The annual trick-or-treating haul is a challenge for parents trying to balance holiday fun with healthy eating habits.
Growing up in Chicago, Julie Mennella recalls trick-or-treating with her younger brother Joey, and how he always managed to bring home a huge candy haul.
“I remember my brother would get more candy than the whole neighborhood,” said Dr. Mennella, who is now a developmental psycho-biologist who studies childhood taste preferences.
She also remembers that the candy seemed to disappear, and not just because her brother was eating it. It was “a little bit here and there,” she said. “It was probably my parents.”
For many parents, the biggest trick of Halloween is how to make mounds of treats disappear when the holiday is over so their kids don’t overindulge. But in the effort to keep kids from eating too many sweets, many parents may end up inadvertently reinforcing unhealthy eating habits. While every child is different, scientists who study childhood development and food preferences can offer advice.
“It’s really not so much about the candy as the larger picture of what’s happening on all the other days of the week that really matters,” said Jennifer Orlet Fisher[1], professor and associate director at the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University.
Don’t stress about the sweet tooth.
As parents try to regulate the number of sweets their children eat, it’s important to know that the biological desire for sweet foods is much greater in children than in adults, said Dr. Mennella, a member of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia[2], a nonprofit institute that studies the science of taste and smell.
A child’s preference for sweet foods can be 20 times as great as an adult’s sweet tooth. And studies looking at biomarkers for bone growth suggest that children appear to have a heightened interest in sweets during times of rapid growth. Another study shows that sweet foods can even help dull a child’s physical pain.
“You realize children are living in a different sensory world,” Dr. Mennella said. “They’re not just liking sweet because it tastes good; it’s also about how it’s making them feel. And the brain and biology of the child is designed to be attracted to energy during periods of maximal growth.”
A child’s sweet tooth[3] most likely evolved to spur interest in breast milk, which has natural sugars, and interest in fruit. But it also makes children vulnerable in modern food environments where they are frequently exposed to processed foods with high levels of added sugar.
The challenge for parents is learning how to set limits without imposing too many food restrictions that can backfire.
Don’t put the good stuff out of reach.
A large body of research shows that children who grow up with a lot of food restrictions (particularly children of parents who diet) develop unhealthy eating habits. In one study[4] at Pennsylvania State University, children were given unlimited access to fruit cookies on a plate. Another batch was placed in a clear cookie jar, and the children were forbidden to eat them. When the children were finally allowed to open the cookie jar after 10 minutes, they binged, eating three times as much as when the cookies were freely available on plates.
Other studies show that overt food restrictions — like putting sweets and sodas on a high shelf and controlling when a child can have them — just make children want the foods more. Children who grow up in homes with highly restrictive food rules are more likely to overeat, develop preferences[5] for high fat and sweet foods and be overweight[6].
Set limits in ways that don’t make children feel restricted.
Avoiding food restrictions doesn’t mean parents should give children unlimited access to whatever foods they want. Parents can create limits that don’t feel restrictive to children. To start, keep less healthy foods out of the house when you can. (Birthdays and holidays can be an exception.) Buy healthy foods and snacks and give children free access to the food cabinets. If you have Halloween candy in the house, put it in a basket with other snacks, like whole fruit or grain bars, to make it seem less special and more like the other foods they’re allowed to eat.
Scheduling regular meals and snack times creates structure and can help you regulate a child’s food without the child’s noticing. Encourage children to always eat in the kitchen, rather than in other parts of the house or in front of the television.
“When you put food on a table, even if it’s candy, the food is just like any other food,” said Katherine N. Balantekin, a clinical assistant professor in the department of exercise and nutrition sciences at the University at Buffalo. “If you do put limits on something, just make it clear that the child is going to get the food again later. If you give them a piece of candy and they ask for more, you might say, ‘We want to save enough candy for tomorrow so you can have it again.’”
Don’t treat candy as a reward.
Studies show that children react negatively when parents pressure them to eat certain foods, even if parents offer a reward. In one study, researchers asked children to eat vegetables and drink milk, offering them stickers and television time if they did. Later in the study, the children expressed dislike for the foods they had been rewarded for eating.
