As a kid, I would always have a pillowcase full of candy after trick-or-treating on Halloween. I would dump it out and sort through my heap, creating smaller piles of KitKats, Hersheys and other candybars. I also would have a miscellaneous pile for Jolly Ranchers, Tootsie Rolls and the littler pieces of candy that I would trade for chocolate with my little sister.

Now that I’m a parent, I’m a little wary of all the candy that ends up in my children’s baskets. My son is pretty good about self-regulating, but my 3-year-old is a chocolate fiend like her mom and would definitely eat her weight in candybars.

So this year, I think the Candy Fairy is coming to our house. I told my daughter she plans to leave a gift in exchange for some of the candy. (We haven’t had the Tooth Fairy over yet, but my son already has had dealings with the Weapons Fairy.)

If you have older kids, you might want to consider heading to KiDDS Dental on Monday (Nov. 2) between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to trade some of that candy in for cash.

According to this news brief in The Spokesman-Review, KiDDS Dental will pay children $1 a pound for the Halloween candy. The dental office will then donate the candy to U.S. troops through Operation Gratitude. Kids also will get glowing electric toothbrushes.

“Kids can still have all of the fun of trick-or-treating, and now their piggy banks will benefit as well,” Dr. Jared Evans of KiDDs Dental told the newspaper.

Children can bring their unopened candy to KiDDS Dental/EPJ Orthodontics, 1327 N. Stanford Lane, Suite B in Liberty Lake or to KiDDS Place, 506 E. Hastings Road in Spokane.

What do you plan to do with all that Halloween candy at your house?

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