Happy, Healthy Halloween Plan
No doubt, Halloween is simply magical for kids (and many adults, too!). But with all the fun of Halloween parties and trick or treating, comes candy. A lot of it. And parents are left to either throw their hands up while kids stuff their faces or to negotiate the terms of eating all that junk.
Rather than undermine the hard work you as parents do to ensure your kids maintain a healthy diet, a few Halloween tips will make the food fest go smoother. Got more ideas? Email us at info@kidsfirstpediatricpartners.com
- Eat Before Trick or Treating. With all the excitement and time spent preparing costumes, it’s easy to leave the house on Halloween on an empty stomach. Bad idea! Be sure to have a healthy, filling meal ready in time to eat before trick or treating. Full tummies will have less room for junk food.
- Set Rules Before You Head Out. This is a lot easier with younger kids, but setting some candy rules before leaving the house will spare you the arguments later. You can try negotiating the rules together with your older children, and they might be more inclined to agree as well. Whatever the limit, setting one will ensure you don’t have tummy aches later.
- Make a Next Day Plan. For every family, this will be different, but making a plan for eating all the gobs of candy after Halloween is important. There’s no need for kids to be gorging on candy for weeks into November. Stash the candy away, where it’s out of sight (and somewhat out of mind, right?). Then, decide how much your kids should eat a day or a week. We know some families whose kids choose to “sell” their candy to their parents. Set the price high enough, and some kids are all too happy to take money in exchange. Other families keep some candy and donate the rest. Check out sites that send candy to troops like Soldiers’ Angels, Operation Gratitude and Operation Shoebox.