For me this question is really age dependent. When my daughter was < 6, it was easy to supplement with: 1) small Halloween themed toys (e.g., bat tattoos, kaleidoscope, slinky), 2) bell peppers carved like a pumpkin filled with hummus, and 3) more nutrient dense low sugar versions of homemade candy (e.g., "Twix" "Snickers" "Reeses" made w/ dates, dark chocolate [over 70% cocoa], nut or seed butters, etc. See: https://lnkd.in/gp7fpj56 and https://lnkd.in/g2seC3WQ).
Once kids start having Halloween parties in school and trick or treating with friends, eliminating or swapping candy becomes harder and perhaps from my perspective not helpful long term. I'm not sure it's a useful strategy to completely eliminate/not allow candy, as when adolescents become adults and independently responsible for making their own decisions, they need to know how to manage their relationship with food. Until we change the food environment, candy is always going to be there. Additionally, shame or guilt around specific foods or food groups can be harmful mentally and physically.
In our household, we focus instead on an addition and moderation mindset. Halloween dinner is a super nutritious meal that helps the body handle the glucose spike that will come with candy and we talk about the physiological impact of what we eat in a positive way (e.g., "I love this! Plus it has lots of fiber, which will help me feel fuller for longer and handle the extra sugar from the fruity tootsie rolls and fastbreaks I'm going to steal from your candy haul tonight!").
We love Halloween and spend a lot of time celebrating and trick or treating, so the haul is typically pretty large. When we get home we ask her to pick half of it to donate upfront (usually the candy she doesn't like as much is selected, some of which she would probably eat anyway if it were around because it's candy, 😉 ). We then talk about eating whatever is leftover slowly over the following month rather than all at once, and we lead that example in our choices, but that choice is ultimately up to her.
In addition to what we do in our own home, as a society we can also advocate for and create consumer demand for more affordable healthy options in the market, like manufacturing candy with lower sugar, saturated fat, and sodium.
Big spooky love to all this Halloween whatever choices feel right for you and your family, 🎃! And please tell me what you are dressing up as and doing for Halloween either in a comment, a Teams chat, or in-person if we have a meeting over the next week - I would love to know!
Parents, how do you limit Halloween candy without making your little monster too sad? Pretzels? Erasers? Toothbrushes? (OK maybe not toothbrushes.) We’d love your ideas! 🎃👻
Seeing this made me realize how much actual physical photos have become a novelty.