candy

Balancing Fun and Health: Setting Halloween Candy Boundaries for Kids

I’ll be honest, I was never really into Halloween until I had kids. Now that I have two little ones, I love seeing Halloween through their eyes when we decorate the house, get costumes, and of course go trick or treating. For many parents, coming home with a full bag of candy right before going to bed sounds like a power struggle waiting to happen. It can also be a challenge when kids know there is a full bag of candy in the house, but as parents we know that eating too much sugar is harmful to their health. Setting clear boundaries around candy consumption can help ensure your kids enjoy Halloween without overindulging. Here are some tips to balance fun and health!

  • Establish guidelines before trick-or-treating. Research shows that children do better when they know what to expect. Start by eating a healthy dinner so the kids are not hungry when they return home. Talk about how many pieces of candy they will be allowed to eat once you get home so they know what to expect.
  • Set a daily candy limit. Decide on a limit that makes sense for your family and make it known. This gives your child ownership in deciding when to eat their set amount, while also making sure they don’t have a sugar overload.
  • Encourage mindful eating. During any mealtime it’s important to teach children to slow down and savor their food. With their Halloween candy, you can talk about what flavors they like and dislike and how to recognize they are full.
  • Lead by example. Show how you can eat treats in moderation and that even though you want to eat more, you are going to stop yourself in that moment.
Pumpkins with candy

By setting clear candy boundaries without taking away the fun, parents can help their kids enjoy the excitement of Halloween while also promoting healthy habits. The goal is to balance indulgence with moderation, creating a positive, guilt-free experience for the whole family. Remember, it’s all about enjoying the season responsibly—without sacrificing the joy!

Writer: Erin Ruggiero, Extension Educator, Family & Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Medina County, ruggiero.46@osu.edu

Reviewer: Shannon Carter, Extension Educator, Family & Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Fairfield County, carter.413@osu.edu

Sources:

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-much-halloween-candy-should-kids-eat

https://www.youthdynamics.org/structure-predictability-the-building-blocks-for-kids/

https://wayne.osu.edu/news/mindful-eating

Candy to track COVID-19 symptoms?

A little over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic and we are all probably familiar with the symptoms of this disease. According to the CDC, fever, cough, body chills, muscle soreness are some of the symptoms of COVID-19. Many of these symptoms are the same as the common cold or seasonal flu, expect for one… the loss of taste and smell.

About 86% of people who test positive for COVID-19 report losing their ability to taste or smell. Scientists are looked for an inexpensive and consumer-friendly way to track our sensitivity to taste and smell to measure COVID in the community.

Researchers at Ohio State University have found a potential solution- candy! In a new study, researchers plan to distribute candy that is the same size and color but is actually eight different flavors. Each day the participants will smell and then eat one piece of candy. Participants will track the smell, taste, and flavor strength of the candy in an app. If there is a difference in the participants report, the app will ask them to quarantine and to schedule a COVID test. The hypothesis is that the candy could be used as a useful tool to capture the loss of sense of smell or taste.  

A sense of smell is often overshadowed by other senses, we do not even have great words to describe different smells! Unless you have experienced a sudden loss of smell yourself, you may not even have realized how much it colors the world around us.  Those who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 later express a newfound appreciation for a sense of smell.

Before going to work my partner and I must track symptoms like temperature and sense of smell to report it to our employers. In addition to taking our temperatures, we have also started smelling things with a distinct scent, like coffee or kimchi to test our sense of smell. Have you started checking your sense of smell? Would you be willing to add “eat a piece of hard candy” to your to-do list if it could predict early signs of COVID infection?

Written by: Courtney Woelfl, Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Educator, Cuyahoga County, woelfl.1@osu.edu

Reviewed by: Dr. Roseanne Scammahorn, Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Educator, Darke County, Scammahorn.5@osu.edu