Most people wouldn’t think to put the words ‘Healthy’ and ‘Halloween’ together in the same sentence. Is there anything healthy about collecting a haul of candy and treats all in one night?

When it comes to kids however, health goes far beyond the foods we are feeding them or whether or not they have access to candy or other sugary treats.

Raising a healthy child has more to do with how we are feeding them, the behaviors we model around food and eating, and the environment we are creating around meals and food.

But before we dive into this important topic, I want to share a story with you:

Why I Let My 3 Year Old Eat Candy Until She Got Sick

A couple years ago, I let my then 3 year old eat as much candy as she wanted from her hard-earned stash.

I watched her tear through her best halloween candy, including kit kats, peanut butter cups, sour patch kids, gummy bears and more, faster than I could say, “Trick or Treat”.

I didn’t once try to stop her. It wasn’t easy to restrain myself, but I knew I couldn’t intervene.

And you know what happened?

She ate so much candy that she actually got sick.

“But you’re a dietitian! How could you let that happen?!”

Let me share a secret with you.

I knew that this would be an important lesson for my daughter. I understood that in order for her to learn how to eat candy in a way that felt best for HER, she needed the opportunity to try.

She needed unrestrained access to her candy to experience for herself what felt good in her body and what didn’t.

She didn’t need me to control it, hide it, or to be the Candy Police. She was perfectly capable of regulating what she needed on her own - she just needed the chance to try.

But that is our tendency as parents. We worry about our kids eating too much of the foods that aren’t healthy for them. So we take steps to strictly control candy and sweets.

While this might seem like helpful, it’s only a temporary solution. In fact, controlling feeding tactics can actually make kids become MORE obsessive about treats and desserts and OVEREAT them in the long-run.

So what did she learn from the candy overload?

“Mommy, I don’t think my tummy liked eating too much candy. Next time, I need to listen to my tummy.”

From the mouths of babes.

She was able to figure this out on her own, simply from having exposure. As for the rest of her candy bag? She had a few pieces here and there over the next couple weeks but became largely uninterested.

You can do the same for your kiddos!

As your kids prepare to bring bagfuls of candy home after Trick or Treating, keep these following tips in mind tips in mind:

Why Your Kids Need the Chance to Eat Their Candy

Halloween is an important time to let kids learn how to self-regulate a higher intake of sweets and foods with amounts of sugar that they wouldn’t normally eat on a regular basis.

There are simple ways you can help your children feel successful and confident in their innate ability to manage exactly what their bodies need.

If you are worried about a higher intake of sugar, treats, and desserts during this time of year, rest assured that holidays like Halloween are not going to ruin your child’s health or harm them in any way.

In fact, having exposure to times like these, where there might be an influx of kids favorite candy surrounding them, helps them learn how to navigate these scenarios in the future.

Supporting your children with positive feeding strategies can help them develop into adults who have a peaceful relationship with food. This is about keeping the bigger picture in mind and implementing an approach that will help your child’s well-being as they grow. This may look like:

• Less likelihood to engage in dieting

• Feeling more comfortable and confident in their bodies

• Able to eat a variety of foods moderately

• Decreased risk of binging on or overeating foods like desserts

• Overall healthy kids who are able to self-regulate their food intake

How to Raise Kids With a Healthy Relationship to Food

So how can you help your child develop a healthy relationship with food over the long-term, especially on Holidays like Halloween? Here are a few ideas:

1.Check your own food issues and attitude

Kids can moderate their intake just fine and with little interference on our part. Is scarcity created around halloween candy (switch witch, throwing it out, etc). Controlling or restrictive approaches to desserts and candy often stem from a parent’s own inability to trust themselves with eating these foods.

It can be easy to think your child may overeat sweets if you struggle with this yourself, and this fear can dictate feeding practices. If this holiday feels stressful for you or being around an abundance of candy creates anxiety, recognize and be aware of these feelings. Awareness can help you from projecting these issues to your children, who still have an ability to efficiently self-regulate their intake.

An important part of this also involves managing your own expectations around your child’s sugar intake. What might seem like a high sugar intake may in fact be a reasonable amount for a child who is learning how to eat and self-regulate these foods.

2.Stay Relaxed and Neutral

If we make a big deal out of eating candy, our kids will do the same. If we approach candy with a neutral attitude, our kids will feel less obsessive about it, too.

Remember that there is a difference between feeling excited about candy and becoming obsessed with the halloween desserts and candy.

There is already a lot of anticipation and build up leading up to Halloween night. Focusing on the memories you’re making with your children, rather than any fears or anxieties around what they’re eating, can create a much more fun Halloween.

Keep the big picture in mind and know that part of healthy eating involves kids eating sugar. Healthy eating habits for kids are formed from a trusting feeding relationship between you and your children.

Let your kiddos enjoy pieces of candy from their Halloween haul with meals and alongside other more nutrient-dense foods.

Allow your child to decide how much candy they want to eat and don’t put any stipulations on their treats (i.e. “If you eat all your vegetables, you can have a candy”, or “If you don’t eat your dinner, you can’t have dessert”)

3.Keep the Treats, Leave the Tricks

Many parents may try to hide their kids’ candies or negotiate with their kiddos so there is less of it available. However, taking candy away (either by hiding it, throwing it out, switching it out with a toy, etc) can create a distrust between you and your child.

This can also create a scarcity mentality in a child’s mind when it comes to candy, which can trigger behaviors like sneaking or hoarding candy.

Often a child who seems “addicted to candy” is in fact dealing with feelings of deprivation around access to candy and sweets.

Instead, let them know where their halloween candy bucket will be stored and when they are allowed to access it (for example, they can choose a certain amount of pieces with a snack or meal).

4.Let them eat the candy

On Halloween night, let your kids eat as much of their candy as they want (without intervening or controlling it).

After Halloween night, stay consistent with offering balanced and regular meals, and let your child choose to have some of their candy within your normal meal and snack schedule. When parents stay consistent and neutral about offering Halloween treats for kids, kids feel more relaxed about candy, and many often lose interest in it over time.

On the other hand, kids who are hungry or haven’t eaten enough will be more likely to overeat candy when they do have access to it. Offer meals that include a balance of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats to help fuel their bodies with nutrients for energy and growth.

Kids’ blood sugar levels are more likely to be stabilized when eating candy alongside other foods from a balanced meal. Stick to a regular meal and snack schedule to help your child get adequate nutrition.

Keep the Big Picture in Mind

These are the things that can build a trusting feeding relationship between us and our kids, which is MORE important for their overall health.

Remember that Halloween is just one night, and raising a healthy child is about the long-term game, the way we feed them and how we interact around all foods.

Above all, ENJOY this time with your little ones, have fun and relax. If you’re feeling anxious about all the treats and sweets, or if you have unresolved food issues with desserts or holiday foods, be aware of how these might project on your kids. Applying these tips can help you navigate a season of food that may feel more chaotic.

Staying present and choosing to focus on the memories you are creating with your little ones can help you keep the perspective that food is just food (yes, candy too), and there is nothing it can do to harm you or your kiddos.

If you need more support navigating kids and sugar, be sure to get your FREE guide here: “5 Reasons Your Child is Obsessed With Sugar and How to End the Craze.”

Have a Happy Halloween!