Dayna Galloway - Halloween Trick or Treating

Dayna Galloway from The Parenting Place was back with thoughts on Halloween trick or treating 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Happy Halloween, Dana Galloway. It's always fun to catch up
with you from the parenting place if you stocked up
for some trickle treaters that may come knocking tonight.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
One year, I had been given a whole bunch of
kids books and I just put those out yourself, and
he was so embarrassed, so brilliant.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
No, that's the trick. I really want to go to
the effort of unwrapping chocolates like say roses, and then
wrapping like Brussels sprouts or grapes in the foil and
having that at the door. You trying to get.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Kids to have to sit with disappointment and go through that.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
Are you I get a real kick out of that. Yeah. Now,
I'm not a fan of this Halloween business at all.
Wife Amber, though she loves it. What are the considerations here?

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Halloween isn't essential. It's not essential for a great childhood.
I don't think you know, in someone's bodies they're going
to look back and go, life would have been so
much better.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
Well, I never had it, But then they saying that
I grew up rurally. So if you wanted to go
trick or treating out at Mayfield Farm, you had to
work for it.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
It's a bit of a trick on you. But you know,
I've got an eight year old, I've got a six
year old, and i might not be a huge fan
of Halloween, but I'm a huge fan of having some
family fun and creating memories. So we have a local
church that puts on a big party. They have bouncy castles,
they have activities, dress up, some fun and it's a
safe space. And we don't go to that church, but
it's something in our community that becomes a bit of

(01:21):
a highlight. A lot of the local kids and schools
go there. So that's in our calendar, and as our
kids have gotten and older, we actually walk to it
and we know three families along the way that we
feel comfortable with. We talk to our kids before we go.
We say we are going to stop in these three places,
and we have a bit of a game plan and
that works well for our families. So I think the

(01:41):
place you need to start at is, well, what do
you feel comfortable with? You know some Facebook pages they
say we're going to put balloons out, or we're going
to do this particular thing if we're pathaking. So it's
seeing how old, your kids are what you feel comfortable with,
and then coming up with a bit of a plan
and seeing what is happening if you do want to
do something, And then if you're going to get Lolly's,

(02:04):
you know what's our plan with Lolly's? Do we just
get Lollie's that are field? You know how many lollies
will we have tonight? Having those expectations and nine two
if is a bit of sugar, there's going to do
a few mountdowns. So you've got to be a bit
down with that as well.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
Oh man, that's what I would read the most for.
I have a panic attack when we're at the cafe
and the barista by and the counter sees he go, Elise,
you can have an extra couple of marshmallows. I think, no,
she doesn't need that. Oh my goodness. Plus I remember
not to sort of take it too much of a
grim turn here. But there was that new story a
couple of months back about that naughty substance being dressed

(02:40):
up as Lolly's in Auckland and making kids sick, And
now I don't know, that's just that's just stuck with me.
It's really blind to trust here, you know.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
Yeah, yeah. And my mum grows in Canada and some
of the stories she shared with me around Halloween. You know,
that's why we didn't do it when I was younger,
because of some of the extreme things that she had seen.
And I think, you know, that's why for our family
we go to three houses. Will we know the people? Yeah,
because of things like that that you've brought up. I

(03:09):
think too, like the New Zealand Police Day gave out
a bit of a warning last year and they said,
you know, make sure you're talking to your kids about
what would you do if someone said, hey, the candies inside,
come I get it in here?

Speaker 1 (03:19):
Oh?

Speaker 2 (03:20):
Yeah, you know what I mean. Like, these are the
things and that's why if we're going to go out,
we're going out of the family and we're together. But
I think you've really got to have some of these conversations,
and some of them are hard conversation.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
Just to furnish. I guess, Dania Galloway, if there's one
thing that I would be horrified more than my kid
eating their own weight in candy is finding out that
my kid was the one that went to somebody's door
and say, you know, a bucket sitting at the mailbox
and they're the one taking fist falls. How do you
instill that sort of respect because we all know those

(03:52):
kids that just take the mickey and you think.

Speaker 2 (03:55):
Oh, do you know there's so many videos of adults.
Actually it's some of the peer it's with the kids
wiling up their pockets and I think, oh, I'd be
so embarrassed with nail.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
To be fair, you've probably struck the nail on the
head there.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
Yeah, I think again, this is the talk you have
before you go out. If that's what you choose you
do as a family to go trick to treating or
go into a few houses of people, you know. And
I won't say make sure you say thank you. I'll say, hey,
when you get a lolly, what should we do? So
I'm putting it to my kids, and so if they're
finding the answers, I wish you say thank you. Yeah,
that's really great. I really love when I see you

(04:30):
guys saying thank you. I'm using your manners. So just
putting the power to them and we model as well.
You know, if they forget, then you can if you're
behind their head, thanks and then they'll be like, oh
that's right, that's right. Thanks. It's the excitement of the
lollies that we can kind of give them the nudge