My Approach to Halloween Candy
How do I handle Halloween candy? My answer will probably surprise you because my focus really isn’t on if my children consume sugar but rather why and how I let them enjoy it.
Yep, you read that right. My main focus on Halloween or any sugar-laden holiday isn’t on avoiding sugar or even necessarily on policing total sugar intake. Instead, my bigger focus is teaching my kids how to incorporate junk food like Halloween candy into a healthy balanced lifestyle.
Here’s why….
When kids ask to make less than stellar food choices, the easy parenting route is to give in. But the other easy route is taking an all-or-nothing approach and just saying “no” every time. Granted, “no” probably needs to be the answer 80% of the time, but saying “yes” at times is okay, and in my opinion, necessary. And the reason is because sugar and processed junk foods aren’t going anywhere.
While it’s easy to get on a health kick and cut out all added sugar, let’s be honest: ALL of us are going to eat added sugar again. But this is okay! A healthy diet is built on balance and moderation. So from a parenting perspective, our job isn’t just to teach kids to eat healthy foods; a key component in helping kids develop life-long health habits is to teach them how to incorporate those less healthy things. That’s easy to forget!
Don’t get me wrong:
I’m not saying that I don’t define candy boundaries at Halloween or other sugar-loaded events.
I’m also not suggesting that candy and junk food should be eaten on a frequent basis.
And I’m definitely not suggesting that sugar and junk food is an essential part of a healthy diet.
What I am suggesting is that assuming this type of intake is limited to a short span one to two days, the effects of sugar are short-term, and our bodies will bounce back when we resume “normal” balanced eating and lifestyle. So, Halloween can be an opportunity for us to explore and teach balance, moderation and an all-foods-fit approach to our kids.
This isn’t always easy, and I’m not always good at it. But this approach is a lot more enjoyable than standing guard as the candy police! Check out these five tips that I use to help me do this.
5 Tips for Teaching Kids Moderation & Balance
#1 Be the authority but not the authoritarian.
Parents are the food and health experts; we set the expectations and define what the healthy norm is in our homes when it comes to meals, snacks, food choices and activity. We have guidelines, but we also demonstrate flexibility when needed and adapt. But this doesn’t mean we’re the food police or micro-managers. An approach that’s overly strict or controlling quickly food into a parent-child power struggle.
#2 Stock the kitchen with the foods you want the family eating.
Wondering how you avoid being the food police? You stock the pantry and fridge with things you want your kids eating, as well as a few things you’re okay with them eating. Parents are the gatekeepers, a term from my undergrad classes that’s stuck with me and refers to the fact that parents decide what comes in the house. This means if your child is eating something from the pantry that you don’t approve, it’s not their fault — it’s yours.
#3 Create guidelines for indulging.
Help your kids understand balance by creating guidelines for indulging. This will be individual to each family, but one that we’ve adopted is the “one sweet treat a day” rule. This looks completely different every day in choice and total sugar grams, as it may mean a sugar-free popsicle after dinner, a cup of hot chocolate after school, a gumball from the machine at the dry cleaners, or cake at a birthday party. Regardless, but I’ve set an expectation that gets followed (usually) while also allowing them some freedom and choice.
#4 Connect the dots between food and body.
Helping kids begin to grasp the relationship between what they eat and how they feel is one of my favorite learning moments! And what’s even better is kids usually set the stage perfectly for this to happen. For example, when they come home tired from school and don’t want to go to soccer practice, I ask about what they ate for lunch and snack or how much of their water bottle was consumed. This usually then leads to an easy way for me to explain the connection between food and energy or the role of hydration. And when they mention feeling sluggish or having an icky stomach on November 1st, you can bet I’m going to bring up their candy consumption the night before. This is how they learn to connect those health dots!
#5 Model the eating habits you’re trying to teach.
Research suggests that what kids regularly see their parents doing is a top factor in determining their health habits in adulthood. Kids act like they aren’t paying attention, but they’re soaking everything in! This means that me consistently making exercise a priority, eating vegetables at lunch and dinner, snacking on fruit and nuts, and drinking water daily are important long-term even though they may not feel that way day-to-day. They also need to see me incorporate less healthy foods into that — and why I’m hoping they’ll be a few Reese’s cups around on October 31st!