Kids and Halloween

Most children love Halloween. It’s a chance to dress up in a scary costume, have a party and go trick or treating with friends with the sole aim of collecting as many sweets as they can from neighbours, friends and family! 

But what do you need to consider if you have a child with type 1 diabetes? 

Sarah Christie’s son Jack, now 15, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 11. She’s been through many Halloweens with him and his younger brother, Joe, who doesn’t have diabetes. 

Here she gives us her top tips for dealing with Halloween and shares her recipe for jelly treats. 

"Halloween is a pain for us because it’s all about sweets! It’s difficult, because when Jack was diagnosed he’d got beyond trick or treating but his little brother Joe, who’s nine, still wanted to go. So I let them go out together, but just to our friends and family who know Jack has type 1 diabetes. They are all very supportive and have healthy snacks waiting for them, such as nuts and fruit. If they do have chocolate, I make sure they’re the snack-size versions.

'It’s important for him not to feel deprived, so he has a healthy attitude towards snacks.'

"If Jack is given a higher-carb snack, he saves it for mealtimes so he’s not going without. As long as he counts his carbs correctly, we still allow him to have these treats at mealtimes.

"I feel it’s important for him not to feel deprived, so he has a healthy attitude towards snacks and doesn’t feel he’s missing out which might lead him to sneak snacks without telling us. This has worked, as he’s open and honest about any treats he eats. It’s all about moderation.

"At home, I make sure I have lots of lower-carb snacks and healthier offerings. We live in a rural area, so I don’t have trick or treaters knocking at our door. However, if I did I would keep all the snacks low sugar. 

"Jack always seems happy as long as he has an alternative to sweets, so I started making these low-carb jelly sweets. 

"Jack has to avoid high-sugar sweets and these are the perfect alternative. The great thing about them is that the boys love them, and it means I don’t have to stress too much about how many of them they eat because they are low sugar."

Here’s Sarah’s jelly treats recipe, plus check out our other Halloween recipes.

Read more on Sarah's blog at www.extraordinarychaos.com.