Body Positivity: How To Speak To Children About Halloween And Holiday Sugar

The relationship we have with food can be a lifelong frustration for many.  Smolak L. (2012) indicated that children as young as age six may start to emphasize body dissatisfaction. With fast diet trends and emphasis on body image, many find it difficult to find the healthy balance required to love their body.  In research conducted by León, M. P., González-Martí, I., & Contreras-Jordán, O. R. (2021), four year olds were talking about differences between two figures for height and weight. With so much negativity often surrounding body size, it's no wonder that many adults are trying to leave this negative space and provide body positivity to our youngest and most vulnerable population.  In this post we will review some conversation builders we can use with children and how we can express body positivity through the holidays and year round. ​

Earned Sugar

There is often a strong social emphasis on earned sugar consumption.  Examples may include candy prizes, rewarding work with a sweet treat, and "first then" examples with comfort foods.  To neutralize this trend, we can offer sweets regardless of effort. Prizes and rewards can also be tokens, experiences, and preferred nutrient dense foods. We can encourage children to think about the energy and cravings that their body is looking for and to highlight how to reach the individual goal at meal time. ​

Specifically with holidays:
​Children are less likely to be interested in the special offerings at the dinner table.  Typical holiday comforts are usually less known, may revolve around longer gatherings, and a change of schedule.  The culmination of these dynamics may change what adolescents are likely to eat during the day.  Offering more known foods, more nutrient dense options, and less nutrient dense options (desserts) on the same plate or at the same time expresses neutrality to kids.  Allowing kids to explore what preferences and needs their body has increases the chances of youth having a neutral/positive relationship with food.

Pre-dinner rituals like cooking can strengthen family bonds

Changing Our Definition Of "Bad" Food

The only "bad" food is food that has expired, food that is known to cause an allergic reaction, or food that has negative medical consequences.  To offer healthy neutralized body positivity to our youth, first the adults need to neutralize their own food.  Emphasis should be placed on what the food can do for our body and what our body can use the food for.  We can talk about the health benefits and how someone can feel after having a particular food group.  We can use these conversations to encourage children to think about how they feel after eating a meal and signs when the body is hungry versus full. For older children, we can talk more about nutrient dense options and how our body can send us signs for what we need.  ​

We can try to be extra mindful about the language we set with children.  Examples may include:
I bet your body needs some extra energy after moving around so much; sugar gives us quick energy and having protein gives us more energy that doesn't go away as fast.  We don't want to have too much energy before trying to go to bed because our body is less likely to rest.  Candy and sweets are great "sometimes" foods and we can sometimes have it next to proteins and things to help our body feel strong.  Adults can talk about what kinds of foods help their body grow big and strong; where focus is less about numbers and also related to feelings.

Specifically with holidays:
We can talk to our children about what to expect at mealtime; focusing on what we know will be served and offered during the day.  We can highlight if meals might be offered at different times of the day and if we can expect certain foods to be offered.  If a food is off limits due to dietary needs or because of compromised food quality, we can talk about any of these concerns before holiday events. Specifically, parents and caregivers can emphasize why some foods would be off limits to encourage adolescent understanding of what makes them "bad" or unsafe to eat. ​

The family table can encourage family bonding and connection

Review Expectations and Family Norms

Kids, younger children specially, thrive when they know what to expect and can be an active participant in their day.  The holidays are a time of magic but can also represent many changes to the schedule and to changing daily norms.  With Halloween being next week and on a Friday, many kids will have the opportunity to stay awake later and have more candy in the later hours.  While this tradition is normalized after years of participating; for kids it's new and can lead to hyperarousal.  According to a study on hyperactivity and candy arousal by Krummel, D. A., Seligson, F. H., & Guthrie, H. A. (1996), hyperarousal is more tied to attending special events than actual sugar consumption. 

Specifically with holidays:
​Set the expectations ahead of time and often leading up to the holiday and throughout holiday events.  Ask yourself as a parent what language can be used to neutralize food?  How can plates and meals be set up to offer kids different options that allow them to listen to their body?  If a child needs to be prompted to pick something else, what language can be used?  If there is a family norm about saving food or dispersing food out over longer periods of time, we can start these conversations before the holidays.  For instance, some families might break Halloween candy down into daily or weekly offerings and it's a guideline that everyone follows.  Daily offerings would be an example of a family norm that's less about earning and highlights a family expectation. 

When children can participate in shared jobs, it increases self confidence

In Conclusion: We're All Superheroes

Our body can help us do some amazing things!  We think, move, create, and inspire all with the help of our body and food.  Let's not wait for the holidays to talk about food and clean eating.  Let's use regular dinner meetings and gatherings to talk about the food offered.  Let's explore the palate and how to identify preferred tastes.  Let's talk about our bodies' needs and health during all seasons of the year. Let's incorporate mantras and body positivity into the family system and encourage everyone to look at what their body can do. All food is good food and all bodies are beautiful. ​

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Stay well,

Author

Megan Bowling, M.A., LMFT is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She has been in the mental health field for more than ten years and is passionate to share mental health wellness strategies.

Works Cited

Krummel, D. A., Seligson, F. H., & Guthrie, H. A. (1996). Hyperactivity: is candy causal?. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 36(1-2), 31–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408399609527717

León, M. P., González-Martí, I., & Contreras-Jordán, O. R. (2021). What Do Children Think of Their Perceived and Ideal Bodies? Understandings of Body Image at Early Ages: A Mixed Study. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(9), 4871. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094871

Smolak L. Body image development—girl children. In: Cash T.F., editor. Encyclopedia of Body Image and Human Appearance. Volume 1. Academic Press; London, UK: 2012. pp. 212–218