It’s that time of year again! 

Kids can’t sleep this week due to the anticipation of Halloween trick or treating (and the candy!). And parents…well, parents are bracing themselves for a long evening of dealing with their kids’ Halloween-fueled excitement.  And the candy.  Oh, the candy! Truly, it can seem like every parent’s worse nightmare as your kiddos return home with a pillowcase stuffed with sugary confections, begging to eat everything NOW.  What’s a parent to do?  

As a Registered Dietitian, I bet you think that my advice will be to limit candy to a few pieces and give them apples and carrots instead and then deal with the meltdowns and tantrums that ensue.  However, you may be surprised that my advice is actually quite the opposite:  Let your kids (and you!!) eat candy, I say!

Hear me out.  I understand how candy and sweets have gotten a bad rep—that sugar is the cause to inflammation, weight gain, and diabetes! (TLDR- not true).   But I argue that not allowing foods that we enjoy—and yes, that includes your favorite Hershey’s Krackel bar—can backfire.  When we restrict the foods that we so love and desire and put strict rules on how and when we should eat them, we may be “good” and resist for so long until it all comes crashing down and we find ourselves surrounded by 15 mini Krackel bar wrappers. 

And lots of shame.

So this Halloween, maybe there’s a different way for ourselves and for our kids. Allowing your child to have all the candy they want on Halloween isn’t being neglectful. In fact, it’s teaching your child to respect and learn what happens to their body if and when they eat too much.  It’s watching them delight in the joys of being a child on their most favorite day of the year.  If we are doing the work of modeling good feeding behavior during the other 364 days of the year—when we offer a wide range of foods for our kids to enjoy, teaching them to listen to their body to eat when hungry and stop when they are full, and that there are no good or bad foods—then Halloween is just another day where candy can be allowed.

Studies show that children who have regular access to candy and treats tend to eat them moderately, while children who recognize them as forbidden foods tend to overeat them, even when they aren’t hungry for them.  This is the same for us adults who diet, restricting our favorite foods and then experiencing loss of control (aka binge) eating in a repeating cycle. 

The bottom line? Being a strict candy enforcer is unnecessary for Halloween.  This year, try something different.  Feed your child a big dinner filled with protein first and then as you head out, be reminded that candy is just candy. This is just one night.  And you have permission to enjoy what you like, too.