“Can I please have candy?” My daughter asks with an innocent big-eyed look with the most angelic smile. She asks me just as I walk into our house after a long day at work.
With my mind still transitioning from my work thoughts to how-to-be-a-mommy thoughts, I stammer, “Uhhh….. sure!”
Then my heart is briefly happy when she cheers and jumps up and down. She proclaims to her three brothers, “Yay! Mommy says I can have candy!”
And then, my responsible parent brain kicks in when my sons start to clamor loudly (and less politely) for candy. Ooops, what I have I done? I didn’t have any idea how much sugar they had already eaten that day, and we all know candy just isn’t healthy.
Candy - it’s been around since ancient history. The first candy confections were made from fruits and nuts rolled in honey. Then around the middle ages, sugar was manufactured. Initially it was very expensive so that only the rich could enjoy it. However, by the 17th century, sugar was cheaper and hard candy became a popular treat. In the mid-1800’s, there were over 400 candy factories in the US.
When you add up our total sugar consumption, the average American consumes around 135 lbs of sugar PER PERSON in a year! That’s about 2-3 pounds of sugar a week. It’s not all straight sugar of course. This amount includes dextrose and high fructose corn syrup which is found in many of our foods. In the mid-1800’s, the average consumption per person was only 5 pounds a year. It’s really quite sad how addicted we are to the stuff.
So, how to control the candy craving with Halloween just around the corner? Here are few tips and tricks.
1. Use a smaller bag/bucket. If you allow your child to carry a pillowcase-sized bag, it not only allows unlimited amount of candy collection, but it encourages people to throw handfuls of candy into it, instead of just giving 1 or 2 pieces. Older kids tend to go out later in the evening and tend to carry bigger bags. At that time of night, people are trying to get rid of excess candy. So, having the jumbo-sized bag just encourages people to give your child more candy.
2. Limit the trick-or-treating time. If you trick-or-treat for hours, your children will get more and more candy. Then you’ll have to deal with the ten gallons of candy that they’ve acquired. Set a time limit and set expectations ahead of time. Find other ways to celebrate Halloween that don’t involve candy. Have some friends over for party or play Halloween games or watch a Halloween-themed movie. You can make trick-or-treating just a small part of a fun day.
3. Allow them to eat it (at first). Sometimes you create the craving by limiting it. Imagine if I made you live in a room full of money and told you that you could only have one dollar each day. Most people would really look forward to the moment when they got the chance to have a little more of the stash – at least at first. And even if you didn’t care, it would likely be a part of your thoughts throughout the day since you could see it, but you couldn’t have it. Halloween trick-or-treating is all about the candy. So, let them have a chance to enjoy it.
4. After the binge, set a limit. No one NEEDS candy. So, consider it a treat. Just like all sweets, you should limit it to once a day at the most. If they want something sweet to eat, give them a piece of piece of fruit. As your children learn to get their sugar fix from healthier options, then you will give teach them a lifetime skill that will pay off in the future.
5. Set a date for when you are going to throw the leftover candy away. Very often Halloween would roll around and I would realize that I still had candy from LAST Halloween. While some candy doesn’t ever seem to expire, it can go bad eventually. Plus, if you don’t have it in the house, no one can eat it. So, just toss it.
6. Consider a barter. Let them “buy” fun things with their candy. This way you don’t squelch their fun, but they don’t risk their health and their teeth. Try five candy bars for a trip to the movies, or eight Tootsie Rolls for a pizza dinner. Be creative.
7. Take it to work or to other events. Get the excess candy out of the house. If it’s in your house, your kids will find it. Either give it away or throw it out.
Have other ideas for how to limit the candy craziness? Please share them! For now, I need to find an apple or something – all this talk about candy makes me hungry!
Thanks for reading!
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