Your child can’t resist candy? Don’t worry, here are 4 tips to prevent him/her from having high sugar on Halloween.
Halloween is one of those days that kids really can”t wait for. For a whole weekend they have the perfect excuse to eat as much candy as they want. But if you have a child with diabetes this can be a problem. Preventing high sugar on Halloween may seem difficult but it doesn’t have to be if you follow the 4 tips in this article. Are you up for it?
Plan your child’s meals
You already know that a very important part of diabetes control is to plan ahead. It is even more important on dates like Halloween.
Keep in mind that your child will be eating more sweets than usual. These usually have a high glycemic index. If you don’t know what the glycemic index (GI) is, it is a metric that tells you how long it takes carbohydrates to become sugar. Candy, for example, is something that converts to sugar very quickly and you can see it in your blood sugar levels right away.
That’s why, on days like Halloween, it is recommended to make a specific meal plan for your child. It should include low GI foods. These will take longer to turn into sugar. This way you will have rationed carbohydrates throughout the day and will avoid sugar highs and lows.
Ration treats
Besides planning, another important point to avoid sugar spikes on Halloween is to ration treats. Just because your child can eat candy doesn’t mean that he or she can eat as much of it as wants.
It’s okay to eat a treat or two once in a while. But keep in mind that they are empty calories. They have no benefit for his/her body.
If your child eats a lot of sweets at once, since they have a high GI, his or her blood sugar will rise very quickly and it could lead to hyperglycemia. It’s best to have a maximum number of treats allowed on Halloween. This will keep your child from eating more than he or she should and it will help to teach him or her to ration the treats.
Try to ration sweets and combine them with healthier alternatives also. If he/she is still too young, you can ration them for him/her.
Control sugar levels more than normal
For someone with diabetes it is essential to measure themselves many times a day. In the case of children it is even more important, since they do not yet know how to recognize the symptoms of high or low blood sugar levels. That is why it is necessary for parents to be very aware.
On dates such as Halloween, this multiplies. Keep in mind that they will be eating constantly. So, to prevent scares, it is better to measure your child’s blood glucose levels more often than on a normal day.
If they have a glucose sensor, you can connect it to Cori. This will make it much easier for you to measure and see how your child’s progress is going, and it will be much more comfortable for your child too.
Do not forget to enjoy things that are not related to food
We already know that candy is very exciting. But there are other things that also make this party very special. The costumes, the games, the scary movies, the mood… Don’t forget to enjoy those, as well. Those things won’t make him or her have sugar highs on Halloween.
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