Halloween and harvest parties can be a challenging time for parents. Kids can easily eat too much candy on a single night. The sugar rush makes your kids hard to manage something all parents and adults working with kids know to be true.
Candy also has a damaging effect on teeth and the body when eaten in excessive amounts. The following tips will help your kids get through this Fall’s sugar rush and keep you both sane and healthy.
Regulate How Much Candy Your Kids Eat
Set limits on how much candy your kids eat. Don’t let your kids sit down in front of a pile of candy and gorge as much as they want. Some parents actually throw away any uneaten candy the next day.
While it isn’t necessary to go to this extreme at a minimum you should hand out candy just two or three pieces at a time and have a daily maximum. This allows you to keep track of how much candy your kids are eating without denying it to them completely.
Have Your Kids Brush After Eating Candy
Candy damages the teeth and creates harmful acids that can cause cavities. According to Dr. David Rush, eating candy feeds the resident bacteria in the mouth and gums. The bacteria builds harmful acids that can cause cavities.
The entire acid creation process takes about 20 minutes. For this reason you should limit the time kids are eating or sucking on candy to 30 minutes to reduce the amount of acid accumulation. Make sure your kids brush and floss immediately after eating. Of course, don’t give out any more candy to your kids after they brush.
Have Your Children Drink Water Frequently
Have your kids drink water frequently on Halloween and especially while eating candy. Water is important because it will help wash away the buildup of bacteria, acid and sugar in the mouth.
Water also helps to regulate the metabolism to reduce the effects of the sugar. A third reason to have your children drink water is because it will make them full faster. Pack one or two water bottles in their candy bags to remind them to stay hydrated.
Plan Protein-Rich Nutritious Meals Before and After Halloween
You will want to feed your children a nutritious protein-rich meal before they go out trick or treating or to the Harvest party. Plan a similar meal for dinner and the next few days. 
This is important because vegetables and healthy foods can reduce any damage done by the sugar. Protein is a good choice because it’s filling. Having a meal full of protein on Halloween can fill your kids up, so they don’t eat as much candy afterwards.
Give Out Candy After Regular Meals
Try to give out candy to your kids only after regular meals. One reason is there will already be acids in the mouth which as a dentist in Phoenix, AZ reminds us, makes the candy less harmful to oral health. Another reason is the recently eaten food will reduce the sugar rush your kids may feel after eating some candy.
Surviving the Halloween and Harvest party sugar rush is all about moderation. If you can moderate how much candy your kids eat, then you are controlling the potential damage and headaches the candy can cause later.
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