Halloween Sugar Fest
10 tips to stop kids’ Halloween sugar overload
(summary from The Associated Press). The AP tips are printed in Bold below, while my take on the tip & what I plan on doing is printed in regular text…
These ideas help kids on Halloween feel neither deprived, nor sick to their stomachs:
-Talk with your kids, before Halloween, on what is a reasonable amount of candy to eat that night, and in the days following Halloween. For my kids, any amount of candy seems reasonable in their minds, so this should be a challenging conversation!! I think I will allow 10 pieces of candy per kid on Halloween, then I will take out the worst (in terms of cavity inducing) candies from their bags, and let them have 2 pieces a day until it is gone. I’ll send all the rejects with my sister to work, where last year she said the bowl full I sent was emptied in less than 2 hours.
-Feed children dinner before trick-or-treating so they don’t load up on candy while going from house to house. Yes, this is a great tip and helps counteract blood sugars getting out of whack. I will probably feed my kids something high in fat before heading out for a longer lasting food effect–something like eggs/cheese/spinach quiche or cheese raviolis.
-Go out early, when candy-givers are less likely to encourage children to grab a handful of candy so they don’t end up stuck with it. Yep, this is a good idea… Equally important, though, is to not visit too many houses. Try to create a trick-or-treating environment where the kids are encouraged to take their time and enjoy the night rather than rush from house to house. If possible, plan your route beforehand to houses that are more spread out from one another.
-Do not ban candy or ditch it when the kids aren’t looking; it may just make them want it more. I agree, banning candy would backfire. However, banning certain types of candy I think is okay–for example I always throw out the super sticky candies that strongly adhere to teeth, like JuJu Bees, Laffy Taffy, etc.
-Parents should be good role models by not eating all the candy themselves. OK, I will do my best 
-Let children enjoy some sweets on the holiday while focusing on good nutrition the rest of the year. I pride myself on keeping a pretty healthy household, and I agree that splurges like candy at Halloween and ice cream for special desserts are okay and keep us all mentally healthy.
-Offer candy alternatives alone, or alongside candy, to give trick-or-treaters a choice. Problem is, the trick-or-treaters will always choose the candy
-Take some emphasis off candy by focusing on the fun of the holiday, like checking out the costumes and decorated houses. Yep! and don’t forget all the fun of carving pumpkins, roasting and eating pumpkin seeds, hanging ghosts in the yard, figuring out what Mom & Dad should be, and the family dog….
-Walk, don’t drive, if possible, to get some physical activity while candy collecting. Even if you live in a neighborhood not conducive to safe trick or treating, you could drive or bus to a neighborhood that is and then walk from door to door within that neighborhood.
-Suggest kids wait to eat candy until they get home, where parents can inspect the wrappers to ensure they’re tightly sealed. Parents should consider throwing out everything else. My kids are still too young to be out alone, so we can inspect candy as they want to eat it. For older kids, I would talk to them about the dangers and injuries that have occurred through Halloween candy, and agree on the specific areas of the neighborhood they are allowed to visit.
An additional tip from me: brush your kids teeth double time Halloween night and the next morning, and keep the rest of it fun!
(Sources: Dr. Sarah Armstrong, Duke Children’s Hospital pediatrician; American Dietetic Association.)
