Scott Stevens

Scott Stevens

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Should Halloween Be Candy Free-For-All For Kids?

It’s the most wonderful day of the year for a lot of kids, since they get to dress up in costumes, trick-or-treat and come home with tons of candy. But how much of it should we let them eat? A lot of parents get spooked by their kids bingeing on sugar or worry they’ll eat their entire candy haul in one night. That leads some to restrict the number of treats their kids can have, but some experts advise against those kinds of limits.

Dietitian Abbey Sharp is one of them, and she suggests letting trick-or-treaters eat as much candy as they want on Halloween. And if they end up with a tummy ache from overindulging? She says to use it as a teachable moment. “I actually think we should think of it as a learning opportunity to help our kids work on their intuitive eating skills,” she says.

Sharp points out that research suggests the more forbidden we make foods, like candy, the more likely kids are to overeat them. Plus, letting them have a candy free-for-all can be a chance for them to figure out how eating too much of the sweet stuff makes them feel. Her advice? Feed them a balanced dinner, with lots of protein, fats and fiber tonight, then let them enjoy all the candy they care to eat. After that, she recommends a few days of unlimited access, then spread out how often they can have it and she says most kids lose interest in eating large amounts of it at that point.

Source: Yahoo Lifestyle

Scott's Thoughts:

  • But if I let them eat all the candy they want, there won’t be as many Reese’s Cups for me to steal later!
  • Seems like I remembered my kids having a feast of candy on Halloween night then putting the rest in the big jar in the kitchen to have a piece or two a day.
  • Let them eat it all but then make them brush their teeth. :)

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