We all know that carrying excess body fat increases risk for cancer. It’s also an unfortunate truth that kids are getting increasingly fatter in America.
It is estimated that this generation of children’s life expectancy will NOT be longer than their parents. Now THAT is scary! Along with all the psychological difficulties that can come with being overweight as a child, these children are also at increased risk for cancer and other chronic diseases.
Halloween Challenge
Think about when you were a kid. Halloween was special because you got to eat a bunch of food that you usually didn’t get to eat. Hence why it was called a “treat”. Now, candy is no longer a “treat” for kids. They often get candy everyday, pretty much whenever they want it.
Knowing all of this, do you really want to hand out candy like every other house on Halloween? I challenge you to find a truly unique “treat” to give out to kids on Halloween that might enhance their health, or at least not be a detriment to it!
Healthy Halloween Treats
For the last 2 years, I have not given out candy. Last year I was surprised to hear “yay, no candy!” Ok, it was from a parent, but trust me the kids love getting to choose a treat!
Here are some ideas that I would suggest in place of giving out candy. I try to keep the cost to no more than 25 cents per prize. It’s up to you if you give out more than one per kid!
- stickers
- balloons
- crayons
- pencils
- colored chalk
- erasers
- whistles
- baseball cards
- rubber spiders or worms
- sugar free gum
- fake teeth
My favorite is to go to the dollar store and see what they have. Pencils and pens are great hits, along with anything that makes noise!
The only problem people have with some of these treats is that they don’t like to contribute to landfills; these aren’t the ‘greenest items’. For more green treats, you might try peanuts in their shells or a planting kit with seeds.
I hope to hear what you decide to give out and how it was received!
BOO!
– Julie
My husband and I decided we wanted to do treats this year too. Target has a bunch of goodies already in baggies. We havent decided which treat we will get yet. But we are also giving out tracks from our church as well. Some kids that come have never heard about Jesus and this is our way of reaching out to them.