Candy Caveats For Kids

Your little devil will, no doubt, be eager to gobble up the spoils after a rigorous mission of candy collecting this Halloween. As CBS This Morning's Medical Correspondent Dr. Emily Senay reports, it is probably better parenting to let them eat it. "Restricting candy from kids this Halloween will make them want the stuff even more," says Senay.

Parents should be wary of letting kids eat their way to a stomach ache. "They overdo it," says Senay. Sometimes, too much of a good thing can also be a cure for the problem. "They see so many good things, they eat it all at once and get a tummy ache. Maybe they won't eat as much next year at one sitting," she says.

Parents shouldn't worry about the caffeine in chocolate. While it may have short-term effects on kids who ingest huge amounts in one sitting, chocolate doesn't contain enough caffeine to make kids hyperactive for long.

Finally, Dr. Senay reminds parents to keep an eye out for the usual suspects when it comes to the treats. "You should trick or treat at houses that you know, she says. And, "throw out candies that are opened or broken in some way."

In some places, hospitals offer to x-ray candies. That may be going a little far, but "if you have any doubt at all, throw the stuff away," says Senay.

Reported by CBS Medical Correspondent Dr. Emily Senay