Part of the fun of Halloween is the scare. The haunting laugh emanating from the slightly creepy decoration on your neighbors lawn can send a thrilling chill down your spine the first time you see it. For every sweet costume of a preschool television character or an adorable animal, there’s a spooky monster or villain lurking on the shelf waiting. Your streaming service has added an entire menu of horror flicks and scary things. It’s all part of the fun. Yet not everything scary this time of year is fun.
For allergy families, the increase in treats and sweets can be terrifying. The abundance of special packaging without clear ingredient labels and the classroom parties, well, it can start to feel like more trick than treat even as everyone else is having a blast. Here’s the good news: with a bit of pre-game planning and prep, your family can still enjoy Halloween’s thrills and chills without the allergy-driven fear.
When you’re barely beyond the back-to-school rush, it can feel a little too soon to see your favorite retailer flip their seasonal displays from pencils and notebooks to orange and black bags of fun-sized candy. If you’re managing food allergies, however, this is the perfect time. This means you’ve got time to research.
Carve out a little extra time at the supermarket, the big box store, and anywhere else you see Halloween treats, to read labels with your allergic child. Check everything. Those full-sized chocolate bars that are free of nuts, may be a cross-contamination risk in their fun-sized form. Read those labels again and again. Every time you see a display of treats, read the labels on them. Help your allergic child learn to identify which treats are safe and which aren’t.
Go ahead and make plans for Halloween trick or treating. Your allergic kid may not be able to eat all that they collect, but let’s be honest, the snacking is just part of the fun. Dressing up in a costume and going out with your friends is the real treat. If you’ve done your pre-game homework, your child will have an idea of some safe options they can keep an eye out for. If they’re offered a choice, they can pick the safe treats they can enjoy at home later. They’ll still end up with some candy they can’t have and that’s where your pre-game prep comes in.
Let your allergic child pick out a safe treat – edible or otherwise – that they’d enjoy. When you return from trick or treating, separate out the allergen-laden from the safe options. Swap out the ‘can’t haves’ for the alternative options you picked up ahead of time. Get creative with it. Vinyl stickers, safe snacks, bubbles, temporary tattoos, you’ve got plenty of options to make the swap worthwhile!
Classroom parties can be tough. Sure, you can send in some safe alternatives (and you should). You can also help create an opportunity for your child to have at least one thing everyone else has. If your child’s class offers the opportunity to sign up to send in treats and dishes for parties and events, go ahead and sign up for something.
Ask your child’s input. What’s one thing they’d like to share with their class? Maybe it’s their favorite allergen-friendly cookie or cupcakes. Maybe it’s bags of salty, crunchy chips or pretzels. Whatever it is, it’ll be something that the class, including your child, can have.
If your allergist has prescribed an autoinjector or nasal spray of epinephrine, it should be with your allergic child at all times. Period. End of story. It’s so important that we’re going to say it here anyway. Before you go to a holiday party, before you go trick or treating, make sure a responsible adult and your child are aware of where the epinephrine is and how to use it. It should be readily accessible by people prepared to use it.
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