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Parents start huge viral debate after sharing their 'Switch Witch' Halloween candy tradition

That's a different way of doing Halloween.

switch witch, halloween candy, sugar and kids
via Jill Wellington/Pexels

A young girl goes trick-or-treating on Halloween.

A family from Utah has ruffled a lot of feathers on Instagram after sharing the Halloween tradition they celebrate with their 2-year-old daughter, Aria. Instead of allowing her to eat all the candy she gets while trick-or-treating, they let her select 5 pieces.

That's right. Just 5 pieces. But there's a catch!

The parents put the remainder of the candy on the porch for the night for the “Switch Witch,” who exchanges the sugary foods for a toy. In this case, Aria received a “Frozen” doll from the witch.

The parents who came up with this idea are Emily and Erik Jensen, fitness trainers and life coaches known for sharing family health and wellness tips on social media. "You can get fun with it and give your witch a name," Levi captioned his post, in part. "The witch who stops by our house is Wilda."

After posting the video with over 10 million views, the couple was deluged by an incredible amount of angry feedback for their new Halloween tradition.

Here’s what everyone is up in arms about.

The video hit right in the heart about issues people are passionate about, Halloween, diet culture, materialism, candy and preserving the magic of childhood.

"What happened to parents just letting kids be kids and enjoy Halloween?" EmilyKohara21 asked. "Dude, it's once a year...." CGroves_08 wrote.

"It’s one day of the year. Give it a rest. You think it’s better to buy your kid toys than to let them have the bite-sized candy?" Beezus04 added.

Many parents thought making a big deal about the candy was a recipe for instilling negative body issues with their daughter. "Or just let your kid enjoy a f***ing treat instead of instilling body hatred and diet culture at FIVE YEARS OLD." TolkienQueerFriend wrote.

In the comments, the people who supported the family noted that a 2-year-old probably shouldn’t be eating all that candy in the first place. “I love this idea! I have a toddler and he doesn’t need candy, but I want him to experience going out and Trick or Treating. I don’t eat candy and he doesn’t need more than 5 pieces at TWO years old!” JACQ2400 wrote.

“When we posted the video, we had no idea the comments would be so heated,” Emily told TODAY.com.

The crux of the issue was a child’s relationship with sugar, and, according to medical professionals, too much sugar in childhood can lead to big problems in adulthood.

“As with anything, too much sugar during childhood may lead to unhealthy cravings as kids grow older,” Dr. Stacy Leatherwood Cannon wrote for Henry Ford Health. “In excess, sugar can lead to obesity, which puts a child at risk for developing high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels and type 2 diabetes (where the body’s response to insulin is not regulated).”

But in the end, families have the right to make their own decisions about what’s appropriate for their children, and for the Jensens, they will stick with limiting the amount of sugar their daughter eats on Halloween. "The 'Switch Witch' isn't for everyone, but it works for us,” Emily told Today.com.



After posting the video with over 10 million views, the couple was deluged by an incredible amount of angry feedback for their new Halloween tradition.

Here’s what everyone is up in arms about.

[Video]

The video hit right in the heart about issues people are passionate about, Halloween, diet culture, materialism, candy and the magic of childhood.

"What happened to parents just letting kids be kids and enjoy Halloween?" EmilyKohara21 asked. "Dude, it's once a year...." CGroves_08 wrote.

"It’s one day of the year. Give it a rest. You think it’s better to buy your kid toys than to let them have the bite-sized candy," Beezus04 added.

Many parents thought making a big deal about the candy was a recipe for instilling negative body issues with their daughter. "Or just let your kid enjoy a f***ing treat instead of instilling body hatred and diet culture at FIVE YEARS OLD." TolkienQueerFriend wrote.

In the comments, the people who supported the family noted that a 2-year-old probably shouldn’t be eating all that candy in the first place. “I love this idea! I have a toddler and he doesn’t need candy, but I want him to experience going out and Trick or Treating. I don’t eat candy and he doesn’t need more than 5 pieces at TWO years old!” JACQ2400.

“When we posted the video, we had no idea the comments would be so heated,” Emily told TODAY.com.

The crux of the issue was a child’s relationship with sugar, and, according to medical professionals, too much sugar in childhood can lead to big problems in adulthood.

“As with anything, too much sugar during childhood may lead to unhealthy cravings as kids grow older,” Dr. Stacy Leatherwood Cannon wrote for Henry Ford Health. “In excess, sugar can lead to obesity, which puts a child at risk for developing high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels and type 2 diabetes (where the body’s response to insulin is not regulated).”

But in the end, families have the right to make their own decisions about what’s appropriate for their children, and for the Jensens, they will stick with limiting the amount of sugar their daughter eats on Halloween. "The 'Switch Witch' isn't for everyone, but it works for us,” Emily told Today.com.

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