How to Handle Halloween Candy Without the Stress: 5 Tips for Parents 🎃🍬
Grannie Greta - trick or treating 2022!
Halloween is almost here, and for many kids, it’s one of the most exciting nights of the year. Costumes, decorations, and, of course, candy are all part of the fun. But for parents, the thought of managing all that sugar can bring up stress and anxiety. Will your kids eat too much? Will they bounce off the walls?
The good news is, Halloween can be a joyful, memorable experience without the candy battles. Here’s how you can help your child enjoy their treats while still maintaining a sense of balance and calm.
1. Keep a Regular Day With Balanced Meals
Before heading out for trick-or-treating, try to keep your child’s eating schedule as normal as possible. Serve balanced meals and snacks throughout the day that include protein, fiber, carbs, and produce. Eating every few hours helps your child feel good and stay energized throughout the day and prevents them from getting too hungry, which can lead to overeating candy later on.
Before heading out to collect candy, serve a solid dinner or a big snack to set them up for success. 🥪 And when they’re back home and ready to dig into their loot, consider offering a little cheese or a glass of milk alongside their candy. Even if they don’t touch it, you’ve provided them with options, which can help balance out the sugar and create a more mindful eating experience.
2. Make Trick-or-Treating Enjoyable & Planned
Halloween night should be about fun, not rules. Planning ahead can help everyone feel more relaxed. Plan your route and discuss with your kids how many houses you’ll visit. This way, you set expectations ahead of time, and your kids can focus on having fun, knowing what to expect.
Remember, you have a say in how long you’re out, but if your kids want to keep going, check your “why” before you say no. Are you worried about how much candy they’ll get? If that’s your main concern, try letting them keep going so they can test out their ability to self-regulate. Learning to self-regulate around candy is a skill, and Halloween can be a valuable time for them to practice it.
3. Let Them Enjoy the Candy Without Limits
When you get home from trick-or-treating, let your kids sort, play with, and eat their candy without restrictions. 🍫 This might sound scary, but giving them the freedom to enjoy their treats helps reduce the “forbidden fruit” effect that can make kids more likely to overeat.
Avoid making negative comments about the candy or trying to control how much they eat. If they let you, join them in enjoying a piece or two! This shared experience can make candy feel like just another part of the night, not something to be feared or controlled. Plus, it teaches them that sweets are not bad, just one part of the wide variety of foods we eat.
4. Offer Candy With Meals & Snacks the Next Day
The day after trick-or-treating, continue to offer candy alongside meals and snacks. Instead of making candy a standalone event, this approach helps your child learn to eat sweets in a way that doesn’t take over the whole meal. It also teaches them that candy isn’t something they need to eat all at once; it’s a treat that can be enjoyed in moderation.
For example, if you’re serving lunch, you might add a small piece of chocolate alongside their sandwich and fruit. Or, after dinner, offer a couple of fun-sized candy bars. 🍬🥕 This helps make candy less of a “big deal” and more of an everyday treat.
5. Find Your New Balance After Halloween
After a day or two of more relaxed candy enjoyment, see how your child is feeling. Have they forgotten about the candy? If so, you can start offering it here and there, with lunches or after dinner. Keeping it casual prevents the “I need to eat it all now” feeling.
If your child still seems hyper-focused on their candy stash, it’s okay to put it away out of sight and offer it at a later time. Remember, balance isn’t about rigid rules; it’s about creating a routine that works for your family and your child’s needs. 🧡
The Myth of Sugar and Hyperactivity in Kids
One of the most persistent myths around sugar and kids is that candy makes children hyperactive. You’ve probably heard it before, and maybe you’ve even felt like you’ve seen it happen in real-time. But interestingly, science doesn’t back this up.
Multiple studies, including a comprehensive meta-analysis, have found no consistent evidence that sugar causes hyperactivity in children. Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that there is no direct link between sugar consumption and behavior changes in kids. In fact, one study revealed that parents who were told their kids had consumed sugar (even when they hadn’t) were more likely to report hyperactivity. This suggests that expectations might play a big role in how we perceive our children’s behavior.
So why do some kids seem more hyper after eating sweets? It could be due to the excitement and high energy around events like Halloween, birthday parties, or playdates—times when sweets are often involved. It’s also possible that kids might show signs of dysregulation from other factors, like tiredness, overstimulation, or lack of a balanced meal earlier in the day.
This doesn’t mean your observations aren’t real; it just suggests that the cause might be something other than the sugar itself. And knowing this can help us approach sweets with less fear and more balance.
Still Feeling Stressed About Sweets? 🍭✨
If all this still feels overwhelming, I get it—finding the right balance can be tricky. That’s why I created my 'Mastering Sweets & Treats' course. It’s designed to guide you step by step on how to help your kids develop a healthy relationship with sweets. You’ll learn how to set up an environment that encourages balance, without making candy feel like forbidden fruit.
It’s not too late to join! Click here to learn more and sign up. Let’s make this Halloween (and every other holiday) a little sweeter—without the stress.
Wishing you and your family a fun and balanced Halloween! 🎃👻🧡