellent opportunity for you and your children to practice boundaries, cooperation, self-control, greed, and a host of other important skills," Rose writes. "If you think dumping your kids' candy will teach them the evils of sugar, think again."