Halloween is upon us! Ghosts, goblins and witches, OH MY! That means it’s time for some trick-or-treating. Now we love the fun our kids have going door to door in their costumes asking for treats but what happens when your child comes home with a bag full of candy. Here are a few things we can do to help control the amount of candy our children consume on this spooky holiday.
- Make sure you’re little monster goes trick-or-treating after eating a meal – Making sure your child eats before setting out on their trick-or-treating adventure, ensures they will be less likely to eat candy throughout their route.
- Once home make sure to inspect all candy with your children - Only keep homemade treats from neighbors you know and trust. By going through the candy together you can sort them based on your child’s preferences, therefore making it more easy to set unwanted candy aside to be given away.
- Encourage your kids to share – Let your kids know Halloween is a wonderful opportunity to share with other children. Tell them by donating a portion of their trick-or-treating rewards to a local community center, they can help other kids enjoy this fun holiday.
- Explain to your children the effects of sugar and place leftovers in an inaccessible area – If your children understand that eating too much sugar can cause harm to their bodies they will react better when you limit the amount of candy they are allowed to eat. This leads to placing candies in an area that your children will not constantly be searching for candy: out of sight, out of mind. Remember it is up to us, the adults, to teach and implement healthy lifestyle choices in our kids.
- Offer a trade – Consider ideas that your child can’t resist. Offer fun activities, such as a day at the park or the beach, if they give up all or a portion of their leftover candies.
