Halloween is right around the corner and I’m excited.
This is the first year my little guy understands what’s happening. He can’t wait to be a football player... and has been walking around shouting “Touchdown!” for week.
Then, there’s all that candy.
Forget the ghosts and goblins, the scariest part of Halloween? Tooth decay.
As a kid, I hoarded my candy, trying to make it last as long as I could— mostly because I wanted it to outlast my siblings’ stash. When you’re 12, a Twix tastes better if someone else wants it.
I know a lot of parents who—for different reasons— do this every Halloween. They dole out the candy piece by piece, day by day, so their children don’t have all that sugar in one sitting.
Turns out, that’s the worst thing to do for your child’s teeth.
“It’s better to eat a lot of candy at one sitting and be done with it, than to eat a little bit of candy every day,” says Dr. David Epstein, a pediatric dentist based in West Hartford.
“Think about it, the sugar turns to acid—and that starts rotting the teeth. Frequency is a huge part of tooth decay.
A kid who eats a huge bag of candy one night will have healthier teeth than the kid who eats a little candy every day.”
“Halloween should be a one night holiday. Enjoy it. Have fun. Then it’s time to give the candy away.”
I’d love my son to be one of those rare children who prefers a carrot to a candy bar. Given my own sweet tooth, it’s not likely.
So I will do my best to teach him how to take care of his teeth, to floss and brush regularly.
There’s more to Halloween than candy.
If we parents remember that, maybe it’s not so scary after all.
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