Nothing says sugar meltdown quite like Halloween. While indulging our sweet-tooth is perfectly fine once in a while, there are a variety of tactics parents can use to help children moderate their sugar intake this Halloween (and prevent nasty stomach aches, emergency dental appointments, and sugar-high meltdowns).
Dentists recommend avoiding hard, caramel, or gummy candies that can damage enamel and stick to teeth. Lollipops and other candies that prolong the frequency of exposure, and highly acidic candies, should also be avoided.
Studies also show that the more strictly parents attempt to control certain foods, such as sweets, the more desirable they become. Rather, a realistic, consistent, and positive approach is the most effective and fun.
Here are five great strategies to ward off the sugar overload
Switch Witch
When the kids go to bed, the ‘Switch Witch’ exchanges their candy for a new toy. This is a fun opportunity for your kids to willingly trade their candy for something else they’d enjoy.
Candy buy-back programs
Contact your local dental office to ask if they offer a candy buy-back program.
Donate it
Individually wrapped candy can be donated to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank or Covenant House Vancouver (helping Vancouver’s at-risk and street youth).
Save it
You can freeze most candy and use it later for baking, goodie bags, to fill a piñata at your child’s next birthday party, or decorate a gingerbread house at Christmas.
Make a difference
Trick or Eat is a Canadian youth-led event that invites students to participate in the largest door-to-door Halloween food drive and raise much needed funds to find solutions to food insecurity in Canada. This year, instead of collecting candy, you and your child could help the hundreds of thousands of families and children who depend on food banks.
How do you make sure your kids don’t overindulge on Halloween?
Comment(1)
Lorrie
Cute ideas! Just a note that the “sugar rush” is an old myth that’s been long been proven unfounded!