Michelle Obama was feeling nostalgic this Halloween as she remembered magical moments trick or treating with her daughters, Sasha, 22, and Malia, 25 - but she also shared her concerns.
The children of Michelle and Barack Obama are now grown-up and living in California, however, when they were younger, the spooky season was one of their favorite holidays.
Michelle took the opportunity to take to Instagram with a message for fans involving her daughters and the worries she had for their health during their childhood.
"I’ve always loved Halloween—especially when my girls were younger," she wrote alongside a photo of her and Barack at a Halloween event handing out candy to kids.
"It was so much fun to watch them dress up in their costumes and fill up their buckets with candy."
But with that joy, came concern, as she added: "Of course, like a lot of parents, I sometimes worried about how much candy they’d end up eating by the end of the night, and in the days that followed."
To ease that anxiety over their diet, Michelle explained the strategy she used. "I tried my best to keep sugar to a minimum. Our kids could eat as many fruits and vegetables as they wanted for snacks. I tried to make sure they weren’t eating a lot of added sugars in their diet in general."
This gave Michelle and Barack the confidence to allow their kids to indulge on special occasions. "Having some simple day-to-day ground rules like this had another big benefit, too: It meant that I didn’t mind letting them indulge a bit on nights like Halloween (or birthday parties or other holidays).
"It’s a strategy that worked well for our family, and I know that other families have found other tactics that work."
The former First Lady then promoted her work with Plezi Nutrition - which aims to "create higher standards for how we make and market food and beverages for our children."
"So this year, our team at @PLEZiNutrition, the kids’ nutrition company that I’m proud to be a co-founder and strategic partner for, put together a few tips (link in bio!) on navigating Halloween from a nutrition perspective," she added. "Not every parent will follow the same strategy with their own family, and that’s good—because it means we can learn from one another.
"So I’m curious, how do you all approach sugar consumption with your kids on Halloween? Let me know in the comments!."
She received an overwhelming response as fans thanked her for raising awareness of too much sugar and processed ingredients in food today. "Thank you for your enduring focus on children’s nutrition," wrote one, while another added: "Thank you for caring for the children."
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