Len Penzo posted a tongue-in-cheek list of thirteen yucky Halloween treats that kids hate.
My (semi) tongue-in-cheek response was that the solution to make sure that kids don't get any treats that they don't like was easy:
Don't take the kids trick or treating.
Following that, I said this:
“Besides, most of that stuff is nearly [as] addicting as any hardcore drug that you can take. Predisposing kids for a lifetime of obesity isn’t being kind to them.”
Studies have indeed shown that sugar is as addictive as some pretty hard drugs. Further, one of the most respected homeschooling curricula out there recommends that refined sugar be taken out of the children's diet. From the article:
“Be kind to any new babes, don't let them have that first taste and they won't have to break a bad habit, dare I say .. an addiction. I wish I had had this resolve when our children were very young. ”
Having been terribly addicted to carbs for most of my life, and seeing how my wife has dropped close to fifty pounds by cutting out the carbs (she had cut out refined sugar a while back) I can see the wisdom in not indulging in sweets, and not allowing children to indulge in them, either.