Healthy Habits: The Halloween Candy Battle - Do's and Don't's

Eating habits expert and sociologist Dr. Dina Rose, author of IT’S NOT ABOUT THE BROCCOLI:  Three Habits to Teach Your Kids for a Lifetime of Healthy Eating (Perigee), offers a new approach to make the candy-filled holiday a stepping stone to healthy eating. Rose, a contributor to Psychology Today who has been training parents, pediatricians, dietitians, and early childhood educators, has these suggestions:

DO:

- SET UP A CANDY CONTAINER All the candy from Halloween (and from birthday parties or anywhere else) goes into one place and then parameters are set up within your household as to how much and how often candy can be enjoyed - creating habits. This candy is mixed into your already-established sweet routine – cookies, cupcakes, ice cream. The Halloween candy is not an additional supplement.

- TURN THE CANDY INTO A SENSORY GAME Turn the introduction of unfamiliar sweets into an opportunity for sensory exploration - the best method for overcoming picky eating and laying a foundation of healthy eating habits for a lifetime. Allow children to explore their variety of candy loot, with all of their senses – smell it, feel it, hear it, touch it and even look at it - NOT just taste it. Do this together with children as a fun activity.

- LIMIT THE COLLECTION Want to limit how much candy your kids eat? Then limit the amount of candy your children can collect. Reduce the number of houses your kids can hit up, or make sure their Halloween bag is somewhat smaller than a suitcase. Also, focus part of the Halloween experience on the costumes and decorations – it’s NOT all about the sugar. 

- FOCUS ON HABITS – Sweets and treats are part of life, but we have to put them into our diets in the right ratios. Set limits and parameters as to how much candy and how frequently it can be consumed. The timing doesn’t really matter; let your child decide when to eat the treat. However, once he/she has had the amount of daily treat you’ve established, then it’s done for the day. This allows children to better understand proper proportion. If they eat a candy bar at 10AM, that’s fine, but that’s it for the day OR they may choose to eat a candy bar after dinner, but that’s it. 

DON’T

- DON’T THREATEN TO DUMP THE CANDY (ONCE DEEMED SAFE) We want kids to collect as much candy as they can, but we don’t want them to actually eat it.  It’s a setup that can lead to a lifetime of desire for sweets and guilt for eating treats. Plus, dumping candy can prompt children to start gorging or hiding candy because they know their coveted prize will soon disappear, creating a scary start to a lifetime of bad eating habits.

- DON’T FILL UP ON FOOD FIRST Teach children to save room for their Halloween haul by giving them a small meal before trick-or-treating. Then, remind them to pay attention to their tummies.

- DON’T FOCUS ON NUTRITION The suggestion to use Halloween to talk about nutrition is misguided. Telling your child simply their Halloween candy is unhealthy will not stop them from wanting to try it, sometimes crave it and start eating broccoli instead. Rather, use the opportunity to strategize how to handle “big buffets” of life.

- WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES - There will be days when your child will have a treat in the morning and then be invited to an ice cream outing in the afternoon. Sometimes you’ll break the rules, because it’s all a learning process.

DINA ROSE, Ph.D. is a sociologist, parent educator, feeding expert and the author of

It’s Not About the Broccoli: Three Habits to Teach Your Kids for a Lifetime of Healthy Eating (Perigee). Dr. Rose has been training parents, pediatricians, dietitians, and early childhood educators in the Habits Approach for the past decade. Her work has been featured on television, radio, and in print and online news sources. Whether she’s speaking at an intimate gathering of parents, a professional conference, grand rounds or delivering a keynote address, Dr. Rose’s message is pragmatic, memorable and so unique it has been called “transformational.” In addition to writing her own blog, It’s Not About Nutrition, she is also a regular contributor to Psychology Today.