The days are rapidly receding, the nights are getting colder, and the Halloween half term is frighteningly close. A quick trip to your local supermarket will see you faced with all manner of ghastly, ghostly surprises and creepy costumes. More worryingly, perhaps, children will be greeted with the temptation of an endless array of spooky sweets and treats. And with Halloween well and truly back after being all but cancelled by coronavirus, it may feel hard to say no. Read on for some tips to help your family have a more tooth-friendly Halloween.
One way to reduce sugar consumption during Halloween – and give little hands plenty to be busy with – is to take control of what your children are eating, both at mealtimes and in between. Cooking is a fantastic way to encourage creativity and spend some quality family time together too – and it doesn’t necessarily mean consuming mountains of sugar. Ensuring that your children get their fangs into some more tooth-friendly treats with less sugar is easier than you might think – and you don’t need to be an expert to get creative in the kitchen.
Whether you fancy baking some creepy cakes or coming up with some spooky snacks, why not take some time to research recipes that are based on sugar-free or low sugar ingredients to reduce the risk to your children’s teeth. A great alternative to milk chocolate is dark chocolate, which has a significantly lower sugar content. Fruits such as dates can also be used as a substitute for processed sugar to help make your creepy creations healthier. There are numerous ideas to be found online, and even recipes that are not particularly spooky can be turned into something frightfully fitting with a little creativity.
Nuts, dried fruit and fresh fruit are all great alternatives to processed, high-sugar snacks, while seasonal vegetables – pumpkins included – are great for the cauldron. Although often overlooked as a culinary ingredient in the UK, pumpkin can be used to cook a wide range of delicious, nutritious snacks. From a piping hot pie to a steaming soup, the kids don’t know what they’re missing until they’ve tried it!
Another great way to keep the kids away from the sweets and snacks that surround them at Halloween is to keep them busy and distracted with some Halloween handicraft. It’s great fun for the kids, and can be just as entertaining for adults too! Why not create your own unique costumes, decorations and more for a fraction of the cost of buying them? Even if you do not consider yourself the most creative or imaginative person, there are endless ideas available online to keep little minds and hands busy.
For an added bonus, recycling and repurposing materials from around the house can also turn this into a low cost and educational activity to keep the kids totally engaged.
Of course, it is hard to completely avoid all things sweet. To help keep little fangs healthy, it is recommended that sweet snacks and foods are consumed at mealtimes wherever possible to reduce the amount of time that they are exposed to sugar.
Making sure your children brush those monstrous little gnashers twice a day for at least two minutes with a quality, fluoride toothpaste is extremely important – especially if they have been indulging a little more than usual or staying up late, as is inevitable at halloween.
Here at Regent Dental Centre in Altrincham, we pride ourselves in offering excellent dental care for the whole family in a friendly and caring environment. To book an appointment for your family now or to enquire about joining the practice, call us now on 0161 941 2143.
Website last updated: April 2024
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