If you have young kids, here’s a terrifying Halloween thought: How do you get them to eat healthy with all this candy around? When your little Ninja Turtle/Princess Elsa/Zombie returns with a five-gallon bag overflowing with Skittles and Tootsie Rolls, it does present some challenges. This Halloween, try this two-step trick to teach a valuable life and nutritional skill: Moderation.
(Note: Hat tip to my parents for this strategy – it turns out that they actually did a few things right in raising my siblings and I, a fact that was lost on me between the ages of 13-18).
Step One – Split the candy in half. So here’s what they did: Immediately upon returning with my trick-or-treat lode, I had to split my total haul in half. One pile went to my dad’s office, and I got a piece every time I visited him at work. The other pile stayed home and was portioned out. Oddly enough, a percentage of my candy disappeared during the process via the suspiciously-named “parent tax,” something I am still trying to get to the bottom of.
Step Two – Decide on an appropriate portion. With the “at-home” half of the candy, help kids decide what a fair – and healthy – rate of consumption would be (and help them in sticking to that). It may seem far-fetched, but I believe that with practice, kids can actually learn to appreciate and savor a single piece of candy, instead of needing the entire bag to be satisfied.
Hope this helps – and good luck this Halloween!
(This article originally appeared in The Tanque Verde Voice. For original article, click here).
