Halloween Candy Q&A – part 1

Looking for answers to your Halloween questions? You’re in the right place!  My Instagram audience submitted questions and I used them to create this resource.  I’ve divided the Halloween Q&A into two parts.  The Halloween Candy Q&A – part 1 video can be found here.  If you prefer to read my responses to these questions, then keep scrolling!

Summary:

• What candies are choking hazards for what ages?
• Safe ideas for young toddlers?
• How to handle access to all the candy in the house?
• What age to start exposure to sweets? Tips for your child’s first Halloween
• Thoughts on sending candy to school
• How to handle allergies and food limitations on Halloween?
• What about sugar-sensitive children?
• Can you offer alternatives without demonizing sugar or candy?
• Teal Pumpkin Project!
• Favorite allergen-free candy brands
• My kid has 3 Halloween parties this year! help!
• Why do kids hoard candy?
• How do you make sure they don’t eat all the candy in 1 week?
• Language for not eating it all at once
• At what age do you allow unrestricted access to candy?

Which candies are considered choking hazards for what ages?

For kids under 4, avoid all hard, sticky, and round (airway sized) candies. Sticky is a problem because they can form a “crumb” in your child’s mouth that is round and sticky and airway sized – which means it is primo choking hazard risk

This includes:

• Hard candies like jolly ranchers
• Lollipops because they are hard AND round and are basically the same thing as a jolly rancher if they’re not on a stick and they don’t always stay on the stick the whole time
• Small round or coin shaped candies that aren’t meltable like skittles, peanut M&Ms
• Sticky or very chewy gummies like gummy bears, sour patch kids, mike & ike.
• Marshmallows – for the sticky reason
• Popcorn. Aspirating the kernels or the little, light kernel covers is VERY risky.  Popcorn is so easy to aspirate.  I usually recommend avoiding this until 5 and this is one i do not budge on.

Safe ideas for young toddler?

Think meltable.

• Chocolate like Hershey’s bars or Reese’s.
• Chocolate wafer cookies like Twix.
• Applesauce pouches.
• Pirate’s booty.
• Veggie straws.
• Chewy bars.
• Fruit leather and fruit strips are a choking hazard so I wouldn’t replace with that.

Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of allergy friendly options that are also not choking risks.

Especially for allergy families with young kids – offer alternatives from what you have and consider some non candy options too to have as a backup for your kids.

How to handle access to all the candy in the house?

Here’s how I handle it in my house:

• On the night of Halloween, I feed them a dinner I know they love and will eat to help them fill up.  Something like pizza or chicken nuggets.
• I allow snacking during trick or treating but i usually make them stop and sit down or at least stand still for safety reasons.  Very limited walking and eating because they are excited and want to run so I’m worried they will choke.  So they don’t eat much on the go because they want to keep moving. Mine are little – 1, 3, 5.  If they were older, I probably wouldn’t mind snacking while walking.
• I sort out all choking hazards immediately. I don’t offer alternatives because they get enough other stuff.  But if that eliminated all of their stash, I would offer an alternative like what I mentioned before.
• When we get home, I do offer unlimited candy but I also offer some other snacks like apples, milk, or Hippeas.  They usually keep eating until bedtime but I do cut them off for bedtime and teeth brushing.
• The next day, I let them choose candy pretty much all snacks and meals.  And I let them eat their fill.
• I taper down after this.  But you could do this for a few days if your kid seems super obsessed or like they feel very restricted.
• So I will offer candy at one or two meals or snacks for a few days after this and let them eat their fill once it is served.
• Then I go back to our regular frequency of offering sweets and when I do offer sweets, it’s usually their halloween candy for a while.
• Then they usually forget about it because there are other holidays with sweets and/or it’s been eaten.
• I don’t put candy in their lunchbox because they go to a low sugar school.  If they didn’t, I would put in a piece or two.
• I do eat some of their candy but I try to always ask permission and not be sneaky.
• When they are older, I will probably try putting a bowl of their candy on the counter and allowing open access. This will likely happen once all 3 kids have shown they can build a balanced snack or meal on their own.  But I will feel it out as it comes.

What age to start exposure to sweets? Tips for your child’s first Halloween

The CDC recommends that added sugars be limited before age 2.  This is easier said than done with older siblings and each of my kids have progressively had tastes of sweets younger because they see their older siblings do it.  I talk about my approach in THIS post.

When YOU are ready to introduce sweets:

• For young kids on their first Halloween, try offering something simple like a piece of chocolate.  Add some of their other favorites into their bag, like applesauce pouches or goldfish crackers.
• Include sweets in your child’s rotation at the rate you are comfortable with.
• Make some of these sweets things from their Halloween bag.
• Make it a no big deal thing after the holiday.  This mindset will help you kid also find it to be no big deal.

Thoughts on sending candy to school

I think lunchboxes are a great way to include candy. It presents an easy way to serve sweets alongside other foods to neutralize sweets.  My kids go to a low sugar school and I don’t like this policy – I would send candy in my kid’s school lunchbox if I could. Do I like the idea of sending candy in to share for the whole class on Halloween?  No.  I think this presents an issue for allergies.

