I wasn't sure if I should post this in "On Special Occasions" or in "Funny stories"...
I know Halloween is a long way off, but I thought I would share this memory which might even provide ideas for some of you parents of diabetic children...
A long, long time ago, when I was the youngest child of four and the only one living with diabetes, Halloween was always a "tricky" time (ahem, excuse the pun!). Like any child, I loved to dress up and go tick-or-treating in the neighbourhood. However, what to do with all that forbidden candy when I got back???
My parents came up with a solution: They would sort out what I was allowed, such as the peanuts and chips, then I would set up a store for the rest. My brothers and sister, who had grown beyond trick-or-treating age, would take out their allowances and come shopping at my candy store! A dime for a chocolate bar, a few cents for a Double Bubble, etc.
In the end, I would turn out quite the profit! Enough to go out and buy some kind of toy, instead of visiting the hospital in a hyperglycemic coma!
Hey Nads, this story tugged at my heart-strings a bit, as I had a similar experience growing up. Halloween was a big holiday from me, as my birthday and my aunt's birthday are right around that time, so I love October. Dressing up was so much fun and I always had girlfriends to take over my neighborhood with... all the way through 7th grade. I remember after every episode of trick-or-treating, my various friends and I would sprint back to my house and count out all the candy we had collected. For me, it wasn't the thrill of all the delicious candy, but the fact that I got 10 cents for every piece of candy I collected! My parents were good to me, and overly-worried about my mental well-being. Sweethearts, that they are! It was a great alternative, because instead of feeling like I was being left out of the fun, I felt like MY friends were missing out on the special treatment I got! Thanks for sharing your story!
I've always come back from trick-or-treating and traded my candy with my brothers. I ate it but my candy lasted a whole lot longer than my brothers since I couldn't eat much at a time. But my family would give me other stuff like one year my mawmaw gave me a 2-liter of diet cheerwine (my favorite soda). another year she gave me money.
I am the youngest of my mom's two kids. At halloween, my mom had me pretty much trained..since I was diagnosed at 6years old..that I was only allowed one or two candy's a day. She would also go through and pick out candy and give me money like your parents did. I loved it. She'd then turn around and give them to my older brother or eat them herself, but I got at least a few bucks every halloween. She kept my candy in the cupboard and every afternoon or evening, if my blood sugar wasn't high I would get to pick one candy. If I was really good that day, I got to take two!
As I got older I hated it, and to rebel against her restricting my intake, I would keep the candy in my room and pig out on like 10 in one day if she told me I couldn't have any haha. But when I was younger, it was a good way to go for sure.
I have a list of halloween (mini) candies and the # carbs so I allow my daughter to have some while we're trick or treating as we are walking (safe homes of course) and then when we get home we use a sharpie to write the carbs on the ones we know and any unidentifiable ones go in a little baggie to daddy. Then she can choose to have a few pieces each day until they're gone, and a lot of people are really good to us: they give my daughter other items such as coloring books, bead kits to make necklaces, small toys, snacks not candy related, and she knows she's special and really lucky. I think she knows it's better than candy. :) She has a blast.
i have to say i hated people like that when i was growing up. they were the ones who made me feel different than everyone else because i had diabetes and they would make it very obvious by not giving me the same stuff as other kids.