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Some parents try to make Halloween healthy. That's not the point

Growing up, my “treats” consisted of an amalgamation of healthy snacks - ants on a log (peanut butter and raisins on celery) and bananas in milk (sprinkled with brown sugar) were part of my snack-time repertoire.
candy wrappers Halloween
Image: Pixabay

Growing up, my “treats” consisted of an amalgamation of healthy snacks - ants on a log (peanut butter and raisins on celery) and bananas in milk (sprinkled with brown sugar) were part of my snack-time repertoire.

I was never allowed to have gum or processed foods.

But when Halloween came around, all bets were off and I was free to indulge in any sweet treats I desired. My friends and I would spend hours racing around the neighbourhood collecting candy, and then dump out our overflowing pillowcases onto the floor, sort them by brand, make trades, and dig in. It was magical. And once the day came to a close, my candy was tucked away (and probably tossed).

Now that I’m a parent, I can understand the disdain for Halloween and all of the cavity-causing, sugar-high inducing treats that are dished out to my sweet little ghouls and goblins. I despise the money-grab that is decoration and costume purchasing, and the post-pumpkin carving cleanup is nearly unbearable. But my kids love Halloween, and I love my kids, so I grin and bear it.

With an increase in food allergies in children, and childhood obesity a constantly growing concern, it’s no wonder kale-laden smoothies and organic, free-range, grain-fed poultry have become the latest healthy-eating trends.

But while I agree that parents should be more mindful of what they put into their childrens’ bodies, I don’t agree that completely abolishing anything that is deemed indulgent from a child’s diet is beneficial to their well-being either. On special occasions like Halloween, a little indulgence should definitely be allowed.

According to a recent article in the New York Times titled, How To Stay Sane About Halloween Candy, the author encourages parents to chill out and take a look at the bigger picture when it comes to Halloween treats.

In her article, she quotes Rebecca Scritchfield, a registered dietitian nutritionist, who says, “Often, parents are so busy white knuckling about how much sugar they’re afraid their kids will eat that they miss out on their children’s true joy over this holiday.” She goes on to say that one night of sugar overload will have no lasting negative impact on your children — unless you let your anxieties dominate their experience.

As Halloween approaches, parents seem to be searching for candy alternatives to dole out to trick-or-treaters. Instead of chocolate bars, candy corn, and Tootsie pops, parents opt for glow sticks, toothbrushes and plastic toys as their “treats” of choice, and I am completely opposed.

Halloween elicits fond childhood memories of tacky homemade costumes, gooey pumpkin guts squished through tiny fingers, and an overconsumption of sugary sweets, and I intend to keep it that way - at least until my kids decide that they’ve had enough.

It’s not called trick-or-eat-healthy, because that’s not the point. As long as some boundaries are set, I say let them enjoy their sweets on this one special day. Kids should be able to enjoy the same simple pleasures on Halloween that we did during our childhood years, and who knows, they just might be sweeter for it in the end.

Bianca Bujan is a mother of three, writer, editor, and marketing consultant. Find her on Twitter @biancabujan and Instagram @bitsofbee.