Healthy Kids
The tricks for avoiding Halloween candy overload!
30 October 2015 - by YMCA of Greater Toronto
If you’ve ever been out Trick-or-Treating with your child, you’ve probably been in a power struggle on how many sugary treats you will let your child consume. Here are some tips and tricks to reduce the amount of candy in your household.
Everyone enjoys that moment when the kids return from Trick-or-Treating and dump out their bag and discover the treasures they have collected. We suggest you allow your child to fill up only a mason jar with the treats that they would like to keep.
Here are some suggestions for what can you do with the remaining candy:
This children’s book follows the same idea as the tooth fairy where children package up Halloween treats and leave them out on the porch or by a window to be picked up by the Switch Witch, who replaces them with a toy!
This is a great opportunity for time spent together reading the story and discovering what the Switch Witch brings.
Save some candy for upcoming birthday or other parties and use it to fill goodie bags.
By freezing these tasty treats you will prevent kids from gobbling them all down at once. They will be out of site and can be thawed out as treats one at a time.
Allow your child to trade pieces of candy for small amounts of money. Doing this allows your child to begin understanding the value of money. They can choose to buy an item at the store, save their money or support their community by donating it to a charity.
We at YMCA GTA wish everyone a Happy and Safe Halloween!
Everything in moderation
Everyone enjoys that moment when the kids return from Trick-or-Treating and dump out their bag and discover the treasures they have collected. We suggest you allow your child to fill up only a mason jar with the treats that they would like to keep.
Here are some suggestions for what can you do with the remaining candy:
- Discover “The magic of the Switch Witch” story
This children’s book follows the same idea as the tooth fairy where children package up Halloween treats and leave them out on the porch or by a window to be picked up by the Switch Witch, who replaces them with a toy!
This is a great opportunity for time spent together reading the story and discovering what the Switch Witch brings.
- Store treats for future loot bags
Save some candy for upcoming birthday or other parties and use it to fill goodie bags.
- Freeze chocolate bars
By freezing these tasty treats you will prevent kids from gobbling them all down at once. They will be out of site and can be thawed out as treats one at a time.
- Make it a lesson in the value of money
Allow your child to trade pieces of candy for small amounts of money. Doing this allows your child to begin understanding the value of money. They can choose to buy an item at the store, save their money or support their community by donating it to a charity.
We at YMCA GTA wish everyone a Happy and Safe Halloween!
