Ask a Dietitian

It’s that time of year again, candy is everywhere.  Are you trying to figure out how to manage your kid’s consumption of treats?  Well here are some tips that may help you navigate the next few weeks of candy mayhem.

1. Buy Late. Don’t buy them until the 30^th! Or even the 31^st!  If you buy candy too soon you and your family will just be extending the time you have candy as part of your daily intake.  Buy only what you need.  If you only got 2 trick-or-treaters last year and the year before, chances are you will get 2 this year too so you don’t need the bag of 90 pieces.
2. Eat Dinner. Insist on everyone sitting down to a nutritious dinner before you head out the door.  Make it earlier so the kids aren’t chomping at the bit.  Be sure it includes some protein and fibre to help fill them up and make it last.  Chili is easy, make it yourself fajitas or tacos, or Chicken quesadillas with raw veggies on the side are all great options.  Don’t forget to hydrate.  Water or milk are the best options.
3. Sort, Trade and Give Away. Allow your kids some time when they get home with siblings or friends to sort through their candy, organize it into stuff they love, stuff to trade and stuff they are happy to share and give away. You can incentivise them by offering a special outing, toy or homemade treat for every X number of pieces discarded.  If you still have people coming to your door, buy back some of your kids candy to give away.
4. Lead by Example. If you binge, they will too. Eating treats is part of normal healthy eating.  Binging on them is not healthy.  Instead encourage having one or two treats with a meal or snack.  Don’t give treat “if” they finish their vegetables.  That just teaches them that vegetables are “icky” and candy is the reward.
5. Give them Control. Teaching kids how to manage their own eating at a young age will build skills they need for healthy eating in the future.  Tell them that they worked hard for their candy, so they can keep it but discuss some parameters with them. Ask them when during the day they would like to have a treat.  With afterschool snack or after dinner?  How many is reasonable?
6. Live and Learn. You got it.  Some won’t want to follow the parameters and need to learn from their experience.  Eating too much candy can make you feel sick.  Hopefully that is just what it takes to stop them from doing it again.  (and hopefully they remember the lesson for next Halloween.  Feel free to remind them 😊