Third-grade trick-or-treating expert has one major rule for giving out candy

To get the best tips for trick-or-treating this Halloween, TODAY's Craig Melvin went straight to an expert: Kaleb Wade, a third grader at KIPP STAR Harlem Elementary School in New York City.

"He really knows his stuff," Craig says.

Wade, who is a six-year Halloween veteran, will celebrate this holiday dressed as Lucas from "Stranger Things." But there's nothing strange about his advice for Craig.

Wade lays out his recommended Halloween logistics smoothly and confidently, giving tips for candy-givers and candy-takers alike.

First, Wade reminds kids to say, "Trick or treat," when they arrive at someone's door and say "Thank you," after they receive a piece of candy.

"You always want to have good manners," Wade says.

Craig, sensing that Wade is a generally well-mannered young man, says, "You strike me as the kind of guy that probably says thank you a lot."

Wade advises trick-or-treaters to only take one piece of candy to make sure there is enough for everyone: "You don't want to be greedy and take the whole basket."

Brushing their teeth on Halloween night is more important than ever, Wade says. "You don't want your teeth to get rotten, fall out and have cavities, especially if you want to eat all of your candy," he says.

Craig and the TODAY team start to giggle in the background.

Wade's last tip is for grown-ups. He advises them to never hand out anything other than candy. "This day is about giving out candy. No raisins. No corn. No oranges. Maybe I'll take the raisins with the candy," he says. But then he circles back to draw a hard line against raisins, saying, "No raisins at all, especially. Because the day is not about giving out food or snacks. The day is about giving out candy. If the day's about giving out food, that's a different story."

"Right," Craig agrees. "That's Thanksgiving! Halloween is about candy."

Pointing out that the jack-o'-lantern bucket that Wade holds is empty, Craig continues, "I know a guy who specializes in candy!"

Al Roker walks on to the set with a similar Halloween bucket overflowing with candy. He deftly swaps it with Wade's empty bucket. Stunned, Wade follows his own suggestions and says, "Thank you!"

"Now when you go trick-or-treating, do you like it when people give out those little bars or the big bars?" asks Al.

Without hesitation, Wade says, "The big bars."

Al cheers, "That's my boy! Yeah!"

This article was originally published on TODAY.com