How do you deal with Halloween, more precisely all the chocolate and candy dished out on Halloween, if you or your children have a nut/peanut allergy?
I'm not even handing out chocolate this year because I don't want any of it in my house. Granted, here in the UK, Halloween isn't as big of a deal as in the US, so it's pretty easy to avoid.
Do you provide your children with safe treats instead of them going around collecting a plastic pumpkin shaped bucket full of deadly chocolate?
Pen
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Hi Pen,
This is by far the scariest time of year. We don't want the kids not to enjoy walking from house to house but we have given them strict instructions not to eat anything. Some parents with Kids with a PA don;t even let their kids touch any candy even if it is in a wrapper. We have thought about that but overall we have not run into any problems. We also keep a safe list for halloween candies that we can keep in the house.
But I do hear you. This is the worst time of year even though it is supposed to be fun.
This is an important topic. Thanks for bringing it up Pen. What do kids, and even adults, do during a candy and chocolate heavy holiday? I would never want to keep kids from such a holiday because of their allergy but there are ways to keep them safe. Like BD said, I think letting them go door-to-door trick or treating with friends is totally fine, as long as they don't eat the candy. I just read an article on Daily Mail yesterday where a dad went to all of his neighbors who he knows and gave them special candy for his child because they have a peanut allergy. So when his child arrives at neighbors' homes they'll feel like all the other children. I think kids with allergies can feel alienated so this is a way to keep feeling like part of something fun. As far as adults go I always order my candies and chocolates online from a trusted online store that only specializes in nut free and peanut free candies and chocolates.
Last year, our allergist told us that my 6 year old son could not collect candy during trick or treating. A mixed bowl of candy could have an open Reese’s (for example) and if he touched it and then touched his mouth or eye, we would be going to the emergency room. Even if the candy is peanut free, you never can be certain that the child before you didn’t just stick his peanut butter covered hand into the bowl. This news was a shock and certainly very eye opening about the severity of his allergy. My son was an incredibly good sport about it. He went around in his ‘Karate Kid’ costume to wow all our neighbors... and didn’t collect any candy. At the end of the night, he received a special set of Hot Wheels cars. He was ecstatic. You can have fun on Halloween! Stay safe all!
I agree with you on that FLgirl. You're 100% right. Any of the wrong candy getting mixed in and accidentally sitting in the candy bowl open, that freaks me out. I have always steered clear of all Halloween candy, it's not worth the risk.
Thanks for the feedback everyone.
Love your solution to the problem sunshinestate. What a great idea! And FLgirl, I'm impressed with your son. How awesome!
I'm now off to Google nut free chocolate suppliers. ;)
Pen
I would go trick-or-treating with my parents when I was younger and even as a teen. I would pick candies out of the bowl, put them in a bag and then when I'd get home my parents would give me my own peanut-free candies in a fun bag so I could feel like I was part of the holiday. FLgirl I think that it's always better to be safe than sorry. You have such an amazing son that's so accepting of his allergies and has such a good attitude about Halloween. I also love that you reward him with hot wheel cars. That's so fun!