Halloween & Food Allergies

For a child with food allergies, the excitement of Halloween is the same as for other children. Finding the right costume is a big deal, especially as they get a little older and trick-or-treating with friends makes it all the more fun. But this is where it can get difficult. General awareness of food allergies is still not where we need it to be and collecting sweets, many of them loose and out of their original packaging so without food labels makes it all the more unsafe.

We have heard of parents visiting homes the day before Halloween with 'safe treats' for their child and asking that these be given to them when they knock; we have heard of 'The Teal Pumpkin Project' which promotes safe treats, such as small toys and gifts rather than sweets; we have heard of children not going trick or treating because their allergies make it too unsafe; we have also heard of the stress for allergy parents who anxiously examine the bucket bounty after every door visit to see what is safe and what isn't.

For Natasha, the dressing-up part and face-painting were fun. We always made sure that before she went, she had eaten so wouldn't be hungry and we would always give her a few safe sweets to put in her pockets should she want to eat them as her friends did their collected sweets. She would collect sweets with her friends and bring them home. She would then count them and divide them up (great for her maths division practice skills) to give out to her friends in school the next day. If her little brother complained enough that he didn't have many sweets and she was feeling generous, he would get a share too. By the time she was a teenager, the novelty of Halloween had worn off. She and her friends would prefer to have a sleepover watch a film and eat homemade popcorn and I was thankful that the pressures of Halloween were in the past.

We all try to do the best for our allergic children, as parents it is our priority that they are both safe and included wherever possible. Please share in the comments how you keep your allergic children safe at this time of year. Your tips and advice may help another family.