With Halloween preparations come worries for many parents of children with food allergies. Should we go trick-or-treating? If we do, should we let our child eat the "safe" candy? What if no candy collected is safe for our child? Although there are more food allergy friendly sweets on the market today than there were a decade ago, most trick or treaters will come home with candies containing nuts or nut traces, soy, and/or dairy. Parents want their children to have fun and they want them to be safe. That can seem daunting when it comes to Halloween since candy is notoriously risky for those managing food allergies.
My son has life threatening peanut and tree nut allergies, so I know these worries firsthand. My children always trick-or-treated. I never considered letting food allergies spoil our fun! After all, where is written that you must eat the candy you collect? Nowhere! My younger son would wear a costume and we'd incorporate gloves into the costume to avoid contact. One year, we skipped the gloves--I wrongly thought maybe I was being overly careful--and he broke out in hives all over just from touching the closed packages of candy! Our winning formula for a super Halloween is:
wear an awesome costume
wear gloves to avoid contact
be sure to say "thank you"
no running from house to house
switch the candy collected for candy Mom bought
This year, there is a new children's book entitled The Switch Witch and the Magic of Switchcraft. It is a charming story about how the Switch Witch will switch out your candy for you.
Since this is already a tradition many food allergy families have adopted, this lovely hardcover book is the perfect complement for that tradition. It is an ideal Halloween gift for a child with food allergies. The story has a fun rhyming structure and is 20 pages from start to finish.
The illustrations are very cute, with a lot of colorful detail which I enjoyed and am sure children will also.
The book also comes with an adorable little witch to sit on your mantel or dresser or wherever you like! It's a bit like Elf on a Shelf, in that regard. Below is a one minute and ten second video that features the book's author, Audrey Kinsman.
In addition, there are also some companion online resources on the Switch Witch website. There is a blog, an app, and the Switch Witches are also on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
FAB Review
The Switch Witch and the Magic of Switchcraft, a delightful Halloween story about switching out candy for non-food treats, is a colorful hardcover book. It is ideal for younger children up to approximately ages 9 or 10. It is currently available at Target for $29.99, and comes with your very own Switch Witch. It would make a perfect Halloween gift!
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