You and Your Candy Stash This Halloween

Are you dreading it??? I mean really dreading it. I’m talking about Halloween! All the candy around the house – whether it’s to give out to the neighborhood kids or that your kids bring home from trick or treating – can cause you feelings of anxiety and food worry.

These uneasy feelings are reinforced by your limiting belief of “I can’t control myself around candy”. Then promises that as soon as Halloween is over, you won’t eat any candy again.

Let this year be different. If you’ve been working on your intuitive eating journey, then you know that the key to making peace with food is to provide yourself unconditional permission to eat. Remind yourself that it’s not “now or never”. That thinking is part of the diet mentality. Know that you can have candy whenever you want it, so there’s no need to bury your head in the chocolate-filled pumpkin bucket on Halloween.

But what about your kids? Are you wondering if you should allow them free reign over their stash?

According to Ellyn Satter, registered dietitian, family therapist and the creator of the Division of Responsibility in Feeding (sDOR), the answer is yes.  “Your child will learn to manage sweets and to keep them in proportion to the other food he eats if you matter-of-factly include them in family meals and snacks.”

This concept is part of the Division of Responsibility (sDOR) in Feeding. “Children who have regular access to sweets and other forbidden foods eat them moderately. Children who don’t have regular access load up on them when they aren’t even hungry.”

I’ve seen this happen in my own home, and in the home of the clients I work with. I help parents restore the DOR in their home to end mealtime battles. Learn more here.

Halloween Action Plan

The key is to help you kids learn how to manage their candy loot. This requires you to interfere as little as possible. Here’s how:

Kids come home from trick or treating. They dump their bags on the table and sort through their candy. Let them eat as much as they want and do the same the next day. Then have your child put the candy away and after that, you include it as part of the structure of meals and snacks. Allocate a few pieces as dessert with a meal and allow them to eat what they want at snack time. Pair it with a cup of milk, yogurt or fruit.

What’s important is that candy and other sweet treats don’t get elevated to a higher power. Over time, you will find that your child just might happen to eat a few bites and go off to play.

Happy Halloween!

If you want to learn more about how to end mealtime battles with your kids, check out this page.