Here comes Halloween this weekend, and nothing is scarier than the potential for those sweet little treats causing an awful reaction and yet another ER visit, not to mention a very sad and sick little one! But there are, of course, many fun ways to celebrate with your little one, no matter what the age and no matter what the limitations!
I'll start with what we are doing this year. B is 19 months old and has about 10 safe foods; she reacts to several foods and we are avoiding several others. We are going to four houses in the neighborhood-- our immediate neighbors. I am preparing treat bags in advance and asking each neighbor to give out the specific bag for B, so that everything that goes into her treat bag, she can eat. I am making arrowroot cut-out cookies (possibly with frosting) in Halloween shapes, making little ziploc baggies of freeze dried fruit pieces, and including some non food items, such as stickers and spider rings. I am also throwing in some smarties! Keeping our route limited to people we know will ensure that B gets safe treats (predelivered by mama!) and doesn't get overwhelmed by too many unfamiliar faces. And she will be included in the holiday!
Here are 10 ways to celebrate Halloween with your PI baby/toddler/ child.
1. For an older child with multiple food allergies/intolerances, celebrate with your own party. By making the foods yourself, you have more control over what he/she is exposed to.
2. For those under a year old, see if there are any Halloween parades in your area (simply little ones parading down the street in their costumes-- nothing big). Load him/her up in a wagon, all dressed up in a Halloween costume, and start the parade. He/she will love watching all of the other kids, you can get some cute pictures, and parades like these are quick ways to celebrate and still be home for bed. Or organize your own parade!
3. For your toddler, maybe you are ready to venture to a few houses for trick or treating. You can deliver treat bags ahead of time, as we are doing with B this year, or if your little one has few food triggers, he/she is still young enough that you could easily “weed out” the unsafe candy from his/her bag without your little one really noticing much.
4. If you are only taking your little one to family or close friends' homes, you could ask that they only give out non-food treats-- stickers, plastic rings, pencils, etc
5. If you belong to a support group of other families with PI kiddos, orgnaize an “allergy free” fun night-- you can arrange a “menu” with the other parents. Even if not all of the foods are safe for all of the kids, there will be other parents knowledgeable about food allergies to keep an extra eye out for the kids.
6. Have a family night-- a Halloween movie marathon. You can make this appropriate for any age.
7. If your little one reacts to pumpkins, you can buy craft pumpkins at Michaels and other craft stores. They carve up even better than the real thing!
8. You could have a “food free” party with plenty to do--- painting pumpkins, mask making, games of flashlight tag, movie marathons, and simply dancing to Halloween music (monster mash, anyone?)
9. For a younger child, dress him/her up and have your little one help you give out candy. Make sure to have special Halloween treats for them nearby, even if the only thing you do is to add food coloring to make his/her applesauce orange!
10. Spend an afternoon making safe, homemade goodies with your little ones. Buy or make special Halloween dishes to serve the treats on later that evening while reading spooky (or silly!) Halloween books by flashlight.
Some bagged candies that tend to be safe for MOST kids include smarties and many listed here: http://www.econaturalsolutions.com/site/704463/page/308658
http://www.avoidingmilkprotein.com/candy.htm"http://www.avoidingmilkprotein.com/candy.htm,
http://allergicliving.com/index.php/2010/10/02/food-allergy-allergy-safe-candies-treats/
Of course, always do your own research when in doubt. We want our kids to have fun and to be safe! And finally, here are some links to allergy-friendly recipes for treats. Nomatter how you choose to celebrate, have fun, be safe, and take lots of picture of those little dressed up cuties!
http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/resourcespre.php?id=119&title=allergy_free_halloween_recipes
http://babybeesfpiestestkitchen.blogspot.com/
http://www.livingwithout.com/
http://foodallergies.about.com/od/multiallergenfreerecipes/tp/Allergy-Free-Halloween-Recipes.htm
I'll start with what we are doing this year. B is 19 months old and has about 10 safe foods; she reacts to several foods and we are avoiding several others. We are going to four houses in the neighborhood-- our immediate neighbors. I am preparing treat bags in advance and asking each neighbor to give out the specific bag for B, so that everything that goes into her treat bag, she can eat. I am making arrowroot cut-out cookies (possibly with frosting) in Halloween shapes, making little ziploc baggies of freeze dried fruit pieces, and including some non food items, such as stickers and spider rings. I am also throwing in some smarties! Keeping our route limited to people we know will ensure that B gets safe treats (predelivered by mama!) and doesn't get overwhelmed by too many unfamiliar faces. And she will be included in the holiday!
Here are 10 ways to celebrate Halloween with your PI baby/toddler/ child.
1. For an older child with multiple food allergies/intolerances, celebrate with your own party. By making the foods yourself, you have more control over what he/she is exposed to.
2. For those under a year old, see if there are any Halloween parades in your area (simply little ones parading down the street in their costumes-- nothing big). Load him/her up in a wagon, all dressed up in a Halloween costume, and start the parade. He/she will love watching all of the other kids, you can get some cute pictures, and parades like these are quick ways to celebrate and still be home for bed. Or organize your own parade!
3. For your toddler, maybe you are ready to venture to a few houses for trick or treating. You can deliver treat bags ahead of time, as we are doing with B this year, or if your little one has few food triggers, he/she is still young enough that you could easily “weed out” the unsafe candy from his/her bag without your little one really noticing much.
4. If you are only taking your little one to family or close friends' homes, you could ask that they only give out non-food treats-- stickers, plastic rings, pencils, etc
5. If you belong to a support group of other families with PI kiddos, orgnaize an “allergy free” fun night-- you can arrange a “menu” with the other parents. Even if not all of the foods are safe for all of the kids, there will be other parents knowledgeable about food allergies to keep an extra eye out for the kids.
6. Have a family night-- a Halloween movie marathon. You can make this appropriate for any age.
7. If your little one reacts to pumpkins, you can buy craft pumpkins at Michaels and other craft stores. They carve up even better than the real thing!
8. You could have a “food free” party with plenty to do--- painting pumpkins, mask making, games of flashlight tag, movie marathons, and simply dancing to Halloween music (monster mash, anyone?)
9. For a younger child, dress him/her up and have your little one help you give out candy. Make sure to have special Halloween treats for them nearby, even if the only thing you do is to add food coloring to make his/her applesauce orange!
10. Spend an afternoon making safe, homemade goodies with your little ones. Buy or make special Halloween dishes to serve the treats on later that evening while reading spooky (or silly!) Halloween books by flashlight.
Some bagged candies that tend to be safe for MOST kids include smarties and many listed here: http://www.econaturalsolutions.com/site/704463/page/308658
http://www.avoidingmilkprotein.com/candy.htm"http://www.avoidingmilkprotein.com/candy.htm,
http://allergicliving.com/index.php/2010/10/02/food-allergy-allergy-safe-candies-treats/
Of course, always do your own research when in doubt. We want our kids to have fun and to be safe! And finally, here are some links to allergy-friendly recipes for treats. Nomatter how you choose to celebrate, have fun, be safe, and take lots of picture of those little dressed up cuties!
http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/resourcespre.php?id=119&title=allergy_free_halloween_recipes
http://babybeesfpiestestkitchen.blogspot.com/
http://www.livingwithout.com/
http://foodallergies.about.com/od/multiallergenfreerecipes/tp/Allergy-Free-Halloween-Recipes.htm
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