How Much Of That Halloween Candy Should Children Be Allowed To Eat?
Okay, you've got the safe and easy to move in costume. You've read the blogs with tips for avoiding accidents and dangers (make sure your flashlight has batteries) as you go about your trick or treating. Now it's time to set your child's expectations (no matter what their age) about all that candy they are about to receive.
Looking back to my own childhood, I grew up in a household where dinner was not complete without a piece of my mother's homemade pie or cake, but candy was neither plentiful nor forbidden. I remember Halloweens where our means of collecting treats was a pillowcase, and most years, it was full by the end of the evening.
While I'm known for spouting the aphorism, "a little sweet aids digestion," and I like the occasional bit of chocolate, most candy I can take or leave.
So, where do you stand on sweets in general and candy in particular?
You have to figure out your position in a hurry and spend a few minutes discussing it with your child, as you are about to experience the trove of candy that Halloween inevitably brings. Unless you avoid all neighborhood or community events, your children will be on the receiving end of lots of it.
My suggestion is to let them know in advance your ground rules:
Can they pick one or two pieces per day?
Must they give half of it away?
Can they select a few pieces for the coming week and freeze the rest?
Or, is it an endless all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of sugar?
Like my parents before me, as a parent of trick-or-treaters, I was on the permissive side…with no ill effects. For my own children, most of the excitement was in the dressing up, the process of going door-to-door, sorting the bounty later, and picking out the favorites; Reese Cups and Skittles, to be exact. Fortunately they were good at self-regulation and as far as I know, as adults, they rarely eat candy, if at all. I realize this will not be the case with everyone.
So… have the conversation... then have a safe, fun, and happy Halloween!
