Halloween can be a massive lolly fest. Children come home from trick-or-treating ready to dig into a sackful of lollies and chocolate bars.

This is enormous fun on paper. But it can also be stressful as parents navigate how many lollies are OK amid kids’ excitement.

Here are some ways to make it healthier for kids, without taking away the fun.

What about a night off?

For those already planning a big lolly-filled Halloween, rest assured one big night of eating lollies is not going to have a lasting impact on a child’s health.

However, regular consumption of lollies and sweets is linked to dental decay and erosion and may contribute to childhood obesity. So it is best to limit sweets to special occasions rather than every day.

The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating recommends children can have have up to one to three serves of discretionary foods per day, depending on their age and gender. The serves can increase for teenage boys.

Discretionary foods are not needed for a healthy diet and include lollies, as well as other common foods like soft drink, fried foods, sweet biscuits and pastries.

Reducing the sugar load

For those looking to make Halloween a bit........

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