Last Minute Halloween Reminders

From the DLM Blog to you:

Halloween Trick Or Treat With A Twist

With Halloween tonight, kids of all ages will do what they always do on the night of ghosts and horror, they trick or treat in their neighborhood.

To combat obesity problems in young children, it is important that we as parents look for alternatives. This way, our kids can still have fun while not being deprived of trick or treating the night away.

It is a known fact that lollies and sweets are not only bad for the teeth, but also for the figure. Sweets consumed in massive amounts (as kids so happily do when they are not monitored) can become more of a curse than fun and be responsible for huge dentist bills later down the track.

You owe your kid the responsibility of looking out for ways in which they can safely consume Halloween treats without the added sugar.

• Hand out alternatives
Instead of handing out massive amounts of sweets to the children who come trick or treating at your house, why not give away some fun things that are longer lasting and less strenuous on their health. Things such as popular temporary tattoos, trading cards, stickers or sugarless sweets are a great alternative to the sugar laden stuff they usually get.


• Cook your kids a healthy dinner on Halloween night
Kids should learn the importance of good nutrition at an early age. By cooking them a healthy Halloween dinner with lots of protein, fiber and vegetables, they will be ideally nourished for a night of trick or treating later on. When kids are less hungry they seem to develop less cravings for sweets.


• Follow up by taking their candy bag hostage
This might sound cruel, but your kids will only benefit if you take responsibility and confiscate their candy bag once they get home. Responsible adults are aware that kids need to be supervised and that includes monitoring their sweet intake.


• Buy “healthy sweets”
Buy healthy sweets (if there was such a thing as healthy sweets anyway). Nevertheless, you can control the damage in some ways by buying gummy bears made of natural fruit juices opposed to artificial ingredients. Even cutting down on the size and amount of the candy you buy for Halloween can make a huge difference for the health of your child.


• Make your own
  
Another great way to counteract sugar addiction is to hand out some home made healthy mini muffins, made with wholemeal flour and honey or little chocolate treats. Even though these are sweets too, they are certainly healthier than the bought kind because you can control what goes into them. However, this does involve some preparations but it could be a lot of fun, and if you involve your own kids in the process they could even enjoy the switch.


• Hand out candy points
To encourage awareness in your children about the damage excessive candy consumption can cause, why not present them with a neat candy point hand out. For every piece of candy they hand to you after Halloween, they can collect money to buy something they really want. Naturally, you want to stay reasonable and not hand out big dollars just for the sake of it.

Alternatively, create a local candy point collection trade within your neighborhood.
The collected candy can then be used for visiting sick children in a hospital and giving them a small treat (health permitting of course).


• Change the trick or treat emphasis with craft bags
Instead of sending your kid out the door with a cheap, environmentally unfriendly plastic bag, encourage them to make their own trick or treat bag for the occasion. A bag that can be used for many other things and reused for years to come is the perfect solution.

This will have two purposes: first, you will change your child's emphasis on Halloween by taking the focus from collecting sweets to creating something long lasting and furthermore, it gives you a chance to bond with your child if you take part in the creative process.

Halloween is an exciting time for children and perhaps some adults too but even so we should be responsible what we allow kids to snack on while still getting the maximum amount of fun out of the day.

Tell us your trick or treat tips and what you do to stop your kids from scoffing themselves with candy.

Written by Monika Mundell. Monika Mundell is a passionate freelance writer and pro-blogger. Her blog Freelance Writing helps new freelance writers to get started in this exciting industry. If you like to work with Monika, feel free to visit her Portfolio site.

Photo Credit: tomeppy