Optimum Wellness

  For most of us, Halloween plays an epic part of our childhood history. If you're like the average American, your Halloween memories may entail dressing up in the coolest costume possible and running from door to door frantically collecting as much candy as possible. Who stopped at one pillowcase full? But with the candy came the consequences. Let us not forget the epic "post-Halloween" tummy aches and headaches that transpired for days to come each time we gleefully attacked our bagfuls of candy.

The idea of playing dress up and getting an exorbitant amount of free candy is a dream for any kid. It's no surprise that Halloween is traditionally one of the most exciting days of the year for kids around the country. Yet in a day and age where childhood obesity is sky rocketing and ailments such as childhood diabetes are at an all time high, is it really parentally and socially responsible for us to continue to allow our children to commit the same candy-centered, tummy-ache ailing Halloween indiscretions that we did? Well no, not really.

This is not to say that we should deprive our kids of a Halloween celebration -- Quite the contrary. In fact, perhaps we should re-think how we teach our kids to celebrate and appreciate this historically rich and mysterious holiday by moving away from "candy centeredness" and moving towards new ways in which we are maximizing the fun, family time, health and environmental consciousness and overall pleasure of this awesome night.

The "Tricks" to Optimizing Your Family's Halloween!

By focusing almost entirely on the junk food aspect of Halloween, we are depriving our kids of all the other fascinating festivities that this night holds. To move away from the candy, try re-creating some old traditions and adding in some new!

Get excited about the history of Halloween!!

Halloween has a fascinating history that your children are sure to appreciate. Use this day as an opportunity to teach your kids a little about the "spooky" history and ancient cultures. Here's a snapshot of how that might look and sound:

Halloween has been around for over 2000 years. It originated as an ancient festival of the Celts called Samhain or "Summer's end". The Celts believed that on the night before their New Year (November 1st) that the boundary between the living and the dead became blurred. To mark this special night the Celts wore elaborate costumes, built huge bonfires, and burnt crops as an offering to the spirits to protect them over the long hard winter. Later on, the Romans were influenced by this mysterious tradition and created two holidays of their own, both in late October. The first, Feralia, was meant to honor the passing of the dead. The second was created to honor Pomona, the goddess of fruit and trees. Pomona's symbol was the apple, which explains this particular fruit's presence in modern Halloween rituals. By the 800's, Christians became influenced by these most peculiar holidays and developed their own "All Saints Day" in hopes of replacing the pagan holidays with a church sanctified holiday. The night before All Saints Day became known as All-Hallows Eve and eventually took on the current name, Halloween!

Design an Environmentally Friendly Costume

As opposed to running out to buy this year's most popular costume, try using this as an opportunity to make a special project with your child. Decide together what the theme of his or her costume will be and then scheme on what creative materials you can use to put it together. This is a great opportunity to teach your child the value of recycling as the creation of commercial costumes each year uses an exorbitant amount of natural resources. Make the costume an environmentally friendly one by using materials from old clothes and other recyclable items around the house to give your child the most unique (and earth friendly) costume around. As an alternative, head to the thrift stores to find a unique second hand costume!

Conquer the Night

Instead of spending the entirety of Halloween night trick or treating, try splitting the night up into other fun, candy-free activities. Creating a haunted house in your front yard or corridor is a great way to do this. Give your child a key role in the "spooking" of the trick or treaters so that he or she is not obsessed with spending hours abound collecting candy. Alternatively, consider hosting a Halloween party for your children's friends on the night of Halloween where you can monitor the amount of sweets the children are getting. Try incorporating fun activities like bobbing for apples, carving pumpkins or having a silly costume dance off. Instead of having candy everywhere stick to activities like decorating Halloween shaped sugar cookies or having a piñata filled with treats like packages of chocolate covered almonds, little toys, and spare change.

Facing the Candy

Inevitably your child will want to spend at least some time hitting the streets for some trick or treating. This is completely understandable as trick or treating can be a ton of fun -- within limits. To curb the amount of candy your child comes home with, pick a smaller candy container such as a plastic pumpkin head as opposed to a larger one such as a pillowcase or grocery bag. Once the container is full, trick or treating is over for the night. As for what you decide to dole-out, stick to healthy treats like fruit leathers, pretzels or organic dark chocolate.

If you do somehow end up with an abundance of candy, use it as an opportunity for you and your child to spread some happiness in the community! Sit down with your child and think of people whose day you would like to make a little brighter. Perhaps it's the soldiers serving abroad, a local food bank, neighbors, seniors residences, or your favorite boutique. Whatever the case, spend an hour or two with your child on a day after Halloween distributing little bags of candy to these special people as a reminder that you appreciate them! Think of it as reverse trick-or-treating.

With the candy that you have left, allow your child to choose one or two pieces a day – after he/she eats a healthy, balanced meal.

*Safety reminder: Never allow young children to trick or treat without the supervision of an adult!