5 ways to scale back on sugar this Halloween (and still have a freakishly fun time!)

There are parents who stress about the sugar fest that Halloween can be and there are parents who don't worry about it , giving it up to being one candy-wild day of the year. I think I fall somewhere in the middle, taking measures to limit my son's sugar intake but not banning candy from his holiday either.

When one of my friends told me, "I'm pretty strict about not letting my kids have refined white sugar every other day of the year, so it's OK to me to let that slide on Halloween.", I got that.

And when another parent I know said, "I let my kids go absolutely crazy and eat as much as they want on Halloween. They have a great time and quickly burn out. Then, I toss the rest and it is over.", I didn't disagree with that logic.

When a mom I know said admitted she gets so worked up trying to keep candy out of her house that she ends up buying the unwanted, unpopular candy at the last minute so she and her children aren't tempted to to tear into it before trick-or-treaters show up, I didn't really blame her.

And when a dad from my neighborhood said he wants his kids to enjoy Halloween as it kids should -- and that includes piles of candy -- my opinion of him as a friend or as a dad didn't change one bit.

Why should we care?

I do believe, no matter where you stand on how much candy your kids should or should not have on All Hallow's Eve, that it is possible to celebrate with just as much fervor, freakiness, fun, and delight with LESS sugar. I'm not suggesting something as radical as completely nixing the mini-Kit Kats, but I do think it is fine to limit how many we watch our kids cram into their already-chocolate smeared mouths (or we cram into our own). So, for the record, are we clear that I am not anti-kid, anti-Halloween, anti-treat, anti-sugar, or anti-fun? Good.

Then let me remind you that the American Heart Association released new guidelines this summer that indicate children aged 4 to 8 with a daily caloric intake of 1,200 t0 1,600 calories should not have more than 3 to 4 teaspoons of added sugar a day. Three teaspoons equals about 130 calories, four is about 170 calories. As kids hit their tween and teen years, their recommended daily calories are boosted to 1,800 to 2,000 and added sugar is upped to 5 to 8 teaspoons per day.

This sounds generous, doesn't it? The reality is, however, that children (and even babies and toddlers), on average, exceed the recommended amount of sugar. By a lot.

The AHA found that children aged 1 to 3 take in 12 teaspoons of added sugar daily, while kids in that 4 to 8 year age range consume 21 teaspoons on average. Teenagers are typically eating more than 34 teaspoons of added sugar a day. This sets children up for continuing a not-so-sweet habit among American adults -- consuming three times the recommended amount of sugar.

Really, it is quite easy to exceed the recommended amount of sugar, both in feeding your children and in feeding yourself. Even if you have good intentions and give your child a vanilla-flavored organic milk carton from Starbucks as a treat, you've already nearly maxed out their added sugar allotment for the day. One carton of Horizon vanilla reduced-fat milk has 29 grams of sugar. At 4 calories per gram, that comes to 116 calories, http://edit.shine.yahoo.com:9999/write/or almost 3 teaspoons. That, plus one Snickers mini candy bar will pretty much do it for your small child's sugar intake for the day.

So there it is, food for thought, whether you let your kiddo consume 10 of those tiny candy bars, one of those sweet little milks, or 8,000 carrots made into eyeballs (that's an approximation, but a safe one, I'm guessing) for their daily sugar on Halloween.

What should we do to scale back the sugar this Halloween?

It's not hard and it can actually (gasp!) amp up the celebration while your family enjoys treats without overdoing them.

1. Make it a challenge to give away sugar-free treats (and not those nasty mints your grandmother always has in a jar on the coffee table). This might sound a little too spooky for some of you, but I love that my son's teacher has banned candy, cupcakes, and other edible treats from the classroom all year long. Because they do so much other fun stuff for birthdays, no kid has ever mentioned missing out on grocery store cookies. This also makes the Halloween treat bags so much more fun to dump out and sort through.

This year, we bought vampire teeth, eyeball bouncy balls, and spider rings from Target. They come in cute, bright, Halloween colors and cost the same as bags of candy. (You can also find these small toys at Oriental Trading for super cheap and at party stores.)

Other kids contribute pencils, miniature Slinkies, temporary holiday tattoos, yo-yos, little notebooks, tiny tubs of Play-Doh, and other dollar (or less) items.

It made shopping for Halloween treats so much more fun than hemming and hawing over SweeTarts versus lollipops. We made sure to get several extra bags of the goodies to give out at our house, too. We're completely sugar-free and my son has bugged me to open these treats early more than he ever did with candy.

2.  Make a candy plan. Decide before the big day (or any parties before Halloween where treats will be given out) how your family with handle holiday candy. Some families choose a time period of a day or week or month that Halloween candy can stay in the house before the leftovers are trashed. Families with teens might opt to go to a scary movie instead of trick-or-treating. Families with small children might choose to have a house party where each kid gets a certain number of treats. Whether you vote on a plan or it is decreed by parental dictatorship, do set your boundaries before the costumes go on. Whatever it is you choose, keep in mind that Halloween can easily be a slippery slop into the sugar frenzy that lasts through the end of the year or it can be the beginning of more mindful enjoyment.

3.  Set up a barter system. If your kids go out trick-or-treating, they will probably come home with a bounty of candy. Make up coupons or chart so they can exchange candy for privileges you know they will love -- movie tickets, rounds of mini-golf, Wii time, a new deck for a skateboard, bowling passes, even a small toy. Bonus points if you can get your kids to exchange candy for the chance to do something active (no, that does not include walking the Almond Joys over to dad in the recliner)!

4. Practice portion control. I've heard of parents who allow their kids to choose a piece of candy for each year of their age or have their kids pare down to a small bowl or container. Take this practice a step further and have the children divvy up the remaining candy into snack-size zipper bags that can be thrown into a lunch box, grabbed as a special dessert, or (for the non-melty stuff) kept in the car for trips or grocery store bribery. Doling out goodies over time may feel a lot more manageable and is also a good reminder for adults who have a long history of hording or binge tendencies with sweets.

5. Use the candy for crafts. Make a gingerbread haunted house and have each kid contribute a certain amount of candy for the project. Kits range from $10 to $20 and can turn a bowl of candy into a spooky, silly, fun afternoon of assembly and decoration. If you are a family that gets started on the winter holidays as soon as the costumes come off, this is your chance to get a jump start on your traditional gingerbread centerpiece. If you are not crafty but like the idea of a haunted gingerbread house, order one that is pre-made and add your candy to it as extra boo-tiful bling (sorry for that).