Hi BASK friends! I love Halloween and have ever since I was a child. I actually chose my college, Ohio University, because of their well known Halloween shenanigans. I am just kidding. No, not really. I still dress up because it is so freakin' fun to let your creative flag fly. 😉 As a kid, I remembered bringing pillow cases because that is how you "haul your haul" and the plastic orange pumpkin, would get too heavy and hurt your arm. I remember sitting down with my friends and siblings and sorting and counting the candy. It was so fun to do that and I love doing that with my own children. My husband and I get to fight over our daughter's Reese's Cups because she doesn't like them. Say what?
I want to share some wisdom when it comes to dealing with Halloween candy worries and especially with children. There is a lot of fear about candy and food around the holidays and Halloween is the season where we start to pick up again on this food anxiety. When we restrict or send the message to restrict or cut out candy and other sweets via practices like "the switch witch"- (ask me about it and how I really feel about that), we can inadvertently set our children up to believe that this food is so special. When you forbid or make food special, you actually increase the risk of overindulgence, binging, shame, secrecy and other eating disordered behaviors. I am pretty sure that this is the opposite message that you are trying to send.
Tips to Deal with Halloween Food
1. Enjoy the food and model it to your kids.
2. Ditch "cheat language." Come on enjoy that food. Otherwise, what is the real point?
3. Before going trick-or-treating, make sure to serve a nutritious dinner beforehand so hunger is fully addressed. While this might be filed under "Duh, tell me something I don't know, Kerry." We have likely all been there where dinner gets skipped or short-changed because people are scrambling to hit the hood.
4. Let them count, sort, and eat the candy and giggle with glee.
5. Allow them to eat the candy in moderation without guilt and shame. *Of course, there are special diets for managing health issues and I am not referring to those.
6. Be mindful of sugar before bedtime. You know your children best and what is acceptable for laying them down for restful sleep.
7. Treat the food like it is NBD.
8. If you have issues or anxiety around food, check that and make that a priority for your own work and keep your food anxiety or weight concerns out of your children's orbit.
For more info, check out:
Tips to Decrease Shame and Increase Eating Enjoyment and 15 Tips to Help Children Develop Healthier Attitudes and Behaviors about Food.
Do you struggle with Halloween treats and your kids' consumption of them? Let me know what you do. I hope these tips help make Halloween candy consumption a little more peaceful and fun and a lot less scary.
With Kindness,
Kerry
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