Lime In The Coconut Specialty Compounding Pharmacy: 7 Tricks To Keep Your Kids Healthy This Halloween

Halloween is just around the corner, and you know what that means... children will be coming into contact with more candy than they know what to do with. If left to their own devices, most kids would probably consume copious amounts of candy on Halloween night and over the next several days. However, most parents impose rules to limit the candy intake (and for good reason).

Can Your Child O.D. On Candy?

At best, eating too much candy will leave your children feeling sick to their stomachs. At worst, it could land them in the hospital.

Since candy is high in sugar and low in nutritional value, consuming large quantities of it isn't good for anyone. However, certain types of candy can be particularly problematic when consumed in vast quantities. As examples, eating an excess of black licorice (made from actual licorice root) can cause arrhythmia, and an excess of the artificial sweetener sorbitol (found in sugar-free candy) can cause diarrhea (source: popsci.com).

Sugar also has addictive qualities (just like nicotine and other drugs), and consuming lots of sugar can cause your children to crave it more. As with any addiction, feeding it is never a good solution.

Keeping Your Kids Healthy This Halloween

As the health-conscious parent you are, it's surely important to you to help your children stay healthy this Halloween, and our pharmacy at the Lake of the Ozarks is here to help. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Set limits on how much candy your kids can eat. Give your children a specific number of pieces of candy they can eat on Halloween night, and then how many pieces per day they can have after that.

2. Explain the reason for those limits. Children are smart, intellectual creatures. They are likely to be more cooperative if they know the reason behind your 10-piece rule.

3. Make homemade Halloween treats. By making yummy treats at home, you can control exactly how much sugar goes into each of them. You can also substitute certain ingredients for healthier alternatives.

4. Devise an exchange program. "The Switch Witch," for example, will leave new toys behind in exchange for pieces of candy the children set out on Halloween night.

5. Feed them before going trick-or-treating. If your kids have full bellies before beginning the night's adventures, they will be less likely to snack on candy along the way.

6. Buy extra candy from your children. This acknowledges that the candy belongs to the kids and offers them an incentive to give it up. Depending on how much candy your kids bring home, you could offer 5, 10, or 25 cents per piece.

7. Be a good role model. Actions speak louder than words. If you want your children to consume candy in moderation, it is important for you to do the same.

Help Other Kids Stay Healthy, Too!

The suggestions we just discussed are great ways to help your kids stay healthy on Halloween, but if you have trick-or-treaters coming to your door, you have a special opportunity to help other kids limit their candy intake, too. Instead of giving out candy, consider passing out these fun, non-sugary alternatives:

Small boxes of cereal
Trail mix
Pretzels
Sugar-free gum
Popcorn
Raisins

You can also give out non-food items, such as temporary tattoos, false teeth, vampire teeth, bubbles, pirate's treasure, miniature playing cards, stickers, etc. As you choose which items to give away, be sure to avoid particularly small items that may be a choking hazard to very young children.

Happy Halloween from The Lime!

By brainstorming strategies now, you'll have plenty of time to devise a master plan for keeping your children healthy this Halloween. If you have any other bright ideas for limiting kids' sugar intake this Halloween, we'd love to hear them! Please share your ideas in a comment below.

Happy Halloween from The Lime in the Coconut Specialty Compounding Pharmacy!

The Lime In The Coconut Specialty Compounding Pharmacy

Feel As Good On The Inside As You Do On The Outside!

Like Us On Facebook