Halloween is here! I have always enjoyed the holiday, especially since I grew up in a household that our sugar consumption was very minimal! I am not complaining about that, mind you. I thank my parents now for that choice and struggle as a mom myself to make sure my kids eat healthy, nutritious food.
It is not necessarily fun to overload on sugar! I found this out first hand as a kid that if you gorge on candy when your body is not used to it the result is not very pretty! As strict as my parents were, they never put restrictions on HOW much we ate on Halloween. It was an annual event to see me and my brothers and sisters wandering around the neighborhood with our pillowcases until they were filled to the top!
Today’s world is much different. First of all, I don’t know many parents who let their kids loose on Halloween night with pillowcases to roam the neighborhood alone. Neighborhoods are not as “family friendly” as they used to be. Many people don’t know their own neighbors. Media posts stories on horrible events that happen on Hallows Eve, and of food that has been tainted. Who can you really trust?
Which leads me to another question: How often do we sugarcoat events and stories when we relay them to our own children? Granted, we want to maintain their innocence as long as possible, but more and more in today’s world it seems that attempting to mollify reality may be as detrimental as overloading on a bag of candy. Too much of anything isn’t good!
I recently was faced with this question head on when I learned that a man in my neighborhood (2 blocks away) was convicted of sexually molesting two twelve year old boys. This is my oldest sons’ age, and the probability of knowing the child is likely since I am in a small, close-knit community. Not only that, this same man allegedly has molested up to twelve OTHER children.
As a mom, I cannot tell you how horrified I was to learn this news. It erased some innocence in our family having to have a frank discussion with all three of our kids about what is and isn’t appropriate behavior with strangers, neighbors, family and friends. Of course we had previously skimmed the surface on these issues, but never before had it been so REAL. Rather than sugarcoating it was imperative to have a deep conversation with our children that the world is sometimes a very scary place. It is our responsibility as parents to nurture relationships with the families who our children befriend and reassess those connections as necessary. It is also our obligation to make sure our kids are well informed and God forbid if they were ever in a situation that was questionable they would know what actions they would need to take to remain safe.
Life Lesson? Choose your sugarcoating wisely in food and in parenting. Recognize that when teaching points arise you can modify your explanation to make them age-appropriate while also keeping your kids safe and healthy.
Happy Halloween parents and sweet children! Stay safe!
Great article Jen.