How to Limit Candy Consumption
Don’t let outside sources of candy ruin your child’s health and eating habits! Try Mighy Mommy’s easy trick for cutting down on the junk.
Even if you try to limit the amount of treats you give to your children at home, the outside world always seems to conspire against you. Easter egg hunts, trick-or-treating, Valentine’s Day, birthday parties, and school events often send children home with loaded goodie bags. And they’re not loaded with apples or carrots.
To keep the candy consumption under control, ration out the treats. We have a cookie tin in our house where all the goodies are stored. Once treats come into the house, I go through them and decide what we are keeping. I remove items that I don’t allow my children to have, such as gum, choking hazards, or items that appear to have been opened. Everything else goes into the tin and the tin is kept out of sight and reach.
Once you have your spot, set a boundary for how often the kids are allowed to go into the treat jar — say once per day. The great thing is that they tend to forget that it’s there, and eat far less junk than if I gave them free reign over the goodies.
So, after dinner, if my children ask for dessert, that’s when they can choose an item from the tin or a popsicle from the freezer. I explain that these items are yummy, but are NOT healthy. That helps my children understand why they shouldn’t eat the candy too often and encourages them to choose a different snack, such as fruit or yogurt.
Girl with Candy image courtesy of Shutterstock