Trick or Treat what are you having at your house?

You couldn't ignore Halloween if you tried, not with the shelves of nearly every store piled high with candy. There's chocolate, candy bars, lollypops, licorice, chewy coloured candy in cute shapes, hard candy, gum, and more ... much more.

This overwhelming reminder of the approach of Halloween represents more than just a tradition of dressing up in costumes to celebrate the day of the dead and then showing them off to your neighbours. Today Halloween is really nothing more than an excuse to eat lots of sugary, insulin-triggering treats.

So in an age when one in four Canadian children are overweight or obese should we be rethinking our manner of celebrating this increasingly popular holiday, or simply carry on with what we've been doing?

Alternatives to Sugar Crashes

Parents and caregivers should try to change the focus of the day away from the habit of collecting and eating candy. Try to emphasize other fun aspects of Halloween, such as creating great costumes. Some helpful ideas for parents to think about:

• Allowing children to make the rounds of houses in the neighbourhood, but then limiting the candy they are allowed to keep to a reasonable number of their favourite pieces when they return home.
• Predetermine this amount before kids go out and to keep the rule consistent for all children in the family regardless of their age.
• implement a system of buying back most of the candy their children have collected and then removing it from the home. "Do not keep enough candy in the house for the next six months."
• Try healthier customs. Use the family pumpkin carving experience as a means to encourage healthy eating by making tasty snacks from the interior, such as muffins, cookies and baked pumpkin seeds.
• Hold a Halloween neighbourhood party. Parents meet and plan the event ahead of time and organize entertaining activities such as costume contests, games and even a potluck dinner. Have fun by celebrating the occasion together rather than just gathering candy.

Plan Healthy Halloween Strategies

Rather than go out with your kids, have a Halloween party at the house and have fun watching the other kids come by in their costumes. Limit the amount of "treats" you hand out to other kids and opt for healthier choices. Offer your children Halloween toys or stickers instead of candy. Instead of going around collecting candy, have your child go around collecting loose pennies and nickels for a favourite charity UNICEF is traditionally supported, but it need not be the only one.
If your child does collect candy, have him or her trade in the candy for a new toy or activity such as going to a movie, sports event or amusement park.


Lori Tinella founder, owner of Little Chefs based in Erin, Ontario
www.thelittlechefs.ca
519-940-1131