HALLOWEEN: Embrace the Joy and the Candy!
Halloween has everything a child needs for pure joy. Costumes, parties, games, silliness, staying up past bedtime to walk around outside in the DARK! And how could a child not love strolling up to other people’s doors and demanding candy! Ya gotta admit that as holidays go this one is tops for kids.
If you’re a parent with young kids you may be a bit more ambivalent about the holiday. Perhaps your wondering if your young children will be frightened by scary ghouls and zombies. Yes, they will. If your kids are young, then Halloween can be very scary and often leads to nightmares. That’s no fun!
Little ones often do best at community events held during the day. Look for a local “Trunk or Treat,” an elementary school fair, or city trick or treat days.
These kinds of events cater to a younger child, and will often lack the more gruesome costumes and decorations. You can also limit trick or treating to a few good friends homes. This is usually more than enough excitement for kids under age five.
Keep reminding your kids that the dress up and decorations are all just a “make believe” game. If there’s a particularly gory decoration that you have to drive past, try to distract your kids when you drive by. It just might save you from being woken up in the middle of the night by a crying child who just had a nightmare. But don’t be surprised if nightmares and sleep problems do surface at this time. It’s common and they may go on for a month…or three.
I recommend that children crying from a fearful nightmare be comforted, and then tucked into bed some place nearby. If possible, let them sleep with you. If they are supreme wigglers in their sleep, consider a nest on the floor in your room. Even adults have trouble getting back to sleep after a bad nightmare. Your kids will certainly need help too.
For older kids who are trick or treating, the most important safety point is to make sure they can be seen by drivers. All the modern glow stick variations can help make your child more visible to cars. So load them up with glowy things. The more the better.
This becomes even more important if you’re house hopping is in a neighborhood where traffic continues through the prime Halloween hours. If possible, pick a community or streets that mostly shut down while the kiddos are a roamin’. Flashing bicycle lights and flash lights can also help. Don’t forget to bring a flash light for yourself. You want to see that curb, not sprain your ankle on it!
Kids might enjoy the shiver of fear from a spooky house, but what really frightens some parents is…SUGAR! EEK! One of the leading authorities on feeding children is the acclaimed nutritionist, Ellyn Satter, author of Child of Mine, Feeding with Love and Good Sense. She encourages parents to let go of their worry, and let their child enjoy their stash of holiday candy.
She says, “Do the opposite of what seems right: The more sweets preoccupied your child is, the more often you offer sweets.” Children who are denied access to sweets will tend to obsess over them, secretly hoard them, and over consume them when they are available.
For Halloween, she encourages parents to allow their children to hold onto their own stash, and eat as much as they want for 1–3 days. Then you can hold the stash for them IF you let them pick 1–2 pieces with every meal and unlimited pieces with snacks.
When they are old enough and have (maybe) learned to pace their candy consumption then you turn full control back to them. If they offer you a piece of candy, consider joining them in this simple pleasure. It’s good for you, and makes treats less of a forbidden pleasure.
Many adults also consider Halloween a learning experience. How to knock on a neighbors door and interact with them. How to say “thank you.” How to negotiate night time streets. How to participate in a cultural holiday with our community.
Just remember that to your kids it’s MAGNIFICENT HALLOWEEN! You don’t need to spoil it for them. Let them have their joy and their sweets! And while you’re at it, you can let go of worry and enjoy your children.
For more from Ellyn Satter on feeding kids click here.
Kathleen Cawley is a physician assistant and author. She is a regular guest columnist for the Auburn Journal and Folsom Telegraph where she writes on parenting and childhood. Her books, Navigating the Shock of Parenthood: Warty Truths and Modern Practicalities — from a mom with twins, And Grandma Becky’s Blue Tongue, a children’s picture book, are available where books are sold.
