All Hallows Eve

My family eats really well. Virtually zero processed foods, lots of veggies, lean meats, whole grains for the kids.

We’ve come a long way from the days with a toddler who refused anything besides Cheerios, blueberries, yogurt or applesauce. From the first bite of peas, she hated vegetables (with a flare for the dramatic that still exists, my then eight-month-old gagged on them until her dad scraped them off her tongue with a spoon). When she turned three, we implemented a “three bite” rule (three bites of vegetables). It was a fight every night. Sometimes we won, sometimes we relented, and sometimes it seemed that everyone lost (aren’t family dinners supposed to be a happy time?). She turned four, and the new rule became “four bites.” Then the magic seemed to take over. She… *whispers* likes vegetables. I mean, she asked for carrot sticks the other day, happily munched on celery, eats…. BROCCOLI. As you can tell, the novelty has not yet worn off.

We’ve never had to enforce the same rule with my two year old. She attacks vegetables with reckless abandon. She shoves whole pieces of broccoli in her mouth, worries me with the speed she eats tomatoes. It seems that her rule is: The more, the faster, the better.

Anyhoo, the point of this is that I put a lot of effort into making sure my kids (and husband and self, of course) eat well. Sure we have goldfish crackers and cookies, but we definitely don’t have dessert every night. And when we do have sweets, it’s quite often something I’ve made, which just seems better somehow than pre-packaged junk. They don’t eat candy. We don’t have it in the house, I don’t buy it for them. Simple.

Enter Halloween.

I’ve decided to approach this year a little differently. My usual course of action is to fret nervously about the amount of candy they’ll be consuming for, oh, a good two weeks in advance. (I come from a long line of fretters, you see.)

With such a well balanced diet, one night of indulgence isn’t going to hurt. We let them attack their stash on Halloween night, encouraging them to try everything, open as much as they want! (The trick? They take one bite of most of the stuff and leave the rest behind. Then I eat it throw it out.) I keep the candy around for a week or so, and yes, they can have a small treat after supper probably every night. Then I toss it.

My little healthy eaters have sensitive bellies, you see. Too much sugar makes them feel sick, and after a week of Smarties (or whatever) every night, they’re as sick of it as I am. So they don’t miss it.

We talk about what food does, how it fuels your body, makes you stronger, faster, smarter. We talk about treats and how it’s fun to have them once in a while. They’re smart kids. My four-year-old gets it, she understands. My toddler, while more headstrong and, uh, determined, than her sister, is obviously too young to understand, but at least she’s got a toddler’s memory.

What about you? Are you a Halloween fretter? Indulger? Avoider?