New Twist On Halloween Trick Or Treating

It’s time for the trick-or-treaters to ring doorbells nationwide. And just like everything else in life, there’s a choice we need to make, one this time that is associated with a holiday. The big choices that face parents and trick-or-treat households these days are: nn-What should you give to the kids trick or treating? n-How do you prevent contact of trick-or-treating kids with sexual predators?n-How can you scrutinize what’s in the kids’ bags to make sure that what they received is safe?nnMoms and dads have created solutions that are really pretty innovative. Two choices are that 1) they can throw a party for the kids in the neighborhood or 2) take the kids to a party at the church where the foods given out are carefully selected to be safe and healthy and the environment is free from sexual predators. nnSome healthy food ideas include a big handful of shelled peanuts or a small package of peanuts, other shelled nuts, a package of instant oatmeal, cheese crackers with peanut butter, a small half-sized portion of flavored yogurt, or a lunch-size box of raisins. nnOne year I tried the shelled peanuts and oatmeal idea. nn“Are you crazy? If you think the kids will go for that, you better think again,” exclaimed my sister who is a high school teacher in the Midwest. “Kids aren’t going to like that and they’re going to get mad at you!” nnI did it anyway and decided to offer the kids the option of either oatmeal or shelled peanuts. After being primed for a negative reaction, I was a little shocked when the kids that came to my door were thrilled to get something new and different. Some even exclaimed, “I’ll take the oatmeal. It’s healthy.” nnOthers were already familiar with the oatmeal since their parents served it to them from time to time. “I’ll take the brown sugar and maple one, please,” they said.nnWe think we know what the kids really want but when we offer new choices, we are surprised about the results. Think hard about what you’ll offer to trick-or-treaters this year. Think outside the box and offer healthy solutions. Why contribute to high sugar levels for the next two weeks that it takes for the kids to consume all the candy? That can only set up a pattern of high bursts of insulin that lead to obesity or diabetes down the road for years to come. Eating candy every day for one to two weeks will shift the body’s metabolism to the high insulin bursts – diabetes pathway that stores all calories as fat for the next 18 hours. It’s just not worth it!n