How to Safely Trick or Treat When Your Child Has Food Allergies — Cloud Nine Birth Services | Birth Doula Services | Postpartum Doula Services
In our family, both of my children have allergies and sensitivities to certain foods. When we realized this, we adopted a very strict diet to prevent them from eating foods that could make them sick or cause a reaction. As our first Halloween post diet approaches, I worry that they will get candy or treats that will cause them to react and wonder if we should skip trick-or-treating altogether. I felt conflicted because I loved this tradition as a child and wanted to enjoy it with my own children. I also worry that they are missing out on conversations and fun times with their peers.
Over the years, we’ve learned a few tricks to help our kids with food allergies have a fun and safe Halloween. I’m going to share with you some of our favorite resources and techniques for enjoying Halloween with our kiddos. If your kids don’t have food allergies – this post is for you too! One in 13 children has a food allergy! Your awareness can help these kids stay safe and participate in the fun of trick-or-treating too!
Since our boys love to go trick-or-treating with their friends and, we can’t help them collect candy, we decided to use candy to help them earn something more exciting. We turn it into a game so they get as excited about getting candy as their friends. Each piece of candy becomes worth 5 cents, 10 cents, or 25 cents, depending on the size. At the end of the night, my kids love to throw out their Halloween candy and count how much they earned. Most years they don’t exceed $10-1$15 worth of candy. Then they exchange the theft for money. In years past, we took them to the store the day after Halloween so they could buy a toy with the money they earned trick-or-treating. Last year, we estimated how much they would earn, and they bought the toys (without the boys knowing) so they could immediately exchange their candy for the toy they just saw. It worked well for my kids. In our case, there really isn’t any candy that will be safe for them, and I’m not too worried that they’ll sneak out because, in this game, every piece counts!
