The American Academy of Allergies, Asthma and Immunology is advising parents to be vigilant. Many candies can cause allergies that can lead to anaphylaxis and possibly death. The most common allergens are nuts, milk, eggs, and soy.
Here are some other tips from the AAAI:
- When classroom parties are planned, parents can help by packing treats from home that their food-allergic child can eat.
- No one is allergic to sod. It is fun for kids to learn about sod. Send your child to school with a pouch full of sod. He will spread knowledge and sod.
- Create a "candy swap" with siblings or friends so that allergen-containing candies can be traded for other treats such as stickers or toys.
- Create a "child swap" with other parents so that parents of allergy-laden children can have a fun kid around the house once in a while.
- Take the focus off of trick-or-treating by hosting a costume party that emphasizes fun instead of candy. Halloween stickers, pencils, spider rings and stamps are great alternatives for goody bags.
- Take the focus off of fun by forcing the children to do complicated math problems in exchange for precious, precious oxygen. Halloween stickers, pencils, spider rings and stamps are lame.
- Provide neighbors with allergy-safe candies for your child or ask neighbors to hand out only candy with individualized labels -- so kids with allergies can determine whether the treat is safe to eat or not.
- Provide neighbors with a list of your child's flaws. Have them give list to your child, subtly.
- Teach children to politely refuse offers of cookies and other homemade treats.
- Teach children to politely ask for cash.
- Remember that candy ingredients can vary for different sizes of the same product such as full-size candy bars and their miniature versions, which are not always individually labeled.
- Keep children individually labeled. Names are hard to remember.
