Imagine this scene:
Little kid sweet voice, expectant, happy: Trick or treat!
Evil mother of kid: Sorry you can’t have that buddy, or that, or… well, maybe at the next house!
This is the life of a child with life threatening food allergies at Halloween. Once our parents worried about razor blades in apples, now I worry about Snickers.
Trick or treating is not a necessity for little ones. But lets face it, it is fun! And us mamas are inundated with the catalogs of the cutest little costumes you ever did see, and we imagine which one will look the best on our little one.
Trick or treating with food allergies however, is another thing all together. Unless you keep your kid locked up, he’s gonna learn about trick or treating. And what is he going to learn about trick or treating? Free candy!!!
The problem – some candy could kill him.
Isaiah went trick or treating for the first time when he was 6. Before that, I told a little white lie. Fairly certain he would have a meltdown if I told him he couldn’t have a snickers, or Reeese’s, or Milky Way, or Hershey’s minatures or Three Musketeers or or or or… I choose the lesser of two evils, I told him that it was the rule that someone had to stay at home and hand out candy. His poppy worked, so we had to hand out candy. Man was I surprised, It worked!
We of course were the lame house with the Nerds, because I was such a stickler then that only the safest of safe candy would be allowed.
He happily greeted all of the trick or treaters with a yo ho ho! Unless of course they wore scary costumes, then I had to answer the door and he hid.
By the time he was 6 I decided he was ready to handle trick or treating. I told him what candy was OK, he did some digging through some bowls at some houses and then pronounced “I can’t have anything here” and stalked off. I stood back to apologize to the grown-up and then tried to explain to the kid, that not everyone understood about nut allergies.
Last year was even better, when he couldn’t have something and the trick or treatee felt bad, he said “That’s OK! I have lots of candy already!” I suspect most of our neighbors will be ready for him this year. I’ve been told he’s pretty unforgettable.
One Halloween I told a little white lie to keep the peace, and I’d do it all over again if I had to.
This has been a Finish the Sentence Friday post. The sentence was: One Halloween I…
FTSF is hosted by the lovely ladies at
Janine Huldie – Confessions of a Mommyaholic
Kate Hall – Can I Get Another Bottle of Whine
Kristi Campbell – Finding Ninee
Stephanie Sprenger – Mommy, For Real
Jen Kehl 
Totally understand why you told that white lie and I would do that too if I had to. But looks like he did have fun handing out candy when he was indeed younger. Why is sometimes doing the right thing can be the hardest thing we have to do? Seriously though my hat is off to you and thank you for sharing with us tonight. Happy almost Halloween to you 🙂
Thank you Janine! It’s good to be back. And I certainly never regretted my decision!
We have the same thing as Tucker is allergic to nuts and to peanuts (they’re different, I’m learning). So here, I buy nut-free candy and label it as such while we go in search of other candy…and come home to the whole 2 bowls being gone (assuming they saw the word FREE and dumped). It sucks. But you’re amazing. And Isaiah is lucky to have such a vigilant mama. My hubs bought PEANUT BUTTER SNICKERS recently and I almost divorced him over it. He took them to work.
I love this, Jennifer. You have got such a gorgeous little boy – those photos are adorable. I can’t imagine what it must be like to have a child with a severe food allergy. The way you recount the story is so real – I feel like I have just been watching the scene from a film. Have a wonderful weekend.
Awww, that actually brought tears to my eyes. Sweet!
My friend’s little guy is allergic too. She takes him to the store before Halloween and he picks out his treats he can have. She then takes his candy to the dentist office that buys it back and he gets $$ for it. Kinda a win-win 😦 I think this year I will get some twizzlers to add to the mix for those that can’t have the other options. Thanks for making me think about it.
OK, now I feel bad! I am completely paranoid about functions, etc. when it comes to food and allergies. I always label things and point things out to people that could be of concern – alcohol, nuts, etc., especially when it comes to leftovers/doggy bags. I’m afraid someone will leave with some goodies on a holiday and inadvertently share them with someone with an allergy. Although I do try to have a good assortment of treats handy, that thought NEVER entered my Halloween thought process. Thank you for opening my eyes!! By the way, that’s the most handsome swashbuckler I’ve ever seen. 😉
My 19 year old daughter’s pal has been allergic to peanuts since she was wee. I remember how careful we all were with the preschool snacks.It really made me conscious of the problem. Her mom is thrilled that she is now 19 and has been in charge of her “peanutfreezone” world for years.
Your little guy is such a poppet. Adorable.
As to the white lies front: My two spent their early years believing Orange Crush to be “Hallowe’en Juice” that was only available on Oct.31. Yes, I had to have “the chat” when Meredith discovered it at 6 in the pop aisle at Safeway. In July. Oops.
more self-discipline than I could claim at that age!
