How do I handle halloween for a 6 yr old diabetic she wants to go trick-or-treating can't eat the candy?

Question

My 6 yr old daughter was diagnoised with type 1` (insulin dependant) diabetis in Dec of 05. This holiday is all about candy. I can see her getting really frustrated that she can't eat the candy. I bought small bags of pretzles to pass out so she won't be upset that I have candy. Does anyone have any suggestions, so she won't feel bad but can still have fun??

Answer 1

wow, poor thing, but she can also have as much fun as the others
Kids with diabetes face a challenge on Halloween: what to do with all the candy. While their friends are busy gorging on their trick-or-treat booty, kids with diabetes are often asked to be more careful. That doesn't mean that kids with diabetes shouldn't enjoy the treats -- they should. The issue is integrating the treats into the child's meal plan so as to minimize the disruption in blood glucose control. With fast acting insulins like NovoLog and Humalog, more and more families simply integrate candy into their child's meal plan. (See our poll about Halloween from October 2004.)

There are many possible approaches to helping kids with diabetes enjoy Halloween, including:

Exchange some of the candy collected while trick-or-treating with something else, such as a small toy or money. Younger kids might like this, especially since they can get something more permanent than candy.


Donate some of the candy collected to a local children's hospital or your local American Diabetes Association. Older kids might feel good about helping other kids.


Keep selected candy and fit it into your child's meal plan. With carbohydrate counting and a fast-acting insulin such as Humalog or NovoLog, you can easily accommodate candy into a well-balanced diet.
Alternatives to Candy
You may even wish to choose non-candy treats to give away. Some families give out Halloween-themed pencils, small plastic bugs, glow-in-the-dark rubber balls, or other small toys instead of candy. These kinds of items are readily available at local party-supply stores,

Answer 2

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Answer 3

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Answer 4

My niece is also type I diabetic, age 7, diagnosed just shy of two years ago. Her parents weren't going to allow her to go trick or treating because of it but let's face it, that's part of the fun of Halloween. We made a deal with her that she wouldn't eat any of the candy and that her Uncle and I would buy the candy from her. A penny per piece. She thought that was pretty cool so we went to the bank and bought a few rolls of pennies. I'm sure that will placate her for another year or two... until she decides that a penny doesn't go far!

Answer 5

Either have a party with all her friends and make it fun enough that candy isn't an issue.

OR, let her go trick or treating, especially if all her friends are going, let her pick out a couple of pieces of candy to keep (if she can even have a piece or two at all I don't know how well-controlled she is to even be able to) and take her to donate the rest to a soup kitchen and then the two of you go do something fun like see a movie afterwards as positive re-inforcement for doing a good deed.

Answer 6

This may kind of sound weird but I would maybe buy sugar free candy and I know some diabetic people and I know that not just sugar affects blood sugar but also carbs but I would say give her pretzels or lots of something she likes that wont affect her blood sugar to much like sugar free ice cream or something or candy I mean that would make anything fun and I am so sorry that a little girl has to be diabetic at such a young age that must be so hard. I think its a lot easier now because of all the new food that is coming out. So hope that helped.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

It doesn't really bother me. If older kids and young adults go out trick-or-treating, that's (hopefully) a little less mischief they'll be getting into while they're occupied going door to door. I enjoy seeing the costumes, no matter how big or little they are, and I just get a kick out of people having (hopefully) some innocent Halloween fun. Maybe I'm just naive or overly friendly, but I don't think there should be an age limit. As long as people are respectful and polite, they're welcome to stop by my house for some candy.

Answer 9

Let her go trick or treating. That's the fun of it. Maybe make her a more nutritious snack. A batch of trailmix, sugarless candies, etc. and donate her candies to someone else or take to work. There's always so much candy. It's way too much anyway. She may not understand but if you don't have it in the house she will forget all about it.

Answer 10

Let her go out trick or treating for a while

After she goes out then have a party for her and some of her friends where there is sugar free candies and healthy treats for your daughter to enjoy

The other candy can be given to the other kids as a prize for any games you set up for your daughter's party or you can take it to work with you