Halloween…now there is loaded topic. It seems to be filling up everyone’s news-feeds, it’s all the kids are talking about in the school yard, and we don’t know if we should go all out or cancel it all together. What to do? What-to-do??
October 31st is the date. I won’t get into any of the history of Halloween here. I’ll play the game…It’s just a fun day for kids BIG and small. The worst day is November 1st. It’s a day full of sugar highs and sugar CRASHES! I think I had something going when I suggested handing out cinnamon sticks. Cinnamon is known for decreasing blood sugar levels. My thought was if kids must eat their candy, they should take some cinnamon with it to at least keep their sugar at a constant level. All jokes aside, what should us health nuts do?
- Talk with your kids. We talked about trick or treating and how long we may spend outside. We talked about safety too. This includes stranger danger and not eating anything until we are home. The children are also prepared so that they will not get to eat or keep ALL the candy that is collected. They will keep around 6 pieces this year. Preparation is the key to success here, people.
- Plan together what you will hand out. We talked with our children about what they would like to give out. We discussed healthier food and non-food items. We ended up with a list including pencils, stickers, eyeball bouncy balls, GoGo Squeez and Gin Gins ginger candies. We chose some of those and made a nice little bowl for our friendly trick or treaters. I wanted to give out Amrita Bars, but our personal supply is getting too low 🙂
- Kids make the choices. Finally, we talk to our kids about the choices they make over the next few days with the junk food they collect. We discuss food dyes and ingredients. We are not party poopers, we just want our kids to make informed decisions. Some of our neighbors hand out organic chocolates and some hand out blood red gummies. Our kids can choose what they keep, but you would be surprised at the better choices they have made in previous years. They usually stay away from food dyes as they can feel the effects it has on their bodies.
I hope this helps you keep an open, healthy and safe mind this Halloween.
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