I seem to remember the house to house event only up until maybe 6th grade, then it fades… but I do remember the dreaded (damp) apples because a) they *so* were not candy* and b) they would get the paper bag wet and the result would be catastrophic… candy in the dark on the ground.
so it sounds like Isaiah is enjoying the day on his own terms…cool
*Halloween and Easter being candy-enhanced holidays
These are things many of us take for granted. I always feel like such an ass when I remember that trick-or-treating is not so simple for kids with allergies.
For whatever reason, my 7 yo prefers the handing out candy at home part. It’s the highlight of our night! 🙂
Isaiah’s looks so cute in his costume! Food allergies are so scary and it’s such a shame that Halloween is one more reminder to kids with allergies that they have to be careful. I hope he gets a lot of good stuff that he doesn’t have to worry about!
Halloween has got to be a scary time for parents of kids with nut allergies! I bet your neighbors will be ready for him this year! 😀
I have to admit that I don’t think about things like this when I pick out our Halloween candy, but it is so important to! Thanks for sharing this.
Oh that is so cute that the two of you answered the door to trick-or-treaters to keep him safe! That is a really sweet memory to have. It’s amazing how self-sufficient kids can be when we teach them the ropes. I love how he sifted through the bowls of candy and knew how to monitor for the wrong ingredients! He sounds like a great kid! I hope this week is just as great!
Good for you 🙂 Such a pain to have to be vigilant, but really well done. It’s an education, reading this, cos now I always have in the back of my mind (when I come across someone eating a nut bar or whatever) “What if someone nearby is allergic!!!” It’s a huge thing to have to deal with and you do it so well.
Your son’s got the best smile! It makes you want to wake up seeing it in front of you! (Of course, that’s when you’d become self conscious and start wondering what he was smiling at, lol). A white lie every now and then has to be acceptable. Especially in your case! Loved this!
That makes me want to go buy a bag of Nerds or gummy worms or something peanut-safe and keep it aside in case any trick-or-treaters have peanut allergies!
I have always wondered about that…my son’s friend is very allergic to peanuts. If he gets the oil on his hands, he goes straight into reaction mode. I panic when he comes over. I buy paper plates and silverware and any food that we want to make for dinner comes straight from the grocery store that day.
It sucks that he can’t go out because of this. But I’m glad that he is able to still enjoy it. Do they do things at school? My son’s class does but sans candy.
first of all, yer lil one is about the cutest thing in the world! Is he allergic to all chocolate? Poor guy, but you’re doing an awesome job making Halloween fun for him still! yay! I worry about kiddos with nut allergies and always buy candy sans nuts, but I never really thought about kids with milk/chocolate allergies. wow, it’s gotta be really tough for them. 😦
Thanks for a great post! I’ve read your stuff a lot before, but I think this might be my first time commenting (?) weird. You’re awesome!
I’ve never even thought of that and OHMIGOD, yes, trick or treating with food allergies! Poor mama! Poor Isaiah. I know what an amazing mom you are, though, and it comes across through Isaiah’s delightful smile you can tell that he was not having a bad time handing out candy 🙂 And that second photo of him, Jen, that has to be about the cutest thing I’ve seen in my whole life. Honestly.
Food allergies would make it hard. But it seems like mine have more fun staying around and handy out candy than going door to door. Maybe that is a good solution?
Oh, that’s got to be very hard for him to give up those candies. My kids would love your house -they prefer Nerds! They love the Smarties too. Both of my sons have orthodontic appliances or braces so they can’t have the chewy stuff: Tootsie rolls, Starburst, Dots, etc., all my 9yo’s favs. I hear the dentist will buy back uneaten candy. We have an appointment next week. 🙂 Glad your blog is back up and running!
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Giving out Nerds isn’t lame – they are my kids’ favorites! We always give out a mix of chocolate and non-chocolate candy so there are choices for kids who are allergic, and we let kids pick their own out of the bowl. It sucks that you have to be so diligent, but I suppose Isaiah has to learn what he can and can’t have because eventually he’ll have to make his own choices. Hope he gets lots of nut-free candy on Thursday – and I’ll gladly take his Snickers 🙂
Remember showing Thriller to a class of mine once. My goodness, they made fun of his hair. And were slightly amused by Vincent Price!
I made sure to buy nut-free candy this year, Jen. But, apparently, I am the only one. I could not believe that the majority of candy that my daughter got had nuts in it. I am sorry that this is the case. Also, I chuckled about your little white lie, because my daughter enjoyed handing out candy more than trick or treating! I’m sure that only lasts for so long though.