Even if your kids haven’t already been reminding you every single day, you know how excited they are for that Halloween night. They’re so excited to go trick-or-treating, they can hardly stand it. And you know how it’s going to be trying to get them to sit down and eat dinner before – they’ll be so ready to put their costumes on and get going that pretty much nothing you say can persuade them to sit down and eat that lasagna. When the moment finally comes, you help them out the door and spend the night giving candy out to trick or treaters.
Later that night, the kids come home, pillow cases absolutely stuffed with candy. Only when they lay it out on the floor and want to show you do you realize just how much they’ve gotten – each one of their candy piles is practically a mountain on the carpet. And of course they’re so proud of themselves for having gotten it all for themselves.
And that is when you realize how incredibly hard it’s going to be to keep them from eating so much of it that they make themselves sick. What do you do?
You’ll find that this all goes best if it’s planned out before hand, before the emotional-charge and the sugar-rush of the night makes cooperating with your kids a battle. But also, Halloween comes only once a year, so why not let them have a little fun? Most parents who set reasonable expectations with their kids while also allowing them to enjoy the festivities find that it isn’t too much of a struggle.
There are a number of different rules you can use in this situation. The most obvious is perhaps just setting the expectation that they can only have four or 5 pieces of candy a day. You can also incentivize them to do the other things they need to do throughout the week by telling them that they can only have their candy after they’ve done their chores, or homework, or whatever it is you’re struggling to get them to do. Or perhaps, you explain to them from the beginning that half of whatever they bring home is going to go to the family “candy bowl” – a stash that you can easier control.
As a family dentist in Naperville, we also want to remind you to make sure that with all of this candy your kids are eating, you be sure to help you kids floss and brush their teeth frequently! Make sure the sugar doesn’t have the chance to create cavities! Sugar has a way of accelerating the growth of plaque and bacteria in the mouth, so the importance of oral hygiene becomes especially critical in the Halloween season.
Our goal to aid you in maintaining both health and harmony in your home. Schedule an appointment with us and your family to ensure you have a healthy happy smile. All of us hope you have a Happy Halloween!