Izzy’s First Halloween

Last night was Izzy’s first Halloween out trick-or-treating. Like most concepts, trying to explain Halloween to a two-year-old really gives you a fresh perspective on the topic. We’d been trying to teach him phrases like “Trick or treat” and “Happy Halloween” over the previous week with little success, mainly because he didn’t understand their significance. After last night, however, I’m sure he’ll get excited whenever he hears them.

I’m sure it doesn’t come as a surprise that Izzy managed to figure out the whole trick-or-treating deal after his first door. This isn’t to suggest that he’s abnormally intelligent, but rather that candy is a strong reinforcer for a toddler. We had him knocking on doors and holding out his pumpkin for treats in about five minutes. He made his mistakes, of course, particularly the assumption that an open door means he should enter. Still, it’s refreshing to see a little one learning the moves for the first time. But for the absence of the obligatory “Trick or treat,” he was a pro by the end of the evening.

The event did manage to illustrate to me that Halloween can be a much more health-conscious holiday than most assume it to be. Point in fact, trick-or-treating can be great exercise if done correctly. Too many people drive around the neighborhood in their cars when they could just as easily walk. I say, why not get your kids to work off some of that candy before they eat it? We walked the entire length of our apartment community and climbed all but three staircases (my wife estimated about 50 flights of stairs all together). When we finally got home an hour and a half later, I’m sure we’d burnt off more calories than a bucket full of candy would account for.

Look at it this way. Halloween is perhaps the only holiday during which kids will feel motivated to get exercise like this. Especially considering the amount of candy they’ll be eating, it’s well worth getting them to walk as much as possible. If you need a little extra incentive, point out that people in the most remote locations (in our case, those on the third floor) tend to give more generously. That should get them sweating in their costumes by the end of the evening.

Where health is concerned, of course, I have to disagree with one unspoken Halloween tradition. It seems like there’s at least one health nut on every corner. You know, the sort of person with an agenda when they’re passing out treats. My wife recalls one on her street that used to hand out toothbrushes. I always managed to get (and subsequently throw away) at least one box of raisins or trail mix. Izzy was a little more fortunate; his health nut was handing out organic chocolate.

Seriously, people, this is a holiday for candy. Don’t jip the little goblins out of their treats. They were nice enough to get into costume and parade around for your enjoyment. The least you can do is give them what they want.

Yay…my little goblin…and a cutie patootie at that! That pose makes me want to eat him up, never mind the candy…he’s adorable and that’s my UNbiased opinion, mind you! Now, Grammy has plenty of candy for him but don’t make him walk to get it…AND, there are a few toys as well to add to the mix, but NO health food for him here…he gets all the junk he wants at Grammy’s!!

I noticed cars driving around the neighborhood, too! I couldn’t believe it. Isn’t walking around and seeing all the different costumes part of Halloween?

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What turns me into a real grumpy Halloween curmudgeon is seeing all the cars lined up bumper to bumper along the curb in the more affluent suburbs - I mean, half the fun of Halloween (okay, not quite half - because that candy hoard is pretty darned motivating, as you say!) is “fooling” the neighbours with a clever disguise. But what a blast for you, having Izzy old enough to start taking part in the door-to-door ritual. I still remember my first Halloween… no surprise, Mom dressed me up as a little pig!

Nobody around us used cars! The neighborhood was a mad house with adults, teens and kids. As far as the health nut, we had one person handing out halloween pretzels and another who passed out playdoh. For my little ones, they loved it as much as the candy. In fact, the pretzels were the first to go. I get more agitated at the folks who pass out the FULL SIZE candy bars. Does a 3 year old really need a full size Hershey’s Bar with Almonds?

I was surprised by the trick-or-treating by car comment, but not shocked. It just seems very, very American.