On Halloween, parents of food-allergic children must be extra vigilant to ensure their child is not at risk of a reaction. The AAAAI offers these tips for creating a safe Halloween for food-allergic children:
- Accompany younger children as they trick-or-treat and send older children out with a group of friends. Don’t allow your child to trick-or-treat alone.
- Verify that adults or friends with your child understand his or her food allergies and what to do in an emergency.
- Make sure your child carries emergency medication along while trick-or-treating.
- Remember that small candy bars passed out to trick-or-treaters may have different ingredients than their regular-size counterparts. Even if a certain candy is safe for your child, the ‘fun size’ version might not be.
- Carefully check all treats’ ingredients on packages or company websites to ensure there is no risk for a reaction.
- If in doubt about ingredients, throw the candy away.
- Work with your child’s teacher to plan a school party involving non-food treats, such as stickers or novelty erasers.
- Instead of trick-or-treating, host a party that focuses on costumes, pumpkin carving, games and other Halloween-themed fun.
- Create a “candy swap” with siblings or friends so that allergen-containing candies can be traded for other, safe, treats.
- Teach your child to politely refuse offers of home-baked goodies like cookies or cupcakes
Original Article from AAAAI
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