Sensitive Sweets Blog

Halloween Candy and Allergies, Trick or Treating with Allergic Children

Posted by Melanie Hohman on Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Many people ask me about Halloween, and whether we go trick or treating. Since our youngest son Bradley, has severe food allergies, we need to be extra careful. He can NOT eat anything in his bag. So what's the point? Well, it's about being a kid, and getting dressed up, and going door to door just like every one else. As for the "bad candy", we leave all of it for the Halloween Ghost to take. This ghost has NO teeth, and comes in the middle of the night, to take the "bad candy" and he leaves a gift. Our boys get excited for the ghost to come, and they have no problems giving up their bad candy for a bag of "safe candy" and a gift. Trust me, once you start this tradition, they will be hooked.

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School and Life Threatening Allergies

Posted by Melanie Hohman on Sunday, April 24, 2011

One of my biggest concerns is having my youngest son Bradley start school. We have seen him go into anaphylactic shock from a small mac and cheese noodle. Within 5 minutes he was gagging for air, and fortunately we had benadryl, which worked immediately. What if this happens at school, and no one notices that he's having a reaction. I really struggle with this one....for now we are going to wait, and possibly skip preschool all together.

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Comments

Posted by Anonymous on 11-May-2011 09:20 PM

I am looking forward to bringing my daughter to your bakery. She is 7 now, and I always feared sending her to school with her long list of allergies, but I think it was actually really helpful for her to go to preschool. She learned quickly to manage situations
where adults or other children offered her food and also developed coping mechanisms when she felt left out. When she entered kinder, there was a 4th grader in her after-school daycare who had similar allergies and she taught my daughter how to read food labels
for hidden allergens like lactic acid. It is hard to let go of our children, but believe me, they are much savvier than we give them credit for!

Posted by Grace on 24-May-2011 08:39 PM

Hi Melanie! How scary that must of been for you to see your sweet little boy gasping for air! Scary stuff! I wanted to share the name of the preschool we take our daughter. We are a vegan family and Bella's preschool is on the mark when it comes to making
their snacks. They always have a vegan alternative (they don't serve meat or milk). For instance is the snack if yogurt and granola they would have soy yogurt and a nut free granola. The preschool is a co-op and I choose to work in the classroom this year
so I have first hand knowledge that they take food allergies and special diets very serious. Bella's teacher is even vegan however will be on maternity leave next year. The preschool is Hilltop Preschool in FV, right down the street from your shop! Check out
their website! Thanks Grace PS You made Bella's yummy 4th birthday cake and cupcakes last month

Posted by Vivian Teasdale on 12-Jul-2011 02:46 PM

I have a son who was fed through a feeding tube up until he went to kindergarten where we slowly started introducing foods one by one to see how he tolerated each item. Long story short it turned out that my son had no food allergies at all but a rare
and life long autoimmune disorder that attacks his own body. But I wanted to write you a note because all through his school years where he was on a GF, wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free diet I provided all his food for school and his aids and all
the faculty knew nothing could be fed to him. As little as he was he learned very quickly what he could and could not eat. I have a 24 year old daughter who has finally been diagnosed with extreme food allergies(after years of suffering) and found your web
site. She lives in the Orange County area and will be visiting you soon. Her email to me when she found your web site was "I found Heaven". Good luck and thank you for your dedicated work!

Posted by Anonymous on 25-Aug-2011 08:14 PM

Hi, I have an 12 year old son with a severe peanut and tree nut allergies. He has outgrown dairy,egg,banana,oats and other food allergies at around ages 5-7. I started him at preschool when he was 4, and able to verbalize his needs about what he can and
cannot eat confidently. It has required constant vigilance with his schools and teachers since then. Please keep in mind that the treatment of choice for an anaphylactic reaction is an epinephrine injection. I no longer even give Benadryl to the schools because
if he did inadvertently have an exposure I would want them to give him epinephrine and call 911. Thanks for starting your bakery! I just learned about it and will be visiting there soon.

Posted by sarah on 01-Sep-2011 03:18 PM

My son has several food allergies and I was worried about him going to preschool and public school. However, the preschool I sent him to was small and they all knew what he was allergic to and the classroom was nut free at least. We brought his own snacks
and I would bring his alternative for class parties like rice ice cream and such. Now at the public school, everyone, even lunch lady knows him and his allergies. He is in half day kinder so lunch is not a problem. When he is older, I will just pack his lunch.
He pretty much know what he is allergic too and asks if he can have something and lists his allergies. Its been a learning experience but the best is to talk to teachers, staff, and parents and be verbal about his allergies. There seems to be greater awareness
now and we always remind him never to take food or candies from anyone.

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