Handling Halloween Candy

The biggest candy-eating holiday of all is here. Instead of struggling with limiting your kids’ Halloween candy eating, let it be an opportunity to teach your kids moderation with their eating habits.

Let’s start with dispelling two big myths about sugar:

        Sugar Does Not Cause Hyperactivity: Many studies clearly show that sugar does not cause hyperactivity. It may make kids go nuts because they’re so excited to get it but it does not actually change behavior. Parent’s expectations may have something to do with their perceptions of their child’s behavior. One study showed that when researchers told parents that their children ate sugar – even when they had not – they perceived that their behavior was worse.

·      Sugar is Not More Addictive than Cocaine: We see these headlines all the time. In fact, there was one last week “Chocolate Chip Cookies Are Addictive like Cocaine”. These headlines are click bait. While sugar can increase dopamine, it does it in a very different way than cocaine. Cocaine is a powerful stimulant and is highly addictive. If sugar were as addictive as cocaine, we’d all be in rehab.   

Halloween is actually a great time to help your kids develop behavioral control with sugar.

Tips for a healthier Halloween:

•         Don’t be too restrictive The more you restrict them, the more they’ll want it.
•          Feed your kids a good dinner before they go out – this will keep them from bingeing on candy!
•          Teach Safety. For safety purposes, teach your children not to eat any of the candy they get until you’ve checked it out when they get home. But keep in mind that the scary things you’ve heard about tainted Halloween candy is exaggerated. The biggest danger to kids on Halloween night is not tainted candy but bad drivers.
•         Let them eat as much as they want Halloween night. When they come home from trick or treating, allow them to eat what they want. However, after Halloween, let them choose a few pieces to eat at one time. 
•          Challenge them to see how long they can make their candy last. Teach your kids to enjoy a few pieces of candy every day. See if they can make it last until Thanksgiving. One year, I still had some Halloween candy at Christmas!
•          Buy the candy back from them! Let your kids to “sell” you the candy they don’t like as much. This is a great way to teach kids to prioritize which candies they like best. It also helps them to avoid mindlessly eating candy that they don’t truly like.

For tips on healthy and sensible nutrition tips for kid, go to this website:

www.ellynsatterinstitute.org

Beth Kitchin PhD RDN
Assistant Professor & Director of Media/Community Engagement Nutrition Sciences

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Patient Educator UAB Osteoporosis Prevention & Treatment Clinic