Healthy Halloween Tips! Expert of the Month at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital

I am honored to be the "Expert of the Month" at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

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STANFORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With Halloween spookily approaching, dealing with the annual tidal wave of sugar can be a real challenge for parents. While everyone wants kids to enjoy the day, the candy cargo seems to be getting bigger every year, with parties at school and friends’ houses increasing the loot. That’s why we sat down to get some healthy Halloween tips from Thea Runyan, MPH, at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. Runyan is the lead behavior coach for the Pediatric Weight Control Program, part of the hospital’s multidisciplinary Center for Healthy Weight.

“Regardless of whether a child has a weight issue, it's vital that he or she learn moderation, and the skill of making healthy choices”

“Regardless of whether a child has a weight issue, it's vital that he or she learn moderation, and the skill of making healthy choices,” Runyan says. “Research shows that kids don't simply ‘outgrow’ the urge to eat unhealthily if they don't possess the tools to do so.”

Here are a few of Runyan’s healthy Halloween strategies:

• One increasingly popular approach is telling kids -- especially younger kids -- about the "Switch Witch" or the "Halloween Ghost." The kids put their loot on the doorstep, and this figure takes it that night, replacing it with something fun but not candy. (Note: Parents must resist eating it, too!)
• Some older kids enjoy trading their candy for cash. Some dentists will buy back kids' candy. Some schools even set up programs where kids can donate the candy to U.S. troops.
• Some parents hand out fun, non-candy items: spider rings, pretzels, stickers and tattoos, for instance. Get creative. For Halloween parties, make "fingers" out of string cheese.
• Don't buy your candy until a day or two before you hand it out. Otherwise, it's too tempting to eat it beforehand. Or, buy candy you or your children don't like. Hate dark chocolate? Make that the treat you give out.
• Emphasize the fun of trick-or-treating, rather than the subsequent feast. And when the trick-or-treating is over, have the kids pick out their favorite 20 pieces to keep. To many parents' surprise, Runyan says, kids are often perfectly satisfied keeping just 20 pieces

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131016006209/en/Tips-Halloween-Candy-Fun-Calories-Packard-Children’s

Motivating Your Child to Lose Weight

Motivation is a tough nut to crack. Everyone is motivated by different things. This could not be more true

than it is for children. Some of the children I work with are motivated to reach their goal with the expectation of an extrinsic (external) reward from day one through month six. Other children never find a reward system motivating. Many children that I work with seem to be initially motivated by an external reward and after a few months are satisfied with meeting their goals and making progress that they become internally motivated to continue with their behavior change - this is the ideal scenario but does not happen to everyone!

Every child, every person, is different but it is very worthwhile for parents to work with their child to figure out what motivates their child so they can continue to positively encourage and support them while they are making healthy changes.

That being said - there are "good" rewards and "not-so-good" rewards 

(I hesitate to say bad).

I recently used this example with a group of parents: "You know when you wake up on Sunday and you feel like you should go on a family outing? That is the perfect opportunity to create a reward for healthy behaviors that you want to enforce!" 

In general, rewards should NOT be:

• Expensive
• Food Related or
• Overshadow the real reward which is to feel good and be healthy!

Rewards SHOULD be:

• Something that interests and motivates the child - not just something the parent would like!
• Given to the child very soon after the child reaches his/her goal
• Active!
• Completed together with parent and perhaps other family members

Successful Reward Ideas (the short list):

• Hike, bike ride, walk
• Visit/picnic in the park 
• Walk and/or visit the library 
• Bowling
• Ice skating
• Zoo
• Trampoline place
• Bounce house place
• Museum 
• Game night (hours of monopoly, Poker!)
• Puzzle night
• Trip to craft store for an activity

Have fun with your kids and celebrate their success. No matter how insignificant it may seem,  small progress is GOOD progress!