At the end of October after all the Halloween candy has been collected parents are left with a dilemma. Do you set limits and control the candy? Do you let the kids decide how much to eat?
There isn’t one right answer. You have to use your best judgement based on the child habits and personality. Some kids will just eat a couple pieces at a time and save the rest for later. On the other hand if you kids like to binge then consider setting limits.
Here are some tips to handle Halloween:
- Feed them well and make sure they are full before heading out for trick-or-treating. This will make sure they aren’t hungry when they come back with all the candy.
- Don’t let them keep the candy in their room. The temptation is too much and it’s hard to keep track of how much they are eating.
- Be a little lenient the first couple days. After all they are excited by all they have earned. Then talk to them about how much is appropriate and what to do with the rest of the candy.
- Consider buying back some of their stash. They have earned the treats and buying it back will acknowledge that it is theirs. This will also prevent them from feeling like it was taken from them or that they lost something.
- Be a role model and avoid the temptation to eat the candy yourself. Set an example by eating healthy foods and one or two pieces of candy.
- Talk to the kids and encourage them to do the right thing and not eat until they are sick.
At the end of the day it’s just candy and a little fun. It’s not that big a deal if they over do it for a week or so. In the long run your daily eating habits are more important so just have fun.