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Halloween treats: How much is too much?

That’s a difficult question to answer. Halloween is a fun time of year, but you need to prevent your kids from going overboard. Here are a few simple tips to help keep your children on track, from Lyndel Costain, SRD, an independent dietitian based in Birmingham.

• Feed them first: Make sure your kids eat a nutritious dinner before trick or treating so they won't be ravenous while they’re out and when they get home. This will help naturally limit how many sweets they eat. If they’re really excited about the night’s festivities, they may not be in the mood to sit down for a super nutritious meal like fish and broccoli, so think about treating them to one of their favourites instead.
• Set guidelines: Decide before trick or treating how many goodies your kids will eat that evening and each day after. Try to make sure your kids consume no more than two sweets or chocolates a day, and check that they are eaten with meals to reduce the risk of tooth decay. Eating sweets with meals will also help regulate your children’s blood sugar, therefore limiting the ‘buzz’ associated with the typical sugar high. Also, if your kids are full after a meal they’ll want fewer sweets than if they are hungry.
• Ration the spoils: Limit the number of homes or flats your children visit while trick or treating to cut down on the amount of sweets they get.
• Prioritise the loot: After your child goes trick or treating, go through his or her bag of sweets together. Get rid of all the sweets your child doesn't like, then divide the rest into three piles: foods that will spoil in a few days (fruit, etc.); sugary sweets and chocolate; and a miscellaneous pile for chewing gum, money, etc. Let your child eat the treats that will spoil first, as those are likely to be healthiest, and save the others for later.
• Set a precedent: If you know children will be coming around to your house, consider giving them a combination of sweets, dried fruits or mini flapjacks.
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