Friday, October 30, 2009

How to Handle Halloween

Trick or treating is just around the corner! My house is prepped with corn husks and pumpkins and mums and more. We don't get any trick or treaters since we live so far into the country, but I have definitely had my fair share of Halloween nights with my 3 girls to know the best way to avoid sugar overload. My girls would take their sacs out with them for the evening and and then reconvene at home to sort through the goods. They would pick out all of the things they didn't like, trade things here and there with each other, and throw out any damaged products. The remaining stash was theirs to keep for a week. They could have a few treats here and there, but going overboard was not allowed. Once the week was up out went the candy! I would try to counteract the effects of all that refined sugar with lots of fruits and vegetables at meal time. There's only so much a mom can do! This year I would encourage you to keep a close eye on your child's candy consumption. Simple sugars are especially harmful for immune strength, which we all need during cold and flu season. Try discussing your own candy schedule with your child so they feel involved in the process rather than just a recipient of the ruling. Happy Halloween!

3 comments:

Melonie said...

I do something very similar with one added step: I have purchased fairly small "goodie" bags for my kids and limit the size of the area we visit. When the bag is full or we've visited all the houses I had planned (whichever comes first), they are done. I'm not a fan of Halloween in any way, but as the kids hit a certain age it really isn't fun for me to see their faces fall as other kids are trooping through the neighborhood, and hearing all the hoots and hollers and fun. So I let them participate to a certain extent. They still get some treats and some fun, and the amount of candy brought into the house is limited as well. Since I have a "high energy" (ADHD) child, we were already doing this long before I found out about your Eat Clean books; now, however, I feel much more encouraged and find it easier to ignore the neighbors who give me the "wow, you're a mean mommy depriving your kids of all that candy!" look. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Hi Tosca!

My hubby and I don't have any children, but we still have lots candy in the house to give out to the trick or treaters that come down our street.

Tomorrow is trash day, and today as we were doing a "trash run" through the house, we stopped at the cauldron of leftover candy by the front door and emptied it all into the trash bag!

Sure, I wasted some money buying too much candy and then throwing it away - who cares? What was it, a few bucks? It's worth so much more to me to NOT have it in the house!

xoxo
Peach

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