How to keep children with allergies safe this Halloween
Posted: 30th October 2019 | Posted by Costa
How to keep children with allergies safe this Halloween
It’s easy to underestimate how life-changing allergies can be. Their impact can range from simple inconvenience to fatality. And as a parent nothing can be more worrying than an allergy condition in your child. Allergies can cause children to miss out on exciting parts of childhood that their allergy-free friends may love. Sleepovers, birthday parties, and as Halloween comes around, trick-or-treating.
The Teal Pumpkin Project
For some children, all it takes is one sweet to trigger a life-threatening allergic reaction. The Teal Pumpkin Project was started in the US by Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE). It has since spread across the Atlantic to help children with allergies enjoy the magic of Halloween.
A teal pumpkin on a doorstep or on display in a window means the household is offering non-food Halloween treats like glow sticks, stationary, or small toys. All you need to do is get a real or false pumpkin and paint it teal if you want to participate.
Tips for an amazing allergy-free Halloween
There are plenty of things you can do to make Halloween more inclusive for children with allergies, like:
- Adding your name to the Teal Pumpkin Project participation map
- Getting the children involved in creating teal pumpkins
- Getting your hands on some great food-free trick-or-treat items
If you need some ideas, you could buy some spooky toys, stationery, beads, glow sticks, stickers, temporary tattoos, masks, or any other fun items you find in your local pound shop. You can even make your own gifts like Halloween rock monsters.
There are also steps you can take to minimise the chances of your child coming into contact with an allergen. For example:
- Making gloves a part of their Halloween costume so they’re not putting their hands directly into contact with allergens
- You can avoid trick-or-treating, instead involving children in decorating the house to be as spooky as possible
- Have them take part by handing out non-food items to trick-or-treaters who come knocking
- At the end of the night, go through your child’s sweets and remove anything that is unsafe, trading them for a toy instead.
No child should have to miss out on fun events because of their allergies. As the world becomes more educated about allergy dangers, solutions like the Teal Pumpkin Project are becoming more popular and inclusive. We hope you have a safe, happy Halloween!
If yours or your child’s allergies are taking a toll on your quality of life, it’s important to seek expert advice. The consultants at the London Allergy and Immunology Centre use the most advanced tests and treatments to get you back on track. You can book an appointment here or call us on 0207 034 8098.