Trick or treat

Maybe the “trick” in “trick or treat” is figuring out how to keep your child from sugar overload on Halloween night.

The point of Halloween is for children to get candy and other goodies. But parents still need to be in control of how much candy their children eat in one sitting. Read these tips to help you and your child get the most out of Halloween, without arguments:

• Serve a healthy meal before the children go trick or treating. Make sure to include proteins, whole grains, and vegetables.
  If your trick-or-treaters have full stomachs, they will be less likely to gorge themselves on candy.
• Let your children pick out and eat their favorite candy on Halloween night.  Then, get some plastic bags and have them put two or three treats into each bag. Explain that they can eat one bag of treats per day, after a meal.
• A simpler method is to take all the candy and put it into a high cabinet in your kitchen or pantry. Out of sight is out of mind, and you can control how many treats your children eat.

There are many alternatives to handing out candy. Why not try:

• Pencils
  
• Stickers
  
• Trading cards
  
• Cereal bars
  
• Small boxes of raisins
  
• Sugar-free gum
  
• Mini juice boxes
  
• Snack-size packages of peanut butter and crackers, graham crackers, or oatmeal cookies