This is our first Halloween on our new healthy lifestyle. As a child I always like Halloween! I can't watch the scary movies...I'm kind of a wimp, but I love all the costumes! Every year I would come home with what I thought was loads of candy and eat every last piece! As I went to various stores in search of my daughter's Halloween costume this year, I bumped into a lady who was also shopping for her 4 kids. The kids were arguing over who was going to get the most candy this year. As they started topping one another's bets, my daughter asked if I thought she would get two pillow cases full of candy too? In my head I was thinking...there is no way I'm letting you eat all that candy!! I know how much she enjoys Trick or Treating and want to make sure she can enjoy herself without going overboard, but how do you stop a child from eating candy that's obviously theirs? Here are a couple helpful tips on how to curb the candy overload.
"Special" Treats: In our home, we try to abstain from any kind of sugary snacks, even dried fruit leather. Since these are things she doesn't get often, to her they are still "treats." While we are out trick or treating I throw in some of these special treats and allow her to eat these from her bag. Here's some ideas
- Fruit Leather
-Dried Fruit
-Homemade Cookies
-Graham Crackers (she thinks these are cookies too)
-Organic Juice Boxes
The Candy Fairy: A good friend of mine on Facebook sent me a great idea! Every year with her kiddos, she takes them trick or treating. At the end of the evening, she allows them to pick out their 3 favorite candies. Then they take the rest of the candy and put it on the front porch. Overnight mom comes and trades out their candy for a little toy they have been wanting! Her girls got Barbies :) Then mom tosses out the candy! I love the concept and am definitely going to use it this year! Thanks Jamie!
Moderation Education: Even at the young age of 3, my daughter understands the concept of moderation. It is something that my husband and I have worked very hard on. Teaching her that it's not necessary to eat the entire bag of chips, but a couple chips will do until the next time we can enjoy them. If your family is just beginning this journey, educating your children about moderation when it comes to food is an important lesson to learn. And why not start now! Let them pick out several pieces of candy and keep them in an open place, like the kitchen counter. Explain that this candy is theirs and they can eat it, just not all at once. We can enjoy this candy, but a little at a time. After a while, your children will understand that moderation is not negative, but a way for them to stretch their snacks further.
Have a safe & healthy Halloween!! Do you have some healthy ideas on how to make Halloween a healthy holiday?
We do moderation education with a little bit of fun thrown in. On Halloween, because it's such a fun and exciting time, our boys get to gorge for 15 minutes after we go through the candy. Then we brush our teeth, and it all goes in the cupboard to be "eaten" later. We never, ever even get halfway through. Most of it goes on our gingerbread houses at Christmas - and the royal icing gets too hard to pry the candy off. :)
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