Are you looking forward to celebrating Halloween with your child but stressed about all the candy?  If healthy eating is important to you and your family it makes sense that you would worry about how much candy they eat. There is so much fear around candy: it will cause cavities, our kids will experience a sugar high and then crash, its unhealthy - artificial colors, TBHQ, titanium dioxide.  It all sounds so scary but stay with me.

I get it.  Eating healthy food is important to me and my family and we limit how much refined sugar we have in our home.  Let’s be honest, if it's in our home I too have a hard time resisting.  That being said, we don't want to put sugar up on a pedestal, making it more desirable than healthy foods. And being the Halloween treat police is no fun so let’s talk about how you can enjoy the experience instead of feeling anxious about the sugar.  Halloween can also be a teaching experience.

6 Tips for staying sane with Halloween candy

Tip #1: Focus on ALL the fun things about Halloween

Halloween isn’t just about candy. Focus on the overall experience. Last weekend my boys had some friends over and we painted pumpkins and made some crafts. Maybe it’s going to a pumpkin patch and picking a pumpkin together, the excitement of what their costume will be. walking around your neighborhood and checking out all the decorations leading up to Halloween.

Tip #2: Fuel up before

Focus on filling your kids up with a nourishing meal before heading out for trick or treating.  This does NOT mean they won’t want to eat loads of candy but their body has been nourished with healthy food for some balance.  Have a mix of protein, fiber and healthy fats (e.g. avocado, nuts, seeds).  Power bowls are a favorite in our home.  Maybe a base of brown rice, protein of tofu, chicken, or chickpeas, some veggies like sauteed kale, shredded carrots and beets, edamame, hemp seeds, avocado and anything else you got in your fridge.  The more colorful the better!  

Tip #3: Set expectations ahead of time

This might be around how long you stay out, which houses you will or will not go to.  Battles often happen when we don’t align on expectations ahead of time.  Talk about some of the boundaries, get their input and make their voice heard even if you cannot say ‘yes’ to their request.  Book a consult call if you have a hard time setting limits and boundaries that stick.

Tip #4: Pour it out

Ok so you are back with your haul of treats.  I recommend having your child sort through and create 2 piles: their favorites and give away.  You want to encourage pickiness…in this situation.    If they have siblings you can also encourage trading.  

You can say something like: “hmm Nibs are my favourite. I used to keep all my Nibs for sure. But I don’t really like the rockets. I used to put them in the other pile.” Modelling the process for them. Don’t stress if they have almost all the candy in the favourites pile. They are likely too excited about all of it. If you tell them they can’t it is more likely to lead to obsession.

Tip #5: Encourage mindful eating

Once your child has dumped out their haul and separated into 2 piles, ask them which they want to have 1st.  Have them start with a nibble instead of inhaling it and ask them if they can describe what it takes like.  I remember doing this mindfulness exercise with a raisin.  Starting with examining it in my hand before putting it in my mouth and before swallowing, swirling it around my mouth to truly enjoy the experience.  Overeating often happens when we eat quickly and we miss the signal our tummy sends to our brain that we are full.  Focusing on enjoying the experience instead of inhaling the food not only helps us appreciate what we are eating but also reduces chances of over eating.  The goal is not to control our child here but to allow them to enjoy the experience.  Ask questions like:

“Which candy is your body telling you it wants right now?”

“Is it chewy, soft or crunchy?”

“Which do you enjoy the most?”

“How is your belly feeling right now?”

Tip #6: Let them enjoy

Try not to micromanage their consumption.  Let them eat as much as they want that night.  Keep in mind that this is one night in the grand scheme of things.  Notice if you aren’t making a big deal about it if they are less likely to over indulge.  Our goal is to teach our kids to self-regulate their intake.  Yes they might over indulge that night.  That’s ok.  One night will not have a detrimental effect on their well being.  Give them some probiotics afterwards (consult with a health practitioner) and it will help build the good bacteria in their belly.  I remember my oldest just binging one Halloween and then having a sore stomach.  What better way to learn that effect?  Resist the urge to say “I told you so”.  Maybe that doesn’t happen to your child, it didn’t with my youngest.  That is where you can practice letting go of the  fear of candy.  Focus on what you do the other days of the week and even the healthy dinner they had that day.  This is something I still need to remind myself of when I cringe at the thought of all the candy.

When they were younger we used to do “The Candy Fairy” or “Switch Witch” and it worked really well. But if you don’t want to manage a fictitional character, I get it. Do what feels right for you and your family based on YOUR values. Remember what is most important to you, what do you want to teach and the best way to do that.

Go out, have fun and remember it is just one night!

Happy trick or treating!

Jenn