Some parents curbing candy on Halloween

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By Kay Luna | Monday, October 20, 2008 4:56 AM CDT | () comments

Kim Baraks uses cookie cutters to cut Halloween shapes out of crescent roll dough while baking treats at a friend’s home near Geneseo, Ill. (Andrew Link/QUAD-CITY TIMES) Buy this Photo

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Sarah Wesson was spooked with worry at how the kids might react to her non-candy Halloween treats last year.

But the Moline mother of two daughters, ages 5 years and 18 months, said her fears went away when she saw a young girl reach in the bowl — and go for something other than the sweet stuff.

She remembers seeing a huge smile spread across the girl’s face as she pulled out a squishy ball with a jack-o’-lantern face nestled among other balls and “big purple hair spiders,” which she said were leftover party favors thrown in the bowl at the last minute.

“No one said, ‘Ugh, oh, look. They’re giving away toys,’ ” she said. “It’s not like we’re the toothbrush trolls or something. It just seems like a decent idea.”

With a heightened awareness about food allergies and health concerns, the 38-year-old Wesson said her family plans to offer non-candy options for trick-or-treaters this year, too.

As the average amount expected to be spent on Halloween candy rises — to $20.39 per person, according to the National Retail Federation — some parents are finding creative ways to keep their children from gobbling it all in one stomachache of a night.

But go completely without Halloween candy? No way, said Michelle Labath of Davenport, a mother of three.

“What’s the point of Halloween if you don’t get candy?” she said.

Moderation is the key, said 32-year-old Kim Baraks of Geneseo, Ill., the mother of 5-year-old Nick.

This is especially important for her family because Nick’s birthday is Nov. 1, the day after Halloween. That means he faces treats galore in a 48-hour period.

For his birthday party this year, she plans to test out some new healthy recipes, using Halloween-themed cookie cutters to make whole-wheat tortilla snacks. She also plans to make lean meatballs and call them “eyeballs” in the spirit of the holiday.

As far as Halloween candy goes, Baraks said she allows her son to eat only a couple of pieces each day.

“I’ve just always been aware of what he’s eating,” she said. “I wanted to instill healthy skills early on. I’m trying to show him things that maybe I didn’t learn.”

But don’t worry too much, experts say. A one-night candy splurge won’t make a child fat, and doctors and nutritionists say that everybody can enjoy a little Halloween candy in moderation, regardless of their weight.

However, experts do suggest turning the night into a teaching moment about portion sizes and limits, lessons can that can be reinforced all year long.

“It’s important that we, as parents, help them find the balance between that very traditional fun activity and a healthy lifestyle,” said Connie Diekman, the past president of the American Dietetic Association.

The government’s food pyramid allows about 10 percent of the day’s calories for most kids to come from extras, which includes candy, she said.

“That’s going to allow every child to have some candy on a daily basis, and it really is OK,” she said.

To make that work might mean dessert gets taken out of the lunchbox on Halloween to make room for a nighttime candy splurge.

Besides, telling kids they can’t have any candy probably will backfire.

“Some families say no, they don’t allow it, and some families have no restrictions and it’s a free-for-all,” said Dr. Sarah Armstrong, a childhood obesity expert at Duke Children’s Hospital in North Carolina. “Both are equally poor approaches.”

Lori Wright, 33, of Davenport, will soon be busy making a healthy alternative to candy for her 5-year-old son, Layne, and his kindergarten class’s Halloween party.

She did the same last year for 11-year-old son Logan’s class, making cheesesticks to look like cut-off fingers by using red-dyed cream cheese for the fingernails.

Wright also has made “spiders” out of crackers and pretzels and marshmallow “mummies” wrapped in Fruit Roll-ups for her kids’ Halloween parties over the years.

“That would be thank you to the Internet,” she said. “But it was better than candy.”

(The Associated Press contributed to this article.)

Kay Luna can be contacted at (563) 383-2323 or kluna@qctimes.com.