Guest Post: How to Have a Sensibly Sweet Halloween

Halloween is coming!  After countless hours of carefully planning the perfect costume and putting on the finishing touches, they will be debuted this weekend for trick or treating.  While we want kids to enjoy the holiday, many parents are concerned how to handle the mass amounts of candy that will be entering into their home.  Yesterday I wrote how those of us without kids keep Halloween healthy for all.  Now read how one fellow Registered Dietitian Nutritionist handles Halloween with her family on today’s Guest Blog post.

This article was contributed by guest blogger Bridget Peterson, MS, RD.

Next to Christmas with its offering of gifts for my daughter’s taking, Halloween is her next favorite holiday. She loves the creativity behind coming up with her costume and taking on an alter ego for the night. As she traipses from home to home barking “Trick or Treat” at every obliging neighbor’s door, she hoards her candy treasure until the end of the evening when she spreads it out on our living room floor. She picks through it like a gold rush miner looking for gold. She shrieks when she finds her favorite candy and separates it out into its own pile. She then weeds out the acceptable tasting pieces into another pile. Finally, her least favorite candy pieces make up a third pile.

As a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, I am well aware of the health-related consequences of eating too much sugar. As I witness my daughter come undone with excitement as she sits before piles of candy, I admittedly have to stay mindful of my feelings and the thoughts of concern that arise. Instead of reacting, I focus on what I also know to be true: moderation is key. After all, moderation is the favorable territory between abstinence and gluttony.

On the night of Halloween, I generously let my daughter choose three pieces of candy to mindfully enjoy. I have her pick them out one at a time, unwrap them one at a time and taste each one from the first bite to the last. I ask her why she chooses the ones she does, which she is always very happy to explain.

After that, we put the rest of the candy away in its own opaque container on top of the fridge where it will be stored. On the days following Halloween, my daughter is allowed to choose one piece of candy to eat per day. It is a fun ritual we both actively participate in: getting the candy container down from the top of the fridge, scouring through all of the candy in the container, and then her selecting the one she wants to eat.

How can you help your child practice moderation with their Halloween candy?

1. Out of sight, out of mind. Remove the external stimuli prompting consumption of the candy. Use an opaque storage container and put it in a place you have to actively search out.
2. Assign ownership. Confirm with your child that their candy is theirs alone. Label the container with their name if it helps. Remove the fear that someone else can come along and eat their loot.
3. Don’t empower the candy. Assign the candy neutral value by not using it as a reward for eating their vegetables, getting good grades, behaving well, doing their chores, or for anything else.
4. Encourage mindful consumption. The enjoyment of finishing the fifth piece of candy isn’t greater than that of the first. As a matter of fact, it becomes less enjoyable with each piece consumed. Teach your child how to appreciate their one piece of candy from noticing the fun wrapper it comes in, to how the candy smells, feels, and tastes.
5. Model moderation yourself. Be consistent in your message to your child: practice what you preach. If you are eating more than one piece of candy per day, they will expect the same for themselves. The “do as I say, not as I do” rule undermines your well intentions for your child.

Most importantly, have fun and share in this magical holiday with your child. Happy Halloween!

Bridget Peterson, MS, RD holds a Master’s of Science in Nutrition from the University of Washington. She lives life one day at a time as a yoga enthusiast, earnest cook, and an overall fan of food. Bridget’s daughter will be a cowgirl this year for Halloween.  Follow her on Instagram @bridgetpetersonrd.