Halloween concerns

I heard about other parents buying the exact same bag and switching it when their kids got home from trick or treating.
I figured, why bother?

I told my dd that the treats she collected were not safe for her to eat.

Since I only gave out nut-free treats, I had lots left over. I gave her a whole new bag of candy. She didn't care it was in a different container - she only wanted candy.

She's now 7. The last couple of years she tells people she's allergic to peanuts and asks if it has peanuts or peanut butter in them. If they say yes, she refuses it.

Hope this helps

Last year when my ds was just 3, I stocked about 10 packaged matchbox cars in my pocket. When we went to the doors, I'd hand them one behind his back and ask them to drop it in the bag. He was thrilled to get the cars! This year I'll probably go ahead of time since he'd catch on! Eventually I'll swap out the unsafe candy when we get home.

You can definitely find a way to make it safe for them. It's so much fun for kids that I hate the thought of taking it away from them.

Good luck!

I let my son go trick or treating as usual. But when he gets to the door he says "Trick or treat, no nuts please!" This way he has a better chance of getting safe candy. A lot of my neighbors know about his allergy and are great. When he gets home, we go thru his bag, and trade the unsafe candy with a stash of safe candy on the counter. It gives him a good idea of what's not safe for him. And he gets to pick from his favorites.

I have 2 boys, 6 and 3 1/2, neither have ever been trick or treating -- and so far haven't minded. They get dressed up, get to pass out the candy and see everyone else's costumes -- and of course, get to have a whole bunch of safe treats here. We usually do our own trick or treating -- like a game, with one of us waiting behind doors in our house to put candy in bags for them. (My husband just walked in, and I told him what I was commenting on, apparently our older son said he doesn't want to trick or treat because there could be nuts.) Though I would like our kids to be able to do the things we traditionally did, I now am just trying to make our own traditions, especially when it comes to holidays, so things can be safe.

We go out like everyone else. If he gets an actual peanut product (like pb cups)I take them and put them in a diffent bag so it doesn't get all the other candy smelling like p.b. Otherwise it all goes into his bucket. When we get home, I take out the unsafe candy and pass it out to others who trick-or-treat at our house and he, of course, can have the safe candy that I've purchased.

Emily goes trick or treating, then all the candy goes on the fireplace for the good "fairy" or "witch" to pick up.

The good witch leaves Em some books, or one year a stuffed animal.

Em enjoys it. Thankfully my daughter is not too much of a candy kid. She used to think that ALL candy had peanuts.

mommysamuels, I just re-raised a Hallowe'en thread that's been running for five years now where a few people have shared their Hallowe'en stories that I thought might be helpful to you in making your decision for this year, your first year dealing with PA.

It was my guy's first Hallowe'en going out that we had to deal with PA. He was almost two years old. I guess because of the diagnosis we *could* have waited another year and tried to figure it out then, but even the first year, things went well.

Anyway, hope other people's stories, some complete with precautions and suggestions help.

Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

Thank you all for your responses, CSC thank you for re raising the post for me...I never think to do a search.

My mom brought up a concern about the "kitkat/smarties" safe to share individual boxes. There are no lables on the small boxes, only the outside bags/box. Are all those sizes considered safe?

I don't go trick and treating but i'm allowed to go to the shops with about

I LOVE THIS ONE:

When in doubt -- throw it out!

Last year my son was not yet 2 and we went to a few houses (4-5 I guess). When we got home I swapped out his bag for safe candy and treats. The neighbor right next door was so nice and made up a bag of safe things for both the kids. This year I think I will do the same thing. My kids are so used to being told what they can and cant have that he doesnt mind. They do enjoy walking around from house to house though in their costumes. My PA son really isnt all into treats although he likes a few. After a couple bites he moves on. They dont expect much. Since my son has milk and soy allergies as well he couldnt eat anything we got at others houses except the neighbor that purposfully made up a treat bag... and it had lots of little toys too.

------------------
Lalow
James 3yrs, NKA
Ben 2 yrs, PA and MA and SA

We have always switched the bags with other safe candy, but then that gives you twice as much candy in your house. So this year we plan on buying the peanut candy and/or unknown stuff from the kids, and giving them a few dollars to spend at the dollar store. They are thrilled with the idea. We'll see how it goes......

