How to Limit Candy and Teach Good Habits at Halloween
Halloween is my favorite holiday. Even though my kids are grown, I still decorate the house and yard and make Halloween costumes for my grandkids. But I know what this holiday is about: candy.
Parents have debated Halloween candy or how much to allow kids for ages.
Some parents have “no candy” rules, while others ration it. Others feel a candy free-for-all is OK, since it’s only once a year. Some dentists will buy your child’s candy or exchange it for a prize. There is even a Halloween Switch Witch — your child leaves the bag of trick-or-treat candy under the bed and the Switch Witch takes it in the night and leaves a toy in its place!
Halloween Candy: Delicious, but With a Dark Side
Candy is high in sugar, and that ingredient can lead to a lack of focus and out-of-control behavior in some kids.
Some children may be more sugar-sensitive; for some, the excitement of the occasion itself may contribute to wild moods and activity. Regardless of how your child reacts, the American Dietetic Association says limiting kids’ intake of sugar is always a good idea. Yet a bigger issue remains: excess sugar can kill a kid’s appetite for healthier foods they need to grow.
On the behavioral side, some research suggests that when you completely forbid your child to have candy, they may develop a “deprived mentality” that causes them to crave candy – and overdo it – later. Sheltering kids from sweets and treats doesn’t teach them how to manage these temptations later in life.
Whatever you as a parent decide, here are a few tips for managing the candy monster as well as some fun alternatives to candy on Halloween.
Use Halloween Candy to Enforce Habits
Teach kids to avoid “mindless eating” like snacking while distracted. When you pay attention more attention to what’s on TV or a screen, you’ll eat more. Here are some ways to make sure it doesn’t happen at your house:
- Have kids enjoy their Halloween candy at the table while you have a conversation.
- Keep candy out of kids’ bedrooms.
- Limit candy before bedtime.
- If you are going to allow candy, offer it after a meal or with a healthy snack. The protein and fat in the food can help reduce sugar rushes.
Adults need to practice healthy food habits – model the behavior you want children to have as adults. If the kids see you wolf down six snack size candy bars, it’s hard for them to buy into lessons in moderation.
What to Do With Candy After Trick-or-Treating
Most of the time, keep the candy out of sight, out of mind. Instead of putting that giant bowl of Halloween candy on the kitchen table where it is a temptation to everyone, bag it up and put in a cupboard.
Have the kids sort their candy (a good learning game!), then pick out their five favorite kinds to keep. This teaches “mindful eating”—making choices, limiting serving sizes, and savoring and enjoying your choices rather than gorging on as much as you are allowed.
If you are going to limit the candy, set the rules and make sure your kids understand and agree. If they can follow the rules, let them control the candy stash. If they can’t, parents will need to be in charge.
Decide how much candy is an acceptable amount for a day. Measure it on a kitchen food scale (a math lesson!). Put the daily amounts in sealed bags with the day or date written on them.
Alternatives to Avoid Halloween Candy
If you decide to go cold turkey and cut off all candy during Halloween, you can give many non-candy items to trick-or-treaters. Here are a few ideas:
- Clementine oranges decorated with Jack-o-Lantern faces
- Individual low-fat cheese sticks, granola bars or individual bags of snack crackers or pretzels with a Halloween sticker that you attach
- Temporary tattoos
- Glow necklaces and bracelets
- Plastic vampire teeth or spider rings
- Glider airplanes
Even though kids may say candy is the best part of Halloween, what they truly enjoy is fun experiences and family traditions, such as:
- Picking out a great costume
- Making a cool one with mom and dad
- Carving a pumpkin
- Trick-or-treating in the dark
- Making Halloween treats or cookies
- Turning out the lights and reading scary stories with the family
Learn more about children's services at Avera
By Twila Perkinson, a certified Child Life Specialist at Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center.
