Growing up in England my family didn't celebrate Halloween. My first experience with all the costumes and candy occurred when we moved to Canada. I was amazed! On halloween night my siblings and I came home with pillowcases stuffed with candy. In North America it is celebrated like a national holiday with tons of candy making it very unhealthy. A friend of mine, Erika, has a son and daughter who have very strict diets - Vegan and gluten free. I thought this would be troubling for the kids not being able to eat and enjoy the candy like the other kids. So I asked Erika how she handles this and her answer really inspired me.
Halloween at Erika's house has turned into a fun math activity. The children dress up and go trick or treating just like the other kids. When they get home they sort out the candy and tally up the different types they received (tally shown in photo above).
"Beforehand I buy vegan/gluten free alternatives of candy that they can choose from. Alexander (Erika's son) only gets candy on special occasions so he is happy with just having a little bit of candy in fact he would much rather popcorn or a bowl of rice with olive oil." Said Erika.
"I feel very lucky, Alexander is so concerned with what is healthy and what is not. However at times it can almost be embarrassing when he asks if the food is organic!"
Most kids would be upset at not being allowed to gorge on candy. But what we can learn from Erika is that: How we raise our children and whatever we may teach them they will accept! We are indeed their role models.
Hopefully some of you may adopt this practice in one way or another. I have always hoped for a change in what we hand out on Halloween. Maybe instead of handing out candy we can hand out healthier items, such as little boxes of raisins, fruit, or trail mix. One year I was given a toothbrush and floss. I thought it was funny at first but it makes sense. Next year only ring 10 doorbells so your kids only get 10 treats! Lets strive for a healthier generation.
