Halloween is all kinds of scary this year. But ghosts, goblins, witches, and spiders don’t fill me with fright. This year it’s Snickers bars and peanut butter cups that petrify me.
October 31 falls just about six months after we found out my youngest daughter is allergic to tree nuts, peanuts, and sesame. Talk about a different lens this time around.
For years, my older (allergy-free) daughter has been dressing up and trick-or-treating under the assumption that we are collecting candy for children who don’t have the opportunity to eat candy. I figured, she was 3 years old — why does she need all that candy? Even more, why does she need any? We strive to be healthy and eat minimal sugar and little candy. I wanted to make Halloween a holiday where we dressed up, saw the neighbors, and then came home to a homemade sweet treat. I worried about the candy — the sugar, for one, the amount of unnecessary sweets for my growing girl, and even worse, so much high fructose corn syrup and GMOs in low-quality and nutrient-empty candy.
Then motherhood just sucker punched me, as it does. This year, with food allergies, Halloween scares me in a whole new way. All I want in the world is for my daughters to experience trick-or-treating and the delight in dressing up. We will continue our tradition of collecting candy for children who cannot trick-or-treat, and then we’ll enjoy a homemade treat. But this time around I feel humbled, and sad.
Food allergies are scary business. We spend our days reading labels, carrying EpiPens, praying for a cure, and balancing trying not to freak out too much with also being hyper vigilant. But Halloween is an American pastime I don’t want my girls to miss out on, and I’m grateful for so many strategies and opportunities for allergy awareness.
For example, while you’re shopping for candy, think about allergy-friendly options. If you see a house with a teal-painted pumpkin on the doorstep, you’ll know there are allergy-safe options at that home — teal is the official allergy community color. So trick-or-treat away! And say a prayer that all our kids stay safe this Halloween and every day.
