Boo! It’s Halloween.
It seems that celebrating Halloween is becoming more and more popular in Australia. But while Halloween may be spooky, what’s really scary is the estimated 22.3 million additional sugary treats Aussie kids will consume.
I spend so much time trying to reduce the amount of sugar my kids eat and then BAM Halloween rolls around and the kids end up with a bucket of full of treats and attempt to eat their own body weight in chocolate and lollies (in one sitting!).
We all know that sugary foods and drinks are a major cause of tooth decay and cavities (not to mention a range of other negative health effects). Colgate has done some research which reveals that 96% of Australian parents try to manage their child’s sugar intake on an ongoing basis and 82% admit to allowing their child to have high sugar foods at least one a week.
If you are a regular reader of my blog you will know that I have been making a big effort to cut down my own sugar intake and I have also been trying to cut down the sugar my family eat. But I ain’t no miracle worker and I still allow my kids to eat the occasional sweet treat. I’m also very lax when it comes to special occasions like birthdays, Christmas and of course Halloween. I think it’s a bit rough to let your child go to a birthday party and then say have fun but only eat carrot sticks.
I find that teaching my kids the effects of eating badly seems to help them make better choices when it comes to times like Halloween. Rather than eat ALL the lollies in one sitting they each get a container to put their stash in. This way they can have a few treats now and then – not all at once.
My kids will eat a stupid amount of sugar this Halloween but there are things I can do to minimise any long term damage to their teeth. Colgate Maximum Cavity Protection plus Sugar Acid Neutraliser is a breakthrough toothpaste which contains a unique Sugar Acid Neutraliser that directly fights sugar acids in plaque, which is the number one cause of cavities. Colgate Maximum Cavity Protection plus Sugar Acid Neutraliser can be used on kids 6 years + (for your younger kids choose a specially formulated toothpaste for their age). My kids seems to like the taste of this toothpaste and it’s relatively economical at $3.49 a tube.
Remember eating sugary foods and drinks on a regular basis is the number one cause of tooth decay.
One off sugar-filled occasions aren’t ideal but they won’t cause a huge amount of damage (to your kids teeth) if you limit sweet treats to meal times and don’t let them eat continually. The constant bathing of teeth in acids that bacteria produce from sugars does the most damage so you need to make sure they are brushing regularly (especially after gorging on lollies) and using a toothpaste with a sugar acid neutraliser will also help 🙂
Happy Halloween – and remember to brush 🙂
Disclaimer: I received a gift pack from Colgate which contained halloween candy and 2 tubes of Colgate Maximum Cavity Protection plus Sugar Acid Neutraliser toothpaste for me and my kids to road test. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own. Research mentioned was an online Lonergan study conducted during 3-10 October 2014 among 1,042 Australians aged 18 years and over.
