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Not So Perfect Parent BLOG |
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October 2008
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Halloween is a nutrition nightmare! You have been trying all year to instill good eating habits in your kids and then one night comes and all your good advice goes out the window. What's the not-so-perfect parent to do? Q: So what are we supposed to do with all that Halloween candy? Because certainly no one wants their kids eating all of it. A: True. These days kids come home with an enormous amount of candy that is really unreasonable for a child to eat. But before we talk about how to handle it, I have to give one caveat to parents - Halloween is not the time to have a heart to heart nutrition lesson with your kids. It is just not the time. Unless they have a medical condition, let your kids eat what they want on Halloween, and then in the next day or two try to deal with the excess. Q: Ok. So they've stuffed themselves with candy one or two days. What do we do now? A: There are a lot of options it turns out. One option is to make the candy into crafts. That way it has glue on it, or it's being used for decorations, so it's not being eaten. (demo) Then there is the option of just getting it out of the house.The easiest way to get the candy out of the house is to find a candy drive and drop it all off. Check with your child's dentist - they may be collecting candy to send to the troops. A children's charity in your area may be willing to take the candy, and even some meals on wheels or soup kitchens will take the candy to offer to the people they provide food to. Q: That is very good for good-hearted kids and kids who are so young they won't notice the candy is gone. But what do we do with older kids who don't want to part with their candy? Then you go with the old-fashioned method - bribery! Set an amount, such as 10 or 20 pieces that your child can save - let them choose their favorite kinds. Then let them count the other pieces and give them five or ten cents per piece. Or trade them a toy or a game that they have been wanting. This way everyone gets what they want, and the candy can still be given away. I have also heard an urban legend about a Halloween fairy who arrives the day after Halloween and replaces all the uneaten candy with a toy, no questions asked. Q: Is there any way to cut back on the amount of candy in the first place? A: Yes. You can certainly limit the number of houses your children go to, which is easy with younger kids. You can also band together with other parents in your neighborhood to provide healthier snacks or small toys or trinkets to trick-or-treaters instead of candy. (demo) But even if everyone else still goes with candy, you can at least limit the amount of leftovers you have in your house, and in the days leading up to Halloween. Q: So we're not supposed to talk nutrition on Halloween. But how do we teach our kids to eat wisely? A: The best way is to lead by example. The good eating habits you set with your kids all year are really not ruined by a week or two of eating tons of candy. It is smart to feed your kids well the day of Halloween though, and also to let them eat candy as dessert at meal times, rather than eating candy on an empty stomach or walking around with it all day. It's also smart to teach them to brush their teeth after eating candy or chewing sugary gum. I know we tend to think of fruit juice as healthy, but offer your kids water or milk instead when they are eating candy, because the acid in fruit juice is not a good combination with candy. Another way to teach your kids about portion size is to compare the different versions of candy. (demo) Jessica's final thought is this: "What a relief to realize that a few days of candy overload is not the end of the world. We'll minimize where we can, but we don't have to cringe every time they eat a piece of candy." Guest / Guests Names: Jessica Setnick Titles: Registered Dietitian Company: Dallas Dietetic Association Website: www.DallasDietitian.com Number for Consumers to call: Segment Contact Person: Jessica Setnick |
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