But not for everyone.
Some children suffer from allergies and other health issues that make all the candy and Halloween fun...well...not so much. Imagine being a kid. You chose a costume. It has been sitting in your room for weeks waiting for that day. You stare at it day in and day out. You try it on. Keep it clean for THE DAY. Talk about it with your parents, your friends, your teachers. Then Halloween is FINALLY here! This is the day you get to dress up and not just ask for but expect to fill your plastic pumpkin with LOADS OF CANDY!!! WOOOHOOOOO and why not? It's Halloween. That's what you do. That is what your parents did. But, here is the catch. You can't eat half the ingredients in the candy. Maybe you aren't old enough to understand why or make the connection that if you do maybe at best you get a tummy ache, but at worst you could die. How do you explain that to a small child? We are fortunate that our daughter is like us and not much bothers her. But I can only imagine telling her no, you can't enjoy all the pleasures of Halloween. Some may balk at this concept. Some may not realize how serious it can be. I'm not even going to get into fair trade candies...that is a totally different but just as important discussion. Read more here from the Art of Simple. But let's get back to our focus. How can we make Halloween just as much fun for those children? I don't mean shoving a tooth brush in their pumpkin with some horrible Tom's toothpaste. No kid wants that. (I imagine Charlie Brown - "I got a rock"). But you can still make it special for them.
This brings me to the Teal Pumpkin Project. This is a movement to help those kids enjoy Halloween just as much as the kids with no food issues. They should be scared from the ghosts and ghouls, not from potential death. Get me?
The idea is you place a teal pumpkin on your doorstep to let those families know that at your house their kid can trick or treat worry free. Now that house may have some of the items they can't have but that house has made an effort to provide an alternative for your child. How wrong can that be? I mean, glow sticks, toys, other treats that aren't even food (being a geologist I wish "I got a rock" was in my childhood reality - but I digress). And...less cavities! It seems like a no brainer. Most importantly...your child can experience the same excitement and fun as everyone else...and you don't have to worry.
In searching for a teal pumpkin to smack on this post I found this blog. And you know what, it is written from the perspective of a parent who does have to worry. Check it out. If this post (and I'm sure there are others out there) doesn't inspire you to at least consider these kids, then I don't know what will. All I know is that even though we aren't handing candy out at our house tomorrow, my family will be painting a pumpkin and grabbing some non food items to hand out at our friends house.
Happy Halloween.....EVERYONE!!!
