Halloween Candy Limits: Dieticians Reveal Exact Number of Sweets Kids Should Only Eat Per Day

The excitement for Halloween continues days after the kids do trick-or-treating, especially when all the treats pile up on the kitchen tables and form mountains of sweets.

But should parents allow their children to consume all those sugary treats for the sake of the holiday?

While stopping the kids from eating a few pieces from their Halloween haul or dumping half of them into the trash may be tempting for parents, a child's diet expert weighed in and shared useful insights about what kids should do with their Halloween candies this year.

What a Paediatric Dietitian Recommends

Speaking with TODAY.com, paediatric dietitian Diana Rice said that children should be allowed to enjoy their Halloween treats.

'Let them go for it!' Rice explained. 'Halloween night should be a total free-for-all, and potentially even the following day, too.'

According to Rice, kids will not go overboard if they do not feel that there is no other chance to enjoy the sweets.

After they have their fill, the structure will drastically change.

'Once the excitement has passed, I recommend three pieces of candy a day,' Rice added. 'Maybe with lunch, maybe after dinner, whatever works for your family. The key is that it's consistent and expected.'

It means parents should let their children eat as much candies as they want after they worked hard to earn those while wearing costumes, then let them feel satisfied for a few days before laying down the rules for eating sweets when the holiday spirit runs out.

Parents as Teachers

Rice also reiterated that parents should take the lead by being constantly reliable.

'We know very well that kids want chocolate,' Rice stated. 'When adults make a good-faith effort to offer it regularly, it builds trust.'

Rice's approach stemmed from the 'trust model,' the feeding outline conceptualised by dietitian and family therapist Ellyn Satter.

Satter stated that, 'Children who have regular access to sweets and other forbidden foods eat them moderately. Children who don't have regular access load up on them when they aren't even hungry. If you have a treat-deprived child, you know they also beg, whine, and sneak to get high-sugar, high-fat foods.'

This model defines straightforward roles in the family. For her, parents must still decide what, when, and where food is served. On the other hand, children have the choice to eat and determine how much they want to consume for the day.

'My own observation is that children who are allowed to eat sugar instead of meals and snacks provided for them by their parents are likely to show "deficits in behavior and cognitive performance." That has to do with poor parenting, not poor food selection,' she added.

Honouring Halloween

Another paediatric dietitian, Ann Meritt, added in Satter's article that it is crucial to preserve the happiness children feel during the annual trick-or-treat event.

'This advice should be in every parents' magazine every year. I have seen so many kids have Halloween ruined for them when parents are over-concerned about sugar,' Merritt shared. 'When you consider that for many children, Halloween is their very favorite holiday, that is a serious concern.'