A Guide to Keeping Kids Eating Healthy on Halloween Night

Halloween! For children it's a time of magic, wonder, endless play and the best eats of the year (second only to the Winter holiday season). There is so much joy contained in a plastic pumpkin or black bag full of mini candy bars, lollipops, caramels, bubble gum, sweeties, candy corn, and chocolates of all kinds. So much joy... and sugar, gluten and chemicals inducing hyperactivity, headaches, tummy aches and bad habits...

Fortunately, today there are options for people who do not want to home bring sugar- and additive-packed candies from the grocery store to distribute to their children or the neighborhood.

Choosing Healthy Treats for the Costumed Kids on the Block

Whether we have children at home or not, millions of us will be providing bowls of goodies to yongsters this coming October 31. While we want to provide what's best for them, we also don't want them to feel tricked. Nearly every neighborhood has the dentist who hands out toothbrushes, but seriously, how many of them actually make it home? And with razor blade scares over apples and fears that people have baked chemicals into homemade treats, few parents these day allow their children to eat non-packaged goodies no matter how good our intentions are.

This leaves those of us handing out healthy eats with a dilemma. Do we give the kids something that they will toss, or that their parents will take away? We are left with a few options.

1. Hand out prepackaged, store-bought candy regardless of its nutrient value.

We know the kids will actually take it, and most parents will actually let them have it. We hope that their parents won't let them have all of it. Perhaps ration out just a couple pieces to each child instead of allowing them to grab whole handfuls of the stuff at a time.

2. Set a positive example by handing out fruit and/or nutritious homemade goodies.

Accept the fact that the kids will probably never eat them. Talk to the parents on the block - in advance if possible - and let them know your good intentions and that you're trying to help. Include a small photocopied list of ingredients with the baggie for each goodie, so that parents of kids with allergies can weed them out. If you don't converse with your neighbors regularly this may not be the option for you, as both parents and kids may be suspicious of people they never see handing out strange foods.

3. Purchase prepackaged health-food snacks!

Buy candy, treats and snacks from your local organic foods store or independent coffee shop! As more people become food-conscious, more great new natural products are becoming available. While harder to find and often higher priced than their mainstream alternatives, providing organic, natural, and alternative snacks is truly inspiring - especially to the parents who will come asking you how they can get them in their kids' lunchboxes. Try any of the new organic snack bars, packaged cookies, and fruit chips now available for people with all types of dietary restrictions. Do a taste test first and make sure you choose treats that you enjoy to eat!

Bringing Healthy Halloween Alternatives Home for the Family

More likely than not, if you have kids, you are restricting the diet of at least one of them due to a health-related issue of some sort. Given the rise in childhood obesity and other chronic illnesses, that is the nature of being a parent today (AHRP). Halloween is one of the hardest times to maintain a child's diet. There are class parties, parties at people's homes, and free candy at the counter in stores and offices nationwide as people get into the spirit of Halloween.

Probably the biggest challenge to contend with at Halloween is peer pressure from other children. Well-meaning youngsters will taunt, goad, and guilt your little ones into eating exactly what you've taught them to avoid in order to feel part of the group. When your child is trick-or-treating with friends, is he or she going to say "No" when offered the same candy bars the others are gobbling up, just because it has gluten in it?

The psychology of helping children master their own nutritional needs is beyond the scope of this article. However, there are a few things parents can do to encourage kids to maintain their healthy diets.

1. Ration out the candy over a reasonable amount of time.

This is the easiest solution for parents teaching their kids restraint. Depending on the child's needs and the amount of candy collected, ration it out until Christmas, or even as some families do, for the whole year. Try not to hide the bag of candy from older kids as doing so will likely lead to its disappearance when they discover it. Rather, discuss with them why it's important to savor treats as just that - treats - and involve them in creating a special routine when you can enjoy the fruit of their bounty together.

2. Create a trick-or-treating game with your kids, in which the winner gets... something other than candy.

Let them dress up and parade about the neighborhood collecting sugary poisons by making a game of it. Set up an award system for whomever collects the most, making the prize something better than candy. Be sure to have great second prizes (and even third and fourth prizes) ready to go so that the losers don't feel deprived. Present the awards in a fabulous family ceremony and giggle with your kids through the entire affair. Afterward, pool the candy for delivery to a local shelter or other organization that could use it (or trash it if you feel strongly about our nation's dietary habits.) Praise your children for helping themselves and the community by pulling out from hiding... a healthful plate of treats, cake, or cookies that everyone is allowed to enjoy.

3. Allow them to eat one or two pieces to discover how it affects them, and keep healthy alternatives readily available.

Kids with gluten intolerance, diabetes or other conditions do not always understand why one or two pieces of candy can hurt them. Under your supervision, this is an opportunity for them to find out. During the Halloween season be certain your child has access to delicious nutritious snacks that they can enjoy with some regularity. Discuss with the child using age-appropriate language why they can't eat regular candy, explaining what they can expect if they do. After Trick-or-Treating is over, offer them an opportunity to try a small amount of the candy on the condition that they pay attention to their bodies and how it makes them feel. (The child may try to tell you they feel fine in order to to entice you to allow them to eat more.) Monitor them over the next day so that you can discuss how often they used the bathroom, changes in their behavior, or anything they might be able to see in themselves. Reward the child at an appropriate time with a healthy treat. (Depending on your child's situation, you may want to discuss this option with your pediatrician first.)

With a little bit of ingenuity, we can take the scare out of Halloween candy and make it happy and healthy for everyone!

Sources
Barbara Mikkelson, "Pins and Needles." Snopes.com.
"Poisoned Candy Scare." Wikipedia.
Vera Hassner Sharav, "7% of American Children have Chronic Illness -- a Fourfold Jump." Alliance for Human Research Protection Blog.