The average person today is likely to have some form of increased awareness of the value of health and nutrition, but it doesn’t even take a special holiday tradition devoted to sugar to get kids and adults to go crazy over the prospect of gorging on large amounts of candy. Naturally, with Halloween coming up, kids are going to end up eating a massive amount of candy within a few hours – an amount that would inevitably give their systems more sugar than they can reasonably handle. Not to mention contribute to the massive amount of children who are overweight or obese in the country. Many parents would like to deny it, but a staggering 30% of children ages two to 19 are either overweight or obese, and Halloween candy doesn’t help improve that one bit.

According to the National Retail Federation, the average amount of cash that a person is expected to spend on candy this Halloween has gone up to an estimated $20.39 per person. A number that is much higher than in previous years, according to the records of the NRF. Some parents, being more health-conscious and aware of the risk to their children, have found ways to keep trick or treating little tykes from gobbling up that much in the span of a single night – if not a few hours. For some parents, rather than candy, they choose to give children cheap toys instead, to some reportedly mixed reactions.

There are other approaches, too. Some parents trade the candy for cash. Others allow the kids to keep only a certain amount, and whatever isn’t kept is traded for a different kind of treat that the child would enjoy. Whatever the approach, many parents are trying to cut down on how much candy the kids eat on Halloween. Of course, while this is a good idea, many doctors believe it wouldn’t do much if the kids can access amounts of candy that are unhealthy the rest of the year. Of course, it isn’t exactly easy for parents to monitor how much sugar their kids consume at all times.

Doctors note that a one-night splurging of insane amounts of candy isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and for children who are within the advisable weight range for their age and height, it is probably fine to let them have at it. Experts to suggest using the large amount of candy to teach children about portion size and limits, which should become lessons enforced throughout the year. If the children learn to moderate things on their own, then there would be less of a need for parents to intervene.