Trick-or-Treat!

Well it's here.

Halloween.

[sigh]

I have my teal pumpkin and a bowl of non-candy spider rings ready for trick-or-treating. I also have a bowl of candy for any kids who want a food treat rather than a non-food treat.

Tonight the kids went to their grandmother's senior living facility for trick-or-treating. Halfway through Olivia walked past me and said "well, there are about two things I can eat in my bucket." And then she sighed, shrugged, and walked away to gather more candy she can't eat.

And that my friends is what Halloween usually looks like for kids with food allergies. Great costumes and a bucket full of crap they can't eat.

Example A: Our safe and unsafe bowls -

As you can see "unsafe" beats out "safe" each year. (And while those Utz pretzels ARE peanut and tree nut free, they're processed in a facility with sesame seeds so they're off limits for Olivia).

I'll be repeating this whole safe and unsafe sorting again tomorrow night. And then I'll be sending most of the candy with my husband when he leaves for work on Monday so I'm not tempted to eat any of the chocolate. ;)

Olivia knows that Halloween is a tough holiday for her and while she loves dressing up I think she's about over the whole trick-or-treat aspect. What's the point when all you end up with is a bowl full of Skittles? I mean they're great and all but a girl can only eat so many Skittles.

I encourage you to get a teal pumpkin and support kids with food allergies this Halloween. Find some non-food treats (stickers, spider rings, bouncy balls) and give those kids a choice when they come to your house.

Believe me the kids with food allergies (and their parents) WILL appreciate it.

Happy Halloween!

Seeing the Teal Pumpkin Project in Action

Today we took the kids to the Toledo Zoo for the annual Pumpkin Path.

It's the zoo's trick-or-treating event where kids and adults can dress in costume and the kids go to stations to get candy. In years past it's been sort of a bust for Olivia since more than half the candy she would receive was unsafe.

This year she was so excited to see that the zoo was participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project - there would be a teal pumpkin at any booth that was handing out "unsafe" (not allergy friendly) treats.

Here's how it went....

First booth with a teal pumpkin was great - Olivia asked for a "teal pumpkin treat" and they immediately gave it to her. Score one for the zoo.

Next booth with a teal pumpkin was handing out Cracker Jack. You know, caramel popcorn with peanuts. Olivia says "I'd like a teal pumpkin treat" and the volunteer says "OK" and proceeds to put TWO bags of Cracker Jack in Olivia's bucket. I grabbed the bags, looked at the woman and said "She has a peanut allergy and CAN'T EAT THESE." Her response: Oh.

We had to find the RIGHT PERSON to get the safe treat - which they had HIDING BEHIND THE BOOTH for some unknown reason.

Third booth - handing out Milky Way which aren't safe for peanut/tree nut allergies. Olivia again says "I'd like a teal pumpkin treat" and the volunteer PUTS TWO CANDY BARS in her bucket. Again, NO.

After that it did get better.
But seriously. 

I commend the zoo for participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project but the groups that were passing out candy needed a bit more education on the point of the project.

Olivia did come away with a fun stash of stuff:

But at the same time she seemed a bit sad about the whole experience. I suppose Halloween just isn't as fun when you're a kid with food allergies. I asked her what was wrong and she said "I just wish they were all teal pumpkins." I think she still felt left out - even though she was getting fun "stuff" it wasn't the same as what the other kids were getting. Special stuff sure, but still different because of the food allergies.

Sigh.

Halloween can't be over soon enough.

Are you participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project this year? You can learn more about it here.

Middle School and Food Allergies

The day is almost here - Olivia starts middle school tomorrow.
Sixth grade.
Someone quick! Hold me.

I'm feeling a bit anxious about this new adventure. And I'm sure Olivia is a bit anxious too. That comes with the territory of moving to a new school with 250 kids in the sixth grade (when you're used to just 58 kids in your grade since kindergarten).

Factor in food allergies and you're playing a whole new ball game.

At Olivia's old school they knew about her food allergies (they didn't always handle them very well, but it was somewhat easy to navigate). Now, we're at a new school with a lot more kids which means a lot more chances for something to happen.

And yes, this is how my brain works. I'm ALWAYS thinking about "what if?"

Olivia knows what she can and can't eat but her teachers don't. And she's going to have many different teachers throughout the day - probably at least six.

Now, I know that this school has been good about dealing with food allergies in the past so we have that going for us. And, Olivia will be carrying her EpiPens with her at all times (which is new for her - in elementary school they were locked in the school office...which is a whole different post).

Last week we dropped off her medicine form in the office and the secretary asked if she could share the information with all of Olivia's teachers. Of course, I said yes. As we left the office I heard her tell one of the school counselor's about Olivia's allergies .. a good sign.

About two hours later the phone rang at home and it was Olivia's homeroom teacher - calling to ask me about Olivia's allergies! This was a VERY good sign. He wanted to know how severe the peanut allergies were - if kids could still eat peanut butter around her. And he wanted to know what kind of candy was safe. I ended the call by encouraging him to always call me with questions.

That is exactly the kind of support kids with food allergies need from their teachers, classmates, and parents of classmates. Always ask questions. Don't ever assume something is safe. And always ALWAYS exclude the food not the child.

Happy back-to-school! Here's to a great school year.