With Halloween just around the corner, thoughts of massive amounts of candy in their child’s possession can be quite frightening to most parents. There are many things you can do to ease your worries. Here are a few tips to help your children enjoy their Halloween candy without turning their mouths into a Halloween nightmare:
- Before your child goes out for a night of trick-or-treating, a healthy dinner will help suppress your children’s overwhelming urge to eat all the Halloween candy they collect.
- Consider going through the candy with your child and determining which candy meets your standards. Hard, chewy or extra sweet candy tends to be the most harmful. Separate those out and exchange them at a “candy exchange” for healthier treats.
- Once you and your children have agreed on what candy is okay to have, it is important to set limits on how much and when to consume it. Don’t allow them to eat sweets between meals; an after dinner sweet is usually the best route to go.
- You can also have your child drink water when eating treats. This will help ensure sugar and food particles are washed away before they can cause problems.
- Choose to hand out alternative treat options. Some of these include stickers, vampire teeth, temporary tattoos, pencils, erasers, toothbrushes, sugar-free gum and sugar-free candy.
- You could also offer to help plan school classroom Halloween parties to ensure there are healthy treat options available for children.
Help your kiddos fuel up on a nutrient-rich snack before they head out to trick-or-treat and give this recipe for Frankenguac a try! It’s packed full of avocados which are full of folic acid, a natural vitamin that helps our gum tissue.
