I even like slutty Scooby Doo, and I don't even like Scooby Doo.
I love the creativity and skill that go into homemade costumes. I love the tacky decorations. I love the memories I have of coming home with huge sacks of candy from a night's work.
Speaking of that candy, it today's day and age of childhood obesity and fear of high fructose corn syrup... what options do modern, thoughtful parents have when it comes to Halloween? I really want my kids to cherish the memories of being a kid and collecting loads of goodies and enjoying them, like I do, but I don't want my kids negatively impacting their wellness by overindulging on trash food.
Luckily, I don't have to do the research on this one because this AMAZING article by Melinda Wenner Moyer goes into detail about exactly why most candy is bad for your kids... and why it is even worse to be overly strict on Halloween with otherwise healthy kids.
In summary, she says the consequences of kids splurging every once in a while is pretty minimal, as long as they are otherwise healthy. Psychologically, however, being very overtly restrictive with candy can cause kids to crave it more, sneak it, and have a negative relationship with food. If you tell them NO candy and are very strict, they will want it even more. If you don't make a big deal out of candy, they will still want it, but the desire will be more reasonable.
I plan to let my kids enjoy Halloween in all its glory someday, even if it does mean letting them splurge on something I will normally work towards covertly restricting from their diets.
Opinions, cute stories, and science welcomed, as always.
Annotated Bibliography
Let them eat candy! Melinda Wenner Moyer. http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/the_kids/2013/10/halloween_candy_let_your_kids_eat_it.single.html 30 October 2012.
We bought a couple bags of "good" candy - from the Yum Earth brand - right before Halloween. When the kids came home, we let each of them pick one piece of candy to eat that night before bed. After bedtime, I went through and pulled all the dairy-containing poisons out of my son's pumpkin. What I liked, I hid for myself to eat later (muahahahaha!) and what I disliked I chucked in the bin. Then I went through and ensured that the kids had the same amount of candy. After that, I pulled out about half the "bad stuff" and replaced it with the "good candy" we had bought. The kids would ask for candy whenever they saw their pumpkins sitting up on top of the fridge, and I would let them each pick one piece as a snack between meals until it was all gone. They still ask sometimes, but less now that the pumpkins are gone, and I let them have one piece every day between meals. I think it works well for their age/size and lets them enjoy it without creating "the allure of the forbidden" or just allowing them to gorge.
ReplyDeleteI love Halloween, too, and heard an amazing interview on why slutty costumes are so prevalent. It's the international garment industry plus the demand for not-homemade costumes by people who want convenience. A spandex tube with printing on it is pretty much the cheapest thing the garment industry can produce. So they can churn out zillions of them and make a ridiculous margin, so they do. That's what's available, so that's what people buy, unless they're very opposed philosophically... and that's how you get slutty Scooby Doo.
Omg!!!! Replacing a lot of the bad candy with better candy is a brilliant idea!! The kids probably don't even realize. You are too clever mom!
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