Healthy habits for Halloween night:

• Serve a large dinner, maybe even make your child’s favorite food, so that they will go out on Halloween night with a full stomach.

• Encourage drinking a glass of water or rinsing their mouth out after having candy.

• Hand out non-candy items to trick-or-treaters such as small toys, games, puzzles or notepads.

• Get a new toothbrush with your child’s favorite character or color, and save it to use on Halloween night. When trick-or-treating is over, your child can look forward to continuing the fun by using their brand-new brush before bed.

Keep up the good routine after Halloween:

• Help your kids narrow down their loot to just a few of their favorite treats. Based on your child’s age, determine a certain number of pieces for your child to keep and give the rest of the candy away, or put it in the freezer to slowly distribute to your child over time instead of all at once.

• Some types of candy like chocolate or peanut butter melt easily and are less likely to stick around in your mouth or on your teeth. These candies are a better choice than hard or chewy candy like caramal that can linger on teeth and increase the chance of cavities. Sour candy can be very acidic and cause decay. Avoid those candies as much as possible.

• Set a designated treat time to help keep your child from munching on candy all day. It will also get them in the habit of only having one treat each day. Always encourage your child to drink water after eating to keep their mouths clean and clear away any food particles that could stick to their teeth.

• Make sure your child continues to brush their teeth twice a day with fluoridated toothpaste and floss once per day.

Eat, drink and be scary!

Happy Halloween 🎃