Some people just offer the bucket for the kid to grab from. I think it’s about 50/50 in our neighborhood.

But aside from that, people have a REALLY difficult time understanding the kind of precautions needed when navigating a food allergy. It’s the kind of thing you don’t really understand until you, or in my case my baby, will live or could die based on how well that you understand what needs done. (An aside here, that parents know how sensitive their child is and how severe the allergy is, so no shaming here for parents who tolerate more exposure than I do!)

So pretend for a second that it isn’t candy, but instead is something else a child can’t have like loose adult Tylenol! You probably wouldn’t want your two year old or three year old walking around with a bag of loose Tylenol. Because god forbid they put one in their mouth! And that panic you would feel if you saw your baby holding an open container of adult Tylenol is how I would feel finding my son with his hand in a bag full of tootsie rolls!

Now you might really trust that you’ve taught your child not to put a pill in their mouth, and someday it’s going to be up to them to act in a safe way without you there. But three is not the age you would trust them to carry some pills around the neighborhood in the dark when it’s busy and it only takes one to cause a big big problem.

Totally could, but the thing to be aware of is that if your hands are in/around your mouth, then your gloves are too! For little kids it doesn’t help a whole lot, although for older children, gloves is an extra excellent option when dealing with foods they can’t have. For example, my son has eczema as well (often accompanies food allergies). And when he’s a little older some of the stuff that’s too harsh on his hands now will probably be the type of thing he can handle with gloves on (specifically like scented play dough and scented sands.)

This is so sweet!! I’m sure it’s appreciated by the parents too!

I’m glad she still gets to participate! People who are lucky enough to not have to worry about safely doing regular kid stuff can’t imagine how good it feels when your kid who needs a little extra care is able to experience something that healthy kids get to do all the time!

Unfortunately, even touching the candy can cause an allergic reaction (usually hives). So there’s no point in him touching the candy and taking it only for it to be swapped later; it’s really just an unnecessary risk.

Now every person is different and some are more sensitive and some are less, and every allergy is different even. He could pick up a wheat cracker and not have any problem at all (wheat allergy), but if he touched anything with dairy, nuts, or soy, he would likely break out in hives.

Also, older kids are easier to work with on this stuff. My son turned three a few weeks ago, so we’re still in the hands on the face, around the mouth phase. Just not worth the risk of him having allergens on his hands.

But this tip is really for parents with kids who have food allergies. They know how severe the allergy is, and for some who would avoid the holiday altogether because of a severe allergy, this is one way their kid can participate.

That’s sweet though! I might do that when he’s a little bigger and can understand the swap is coming.

We have some non native English speakers in our neighborhood as well and it’s never been an issue! Usually I just smile, give them a price of candy and say it is for this little boy (who’s standing with his dad at the end of the drive way). Everyone has understood and is happy to give it to him and he’s so happy to get it too! And the response from our community has always been really positive because they see the work we put in to make sure he gets to experience trick or treating like the other kids.

As far as picking through the candy something he can have, you have to keep a couple things in mind. One, it isn’t safe for him to be touching candy wrappers that might have nuts, dairy, or other allergens. And two, it wouldn’t be safe to give him candy that isn’t individually labeled. So for example, if amount the tootsie rolls are some starbursts, I wouldn’t feel comfortable with him rooting around for the starburst and touching the chocolate in the process. And then, even though in the past he’s been able to have starbursts, I wouldn’t give him one without reading the label (which is on the big bag, not the individual pieces). You would be absolutely shocked by how often we encounter ingredients that are different from one month to the next, or different for different sizes, or made in different facilities, etc. Better safe than sorry!!

And while we’re a little less on guard in our own home, out in the neighborhood, away from our vehicle, is not the time to experience a life threatening allergic reaction! We carry medicine with us, but it’s still nerve wracking with a small child.

There are definitely some houses that do this and it’s always nice to see!! Most don’t though. Being tapped into the food allergy community because of my son, this is the time of year I start seeing people urging their communities to offer allergy friendly treats. Personally, I like to have my own as a backup, and when a family says they have stickers or something, I thank them and he comes out picks from what they have (which is more fun for him for sure!) But having our own treats is a good way of insuring a toddler has a great night with lots of fun memories with his sister, and doesn’t get frustrated by a lack of options if there aren’t any for him.

I’ll check that out! Thanks :)

Allergies AND braces! That’s a tough combo for candy!!

Ours asks ‘billy food?’ Or ‘Gaga food?’ (That’s what he calls his sister) since he was around two. So he’s definitely figuring it out! We’re lucky that so far we’ve found a pretty close food for everything he can’t have -except for pizza really.

I like the idea of him doing a buy back at some point! We actually did something similar to that with his sister where she sat out the candy and it was switched for a toy just so she wouldn’t have so much candy. He seems to have gotten a bit more sensitive lately though so I don’t like the idea of him putting his hand into the bowl with other candy and touching allergens. But I would love for him to be able to hunt around for a starburst one day!

Yay! It feels good when they understand and don’t seem like they’re feeling are hurt by it. :) He turned three a couple weeks ago and he has the language now to talk about it more.

There’s one niche store that sells special bread he can have and we make a whole trip out of going and shopping for special foods he can have (usually sauces and stuff to dress up chicken/veggies/ rice). He loves it! And he tells everyone in the store he’s there for ‘billy bread!’

We actually just watched that Daniel Tiger episode with him! Our little guy has a whole bunch of allergies at the moment (hoping he grows out of at least a couple!). But we’re so lucky that he’s an incredibly good eater and up for anything when it comes to food. It makes it a lot easier find foods for him knowing he’s easy to make happy!

Absolutely. And even at three he has a developing understanding of ‘safe’ and ‘unsafe’ foods for him. But it is very hard for people to understand who don’t deal with it, you absolutely have to read the label. You can never give a kid with allergies unlabeled foods, even if they’ve had the food before. Halloween candy is usually not individually labeled, which is why we buy our own.

Sure, knowing how to differentiate between safe and unsafe foods is important to teach a child with allergies. You certainly cannot do that before you’re old enough to read food labels though. And Halloween candy is usually not individually labeled anyway, it’s sold in large bags, with the ingredients listed on the larger bag, but not on the individual pieces of candy. Plus, even something typically safe, becomes unsafe if it is served in a large bowl of other allergy containing treats.

Also, how do you propose that a two or three year old pick candy out in the first place? It’s not like he can stick his hand in the bowl of foods he’s allergic to.

Also, I think you mean coddle and not cuddle. ‘Coddle’ means to treat in an indulgent or overprotective way. To be overprotective you have to be protecting the child in a way that is excessive or unnecessary given the situation. Since a child with food allergies can die from coming in contact with their allergen, and since a three year old cannot read for themselves, it is not overprotective to provide them with allergy friendly foods until they have the skills and maturity to pick out their own foods.

And lastly one of the absolute worst things you can do for a child with food allergies is train them to eat familiar looking foods or go off of the picture or look of the food since similar foods can have different ingredients and even the same food processed in different facilities can have different ingredients. You want to teach them instead to never accept food that was not given to them by a trusted adult who knows their allergies.

Please consider removing the identifying information for the minor girl. It may seem harmless, but including such detailed information about her parents, where she moved from, and her whole situation could lead to someone recognizing her and is a violation of privacy. I’m sure you will get excellent feedback with less details.

And thank you for trying to get this child in school!