Kids & Halloween: Should Parents Set Limits?
Nemours Enterprise
Monday, October 29, 2007 @ 04:41 PM EDT
by: Odette Struys
Nemours Provides Tips for Parents
Jacksonville, FL - For health-conscious parents, Halloween can be tricky. Do you set limits? Do you let kids decide how much to eat? "There isn't just one right answer," explains Mary Gavin, MD, pediatrician and medical editor for Nemours' KidsHealth.org, the most-visited website for children's health information. "Parents should use their best judgment, given what they know about their child's personality and eating habits. Kids who generally eat just a couple of pieces of candy and save the rest might be trusted to decide how much to eat. But for kids who tend to overdo it, parents should consider setting limits."
Halloween Tips for Parents From Nemours’ KidsHealth.org
- Eat before: Serve a healthy meal before trick-or-treating so that kids aren't hungry when the candy starts coming in.
- Out of sight: Know how much candy your child has collected and store it somewhere other than the child's room. Having it so handy can be an irresistible temptation for some kids.
- Be lenient: Consider being somewhat lenient about candy eating on Halloween, within reason, and talk with your child about how the rest of the candy will be handled. Candy and snacks shouldn't get in the way of your child eating healthy meals.
- Buy back: If you'd like to reduce the Halloween stash, consider buying back some or all of the remaining Halloween candy. This acknowledges the candy belongs to the child and provides a treat in the form of a little spending money.
- Be a role model: Eat Halloween candy in moderation. To help avoid temptation, buy your candy at the last minute and get rid of any leftovers.
Dr. Gavin reminds parents to "remember that Halloween, like other holidays, is a single day on the calendar. If your family eats sensibly during the rest of the year, it will have a more lasting impact than a few days of overindulgence." Parents can also consider handing out alternatives such as non-food treats(stickers, toys, temporary tattoos, false teeth, or little bottles of bubbles), healthy snacks (small bags of pretzels, trail mix, small boxes of raisins, or popcorn), sugar-free candy, or a small box of cereal.
For more information about healthy Halloween habits, visit Nemours' award winning website KidsHealth.org.
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About KidsHealth
KidsHealth creates engaging online, print, and video media about a wide range of health and family issues. KidsHealth has a physician-directed, professional editorial staff - and is the largest resource of online children's health, behavioral, and developmental information written for three distinct audiences: parents, kids, and teens. Each year, over 120 million families turn to KidsHealth.org for expert answers, making it the Web's most-accessed site on children's health. Recent accolades include the Webby Awards for Best Family/Parenting Website and Best Health Website andselection as one of the 30 Best Websites by U.S. News & World Report and one of the 50 Coolest Websites by TIME magazine.Recently, KidsHealth launched KidsHealth in the Classroom, a free website for educators featuring standards-based health curricula, activities, handouts, and more. For more information about KidsHealth in the Classroom, visit KidsHealth.org/classroom. KidsHealth comes from The Nemours Foundation, one of the largest nonprofit organizations devoted to children's health. For more information about KidsHealth, please visit KidsHealth.org.
modified: Monday, October 29, 2007 @ 04:55 PM EDT
created: Monday, October 29, 2007 @ 04:46 PM EDT
About Nemours
Nemours, one of the nation’s largest pediatric health systems, is dedicated to achieving higher standards in children’s health. Nemours offers an integrated spectrum of clinical treatment coupled with research, advocacy, and educational health and prevention services extending to all families in the communities it serves. Starting with Alfred I. duPont’s bequest over seventy years ago, Nemours has grown into a multi-dimensional organization offering personalized clinical and preventive care focused on children.
Nemours owns and operates the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware and major children’s specialty clinics in Delaware (Wilmington), Florida (Jacksonville, Orlando and Pensacola), Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and Bryn Mawr) and New Jersey (Atlantic City and Voorhees). Having recently received preliminary approval from the State of Florida, Nemours will establish a new full-service children’s hospital as part of an integrated pediatric health campus in Orlando. KidsHealth.org, the world’s most visited pediatric health care Web site for parents, kids and teens, is a project of Nemours.
Nemours employs over 4,400 individuals, including 430 pediatric physicians, specialists and surgeons who cared for approximately a quarter of a million children in 2007. The organization’s goal is to align with parents, physicians, community leaders, children’s advocates and elected officials to ensure optimal wellness for every child. Additional information about Nemours can be found at www.nemours.org.
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