Holiday candy treat tips and tricks for concerned parents

Tis the season to enjoy candy...

Yes, it is that time of the year when candy is in abundance.  First, it is kicked off with Halloween and the ritual of collecting as many goodies as you can in one fail swoop!  How did your family do this year?  Were you able to limit their candy to a reasonable amount and spread it over days instead of letting them eat as much as they wanted in a couple of days?

And remember, we are not saying that kids should never have candy.  We don't do "never" here at Nourish Interactive.  We just believe in balance and some foods being once in a while foods... like candy.  

My grandson really enjoyed his first real Halloween this year by going to a Halloween event at the zoo followed by a Lemos farm experience where he picked out his pumpkin.  Then it built up during the week to 2 Halloween parties and finally a cousin trick-or-treating event.  And he tried some candy for the first time. (I am pretty proud of my daughter that she was able to hold off so long exposing him to candy.  But it had to happen at some point)

But he had just a couple of pieces and really preferred his fruit.  That has always been a dessert favorite.  

Right after Halloween comes Thanksgiving and the holiday of sweet treats is off to a strong start.  Candy will be found everywhere from that point onward.

So what do you do?  You don't want to be the scrooge always saying no? Or should you?  It is much more reasonable to use this time to teach kids the place that candy has in their diet.

First, it really isn't food.  It is just sugar shaped and colored to be candy.  It doesn't have any nutrients except to give you a quick dose of energy.

That is why it is a once in a while treat.  Maybe one piece after dinner or after playtime or after lunch.  You will have to decide but you want to work with your child to find the time that seems fair to have one or two pieces of candy. 

It is common to be a bit more liberal during holidays so explain that to your child. Set their expectation so that they understand, this is a different time of the year.  This is not how we eat on a regular basis.

If you can avoid it altogether- power to ya!  But that may be just not realistic.