Quote:Originally posted by mommysamuels:
[b]My mom brought up a concern about the "kitkat/smarties" safe to share individual boxes. There are no lables on the small boxes, only the outside bags/box. Are all those sizes considered safe?[/b]

mommysamuels - the snack sized bars I have at home (Nestle) have ingredients listed on the back of the individual boxes (the kind in the "peanut free" bags). Personally, though, I wouldn't eat any without a label, as Nestle makes some bars that contain peanut butter.

Thank you happycat...I never noticed the bars themselves having the ingredients listed but I will definately look for them. Thank you [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

From what I understand, (and I did call Nestle last year) Nestle will always label if there is a risk. I have never seen a miniture box of regular smarties, kitkat, areo and coffee crisp that is not PA safe.

Ali

We too replace DD's unsafe candy with safe candy that I've set aside from what we give out. We have DD go trick or treating early (she's 4). I then "regift" the unsafe candy to the kids who come to our door or bring it into work so that it doesn't go to waste. We also give DD a present from the Halloween witch.

I have a deal w/ my son. He gets to trick or treat, then afterwards we go through his bag and he trades everything w/ peanuts in it for safe candy i have purchases. This works great for him and he doesnt feel cheated - since he leaves w/ same amount he came home with (just peanut free!).

Of course, his very protective cousin still chose to tell every house that her cousin was allergic....

For those of you that take out the unsafe candy and let your child eat the safe candy from the bag-do you worry about cross contamination from the other bars? For example, the mini reese's cups are just wrapped in a foil wrapper and they aren't always completely wrapped. What if one of those touches the packaging of a 'safe' candy? Or what if a mini snickers or something has a package that is broken open in a spot and you didn't notice it?

I'm thinking of letting my kids go trick or treating beyond what we normally do but I'm afraid I'd have to throw out the entire bag in order to feel they're completely safe.

------------------
==============
[b]~Gale~[/b]

Well my daughter is 14 this year so she is just about done with the trick or treat stage, but here is how we did it. We'd go back to our old neighborhood (300 houses and close together!) and she'd trick or treat with her friends. When she was done she passed out the candy she got to her friends (depending on what they liked) and we would give her trick or treat candy that we had purchased a few days before. She loved the experience and she got good candy too.

Susan

Last year's experience was quite upsetting for Jessica who had just turned 3. She was so excited to go trick-or-treating but none of us (hubby, me or her) were prepared for how little she could eat. There was exactly *one* item that she could eat. Everything else had nuts, were may contains or insufficiently labeled.

The one neighbor with safe candy had Starbursts & Smarties, & we traded some candy with her. Then the rest went into a bag for the Great Pumpkin & we left it outside. Then the same neighbor got the bag & left another with presents for Jessica (that we made for her), rang our bell & ran.

She enjoyed the presents, but she was really affected by the initial disappointment. All of us understood that she wouldn't be able to eat everything, but we thought she would have a few things. And she is very observant, so we couldn't just trade her bag for a similar bag with safe treats. She asked about several items. "What about the square one in the orange wrapper, is that safe?" It was heartbreaking. There was one particular gummy-like candy made in England that I just couldn't find any information about. For days she kept asking me if I found out whether it was safe. I finally told her 'no.' This year, I am not researching anything. If it's not a company I know, then I will assume it is not safe & just tell her so at the beginning.

This year I will give some of the neighbors a special treat for her.

------------------
Ellen
Allergic to Shellfish/ Mom to Jesse 9/01 who has PA

Sometimes I just want to say "blah blah blah blah blah."

[This message has been edited by ElleMo (edited October 04, 2005).]

Gale, all I can say is for us, that has not been a problem. I never allow any Halloween candy to be consumed that is not well wrapped. Up until this year, I think I likely was the one unwrapping too.

For some, if there had been a poorly wrapped PB item in the bag, the traces might pose a problem. I guess, I go through the bag, and I have not run across a poorly wrapped treat like that. Usually, the candies are the larger snack size, not the foiled minis.

becca