During an interview with Dr. Andrew Lunn last week, the dentist talked about the importance of not keeping Halloween candy around for more than two days. He suggested parents let their children pick out their favorite pieces to enjoy a few at a time, then toss the rest.

“Eating in moderation” is what he called it.

I couldn’t help but compare that strategy with my own childhood trick-or-treating days. We brought home a pillowcase full of candy and ate it all, even if it took weeks after Halloween to do so.

It made me wonder whether, if my mother had made me adhere to such boundaries, it would have affected my poor candy-indulgent habits in later years.

Growing up in the Woodmore neighborhood in the 1960s, it was a true community in the sense that everyone knew everyone else. My parents thought nothing of letting me roam the neighborhood on Halloween with my two best friends because they knew parents at every house.

My friends and I always dressed as hobos in our dads’ big shirts, pants rolled up with waists held by rope belts, old ties loosely knotted around our necks and battered fedoras to complete the look. (We were so cute it was scary.) The hobo bundles tied to sticks were just decoration; we had pillowcases to do the heavy lifting.

That was a much simpler time, before parents had to worry about candy tampering or apples booby-trapped with razor blades.

We thought nothing of hitting a couple of hundred houses in one night. We’d eat that candy up through Thanksgiving. The phrase “sugar high” had yet to be coined. At that time, we were just “excitable children acting out.”

Pam Kelle, a registered dietitian, said certainly some children are more sensitive to sugars than others, especially those who do not consume very much in their typical diet.

“Change in temperment, excitability or restlessness are signs too much sugar has been consumed,” she advised parents.

She, too, suggested doling out candy a little at a time. She also suggested Halloween alternatives such as nonfood items or serving fruits and veggies cut in fun designs at a party. (Boy, that would have gotten your house egged back in the day!)

But I can’t help but believe such moderation in my formative years might have made it easier to turn down candy as an adult making my own choices.

E-mail Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com