Food allergy limitations

This is tough.  Unfortunately, Halloween is not the most allergy friendly holiday.  My personal favorite approach is to let kids trick or treat (if it is safe for them to do so) and then have lots of backup options to trade them when they get home to offer a safe alternative.  I do recommend having some food and candy options, but I also think it’s fun to have some non-candy options.  My usually verbiage for a kid in a situation like this is something like: “everyone’s body is different.  And those foods can make your body sick.  I have some other safe candy options that I can trade you when we get home!”

Sugar sensitive & restriction

I recently discussed this topic in a IG post I’ll link here.  You can do things to minimize feelings of restriction like offering alternatives, avoiding moralizing or dichotomous food language, keeping sweets a neutral option by serving them alongside food at mealtimes, and supporting a healthy relationship with food.  Another plug for my Growing Intuitive Eaters 101 course.  But avoiding some foods DOES involve restriction.  So you have to decide what is the most important thing to you on Halloween. Is it avoiding sugar or avoiding restriction?  Keep in mind, your response doesn’t have to be the same in every situation.  On most days, your answer might be avoiding sugar.  But on Halloween, your answer might be avoiding restriction. Unlinke food allergy parents, you may be able to be more lenient in some situations.  Ultimately, there is no one right answer here.  It’s important to know the risks of either choice, and make the best decision for your kid in each moment.  I know that’s not an easy or perfect answer… but it’s REAL.

Teal pumpkin project

You can find more information about the teal pumpkin project here, including signs to hang in your window!  If you have the means, I encourage every family to participate!

Allergy friendly brands

Enjoy Life is my favorite brand.  Good Earth is another option.  You can also do things like applesauce pouches, veggie straw bags, Made Good granola, and non food options.  I usually have a bag of non food options available in a separate bucket.

Multiple events

My question for you is: what are the pros and cons for your family? What is the negative of 2 extra days of lots of candy?  What is the negative of restricting and only allowing this “all you can eat” attitude on one day?  I personally would not attend a candy centered event if I was not comfortable with my kids eating lots of candy.  That, to me, sounds like a recipe for food battles and lots of feeling restricted.  So I’d let it go and just let it happen.  There are 365 days in the year. If they have 2 extra days with lots of candy, I don’t stress about it.  Remember that there are almost 1100 meals in one year. Two extra evenings with lots of candy but ALSO lots of fun memories, family or friend time, and smiles – that seems OK to me.

Eating until they feel sick

I have a whole video here about what to do if your kids eat until they feel sick – or even get sick. I’ll link that here!

How do you handle when kids eat all of the candy at once

I think this depends on the age.

• For younger kids, a reasonable rule may be that they have to ask before getting a snack and they are presented with options.  Sometimes you offer it as an option and sometimes you do not.  The same as every other food in your house.
• You may also wish to set some candy out on the counter in a bowl and give your kids free reign to this.  This will work great in some houses and will not in others.
• Eventually, candy will lose at least some of it’s novelty IF a general approach of a healthy relationship with food is also taken.  If you haven’t gone through my GIE101 course yet, I will link that here and below!
• For most teenagers, I think that requiring them to ask is a very restrictive approach.  Better approaches here include:
  • Having grab-and-go options that are EASY and filling and include their safe foods
  • Having snacks available and OUT on the counter, not hidden away
  • Encouraging your child to reflect on how they feel after eating certain foods.  But DON’T only do this after candy.  And don’t inject your own opinions here. The whole point is for the kid or teen to pay attention to their own body cues.

Language for not eating it all

As far as language for not eating it all at once, I don’t really give a lecture.  All year long I say things like “listen to your tummy” or “sometimes when we eat too much of a food, we can get a stomachache. This can happen for broccoli, cupcakes. It can even happen with water!”  I try to have these discussions when it is appropriate in the moment so I don’t have to have a lecture around the holidays.

I think it is also important to reassure your kids that the candy will be there the next day and will not go away so they don’t feel like they have to eat it all before it disappears.

And last, I will ask you – what is the negative outcome if they DO eat it all at once?

Age for unrestricted access

For me, this is less of an age thing and more of a maturity thing. What I want to see is a child who knows how to select or prepare a balanced meal or snack.  Nothing fancy.  But can they choose something that will adequately fuel their body if they are hungry.  For example.  Me! Sometimes I just eat candy or something sweet.  But I also know that if I am really hungry, I don’t feel great if i just eat candy.  So I might have candy and something filling in addition to that.  When a child shows that understanding, that’s when I would give a child unrestricted access.

Unrestricted access MAY be a useful therapeutic tool for kids with food trauma, who have a history of being heavily restricted, or who are sneaking food and eating in secret.  Sometimes we have to take big action to show our kids that they are not restricted – and that may look like full access to candy in some cases.

What to do if your older kid is constantly asking for candy

In my opinion, this may be a sign to start giving them unrestricted access.  Perhaps it’s a bowl on the counter you refill. Perhaps it’s all of their candy.  Perhaps it’s giving the responsibility but it will be revoked if they show they cannot feed themselves other food and maintain some balanced snacks to provide adequate energy for homework, soccer practice, etc.  Only you can decide what’s best for your family.

Hope this was helpful and don’t forget to check out part 2 of the Halloween candy Q&A!

Sending love and feeding wins your way!

❤️ Dr. Taylor