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Eighty-six percent of parents shamelessly admit they steal candy from their children’s Halloween haul, new research reveals. A study examining America’s Halloween candy-eating habits found many sneaky parents won’t hesitate to steal treats from their own child when their little one isn’t looking or has gone to bed. Sweet-toothed moms and dads don’t just stop at one or two pieces either. The average candy-snatching parent devours a fourth of their child’s total Halloween haul, according to the results. And parents may not be dressing up to go trick-or-treating, but 44% will eat more candy than their children this Halloween. The survey of American adults, commissioned by Crest and conducted by OnePoll, revealed adults’ spending and consuming habits when it comes to Halloween candy. Findings show:
– 73% of adults report purchasing more candy than they’ll need for trick-or-treaters so they can have the extra to binge themselves.
– Four in 10 adults say they enjoy Halloween even more now than when they were a child. For 37% of these adults, the reason why is because there’s no limit on the amount of candy they can consume.
– A responsible 58% of adults do limit their candy consumption on Halloween night though, and 75% of parents limit the amount of candy their children eat on the holiday.
– Many parents take additional steps to keep their children from over-indulging or being unhealthy around Halloween. Seven in 10 parents enforce a stricter teeth-brushing and flossing routine on Halloween, and 41% compensate for Halloween candy by serving a healthier dinner on the holiday itself or the next night.
– After Halloween, 63% of parents report letting their children eat a limited number of pieces per day; 29% say they hide the candy and 26% exchange their children’s stash of sweets for small toys or gifts.
– Half of the adults say they eat the leftover candy, while 39% leave it out for guests to grab or decorate with it, and 35% report bringing extra candy to their office.
– But this plan isn’t always successful – the last time they planned to bring candy to share with co-workers, the average adult ended up eating the majority before making it to the office.
– About 40% of adults report Halloween candy lasting between a week and a month in their house before it disappears.
– 17% of adults report donating some of their leftover candy, and over half of respondents throw out at least a portion of their holiday haul.
– For adults and children alike, milk chocolate is the favorite sweet. The other top treats include dark chocolate, chocolate with nuts, white chocolate, and gummy candy – showing a difference in age doesn’t mean a difference in taste.