With Halloween just two days away, the topic of conversation in our household has been candy, and how we don’t need to go crazy over sugar on Tuesday. Over the years, we’ve agreed to enjoy the fun of Halloween and let our kids indulge a few pieces of their favorite candy, but everything else they collect is getting put away in a jar or thrown out.

My kids have always understood this and don’t appear to have a problem with it, but this has been the first year that my son has connected Halloween candy with his overall health. My son told me yesterday that he was going to live 10 years less than I was. This statement surprised me so I asked him to explain.

He told me he learned in his health class (he’s in 7th grade now) that his generation was going to live ten years less than their parents because of dietary lifestyle choices. He even said Halloween was an example of a contributing factor because the entire idea of going around and gathering as much candy as one can is counterproductive to overall good health.

It was exciting to see my 12-year-old son connecting the dots and realizing every dietary decision he makes impacts his overall health, but I was also sad to hear him talk about his generation living 10 years less than ours.

My parents, and their parents, and so on, did not have access to fast food on every corner and processed food in every isle. Nowadays, it’s easier to grab a happy meal and score a toy along the way than it is to eat a freshly picked apple. Convenience has replaced healthy, and fast has replaced earned.

That’s just unacceptable. With all of the knowledge we have, with all of the medicine and technology, and with all of the examples we’ve been given, our kids are going to live significantly shorter lives than us, unless we do something about it.

I asked him what we could do about it. He said the answer was very simple; we just need to make better choices.

Then I asked him if he thought his generation could do that. He said he hoped so, but he didn’t think they would because it’s too easy not too.

I asked him if he thought he could. He said yes.

I told him that’s the most important thing he could do. Decide for yourself that you want to make good choices, learn as much as you can about it, and then enjoy doing so. At that moment, I realized that as much as I want my son to make good choices, if he’s not taught how to do so or given examples to follow, how could I expect him to?

We should not be okay with this. Our kids should not live shorter lives because we aren’t taking the time to teach them to make healthy lifestyle choices. I’m not going to be a part of this problem, I’m going to be a part of this solution.

I invite you to do the same.

Cheers.