“When you use foods instrumentally — saying eat your broccoli to get the reward — what tends to happen is you like broccoli less and you enjoy the reward a bit more,” Dr. Fisher said.
Let kids help decide how much to eat.
Talking to children before and after trick-or-treating about how much they plan to eat and how much to save for later can prevent conflicts when children are staring wide-eyed at a pile of candy. Maya Feller, a registered dietitian in Brooklyn and an adjunct faculty member at New York University, says she talks to her children in advance about how much candy they’ll be handing out, how many pieces they’ll eat during trick-or-treating or at home, and how much they’ll want to save for later.
“I think having those discussions in advance is a noncharged way that allows the candy to not be so powerful,” Ms. Feller said.
Ms. Feller also notes that giving away candy can be part of the fun. Rather than taking candy away from a child, which can make them feel powerless, ask children to choose the candy they want to save and the candy they want to give away. Ms. Feller says her kids decide how much candy they want to give to a local dentist, who ships the donated candy to members of the military. Other dentists will exchange candy for toothbrushes.
Don’t forget dental care.
Parents who try to stagger their children’s Halloween candy eating throughout the night may be creating a perfect environment for cavities to form, said Dr. Joel Berg, former president of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and chief dental officer at Willo[7], which makes a youth brushing device. Dr. Berg said that if parents decide to make some of the candy disappear, it’s better to eliminate sticky, gummy and sour candies that wreak havoc on teeth. And while children are munching on their Halloween treats, try slipping them sliced apple snacks, which not only fill them up but also help clean teeth.
“People think a chocolate bar is maybe really bad for teeth, but if you consume within reason, it’s much less of an issue compared to sticky candy,” he said.
More from the Well Newsletter
How to decide which Covid-19 booster shot to get
When public health officials approved mixing and matching booster shots, they didn’t make any recommendations about which one was best.
After talking to the experts, I realized that there was no clear winner in the booster shot derby. All the shot options are good. You might pick a shot based on convenience or your doctor’s advice. You might want the broader protection a different vaccine might give you, or you might be more comfortable with the shot you had before.
I don’t think the differences between the shots matter that much. Because I had two doses of Pfizer to start, I’m going to stick with Pfizer. I know how my body reacted after the first two shots, so there’s comfort in knowing what to expect. Many of you might make a different choice — there’s really no bad option. We should all count ourselves lucky that we get to decide which booster shot to choose, when many people around the world haven’t even received one dose of a vaccine.
Read more:
Should I Mix or Match My Booster Shot?[8]
The Week in Well
Here are some stories you don’t want to miss:
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Jane Brody on the emotional toll of adult acne[9].
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Dr. Lisa Sanders on a mystery illness that wasn’t food poisoning[10].
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Sarah Williamson explains how ceramics, meditation and breakfast keep life in balance[11].
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And of course, we’ve got the Weekly Health Quiz.[12]
Let’s keep the conversation going. Follow me on Facebook[13] or Twitter[14] for daily check-ins, or write to me at well_newsletter@nytimes.com[15].
Stay well!
References
- ^ Jennifer Orlet Fisher (cph.temple.edu)
- ^ Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia (monell.org)
- ^ A child’s sweet tooth (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- ^ In one study (academic.oup.com)
- ^ develop preferences (www.researchgate.net)
- ^ be overweight (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- ^ Willo (www.willo.com)
- ^ Should I Mix or Match My Booster Shot? (www.nytimes.com)
- ^ the emotional toll of adult acne (www.nytimes.com)
- ^ a mystery illness that wasn’t food poisoning (www.nytimes.com)
- ^ how ceramics, meditation and breakfast keep life in balance (www.nytimes.com)
- ^ the Weekly Health Quiz. (www.nytimes.com)
- ^ Facebook (www.facebook.com)
- ^ Twitter (twitter.com)
- ^ well_newsletter@nytimes.com (www.nytimes.com)
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