Don’t Let Halloween Scare You – How to keep your kids happy and healthy

Halloween can be a scary time a year for any parent trying to keep their kids from becoming over loaded on the excessively sugar laden treats so popular on this holiday. But as a parent the struggle to not take all the fun out of the holiday puts pressure on you to let your kids participate in the festivities. Fortunately, there are several ways to enjoy the holiday in a healthier way. With a little bit of planning and creativity, your kids can participate with out becoming filled up with processed sugar or junk.

The Halloween Fairy: Planning on the amount, the number of edible treats, your children can keep and have ahead of time prevents having to make the hard decision later. Ten pieces of candy seems like a lot until you are staring into a four lb. bag of sugary treats. Let your children know that they can keep “x” amount of treats and the rest get traded to the Halloween Fairy for a toy they desire. After picking the treats they are going to actually hang onto, the remaining candy gets left outside to be traded. Parents can then do away with excess candy and in it’s place leave the toys they were traded for. Kids feel like they get some of the treats they went out for and feel good about trading the rest for something they really want instead.

The Pre-Treat Trick: For parents who know a majority of the houses they will trick or treat at, going around before hand and handing out treats, that they approve of, helps prevent any bad treats coming home in the first place. This trick comes from a parent whose child had such severe allergies that they had to provide all of the treats they would be getting to the houses that they visited. The same trick can help in preventing the sugar laden snack from making into your child’s bag in the first place.

The Halloween Party: If you are lucky enough to find yourself in a group of like minded parents who do not enjoy fighting with their kids about why they can’t have ten candy bars, then planning a party is an easy way to enjoy Halloween. Finding a large yard and several parents who want to avoid the sugar overload is the perfect way to throw a costume party for your kids.
Children get to dress up and play games and have fun without being handed bags of sweets. Instead of candy, parents can bring healthier alternatives and give out smalls trinkets and toys. Plus, by the time the kids have worn themselves out from all the fun, the last thing they will be thinking about is what candy they might be missing out on.

With a little bit of thought and preplanning, the holiday does not have to turn into a hyperactive cavity fest. Let your kids know what the plans you have for the holiday are, and get excited about dressing up. The holiday is about imagination and fun, not just gorging on junk food. Holidays do not have to be a heath train wreck for parents who wish to stick with their health goals for their families.