HELP!
my 8 year old daughter just got diagnosed with t1 nine days ago. so u can say we are newbies and we are still trying to get her insulin right and everything. But one concern that popped in my head and its this upcoming Halloween. SHE LOVES HALLOWEEN! Now what do i do? I want to be prepared and still try to make this first halloween with diabetes FUN. thanks.
When I was younger (I was dx at 6) my mom would trade me 5cents for each candy I gave up (always gave up the ones I hated haha) which she either kept for herself or gave to my older brother.
Whatever she let me keep, I was allowed to eat a few that night after taking an extra insulin shot (at the time there was no carb counting like there is now or at least we didn’t know as I didn’t start carb counting til I was much much older…like 16 or 17, so we had to guess at an amount) but then I was only allowed to have one candy a day, which got put in my lunch box. If my level was really good at dinner, I was sometimes allowed to have another candy that day as dessert.
My mom also used them, for instance the small smarties boxes, to treat my lows when we were out and about. A kid will never say no to some candy, so I think it was a good way to avoid having me get fussy about whatever she was trying to give me to treat a low. haha
As I got older, we stopped doing it. I think by the time I was 10, I was allowed to trade candy with my brother and keep whatever I wanted but I was still limited in how much I could have though I had more freedom to eat more knowing it meant I needed to take additional insulin and had to figure out with my mom how much I needed to take.
I would talk to your daughter’s doctor on what they recommend. The nice thing about halloween candy is the wrappers always have the carb info, so you know based on your carb:insulin ratio how much insulin is needed for each piece. 
Plus, they are smaller candies so it’s not like you’re giving her a giant chocolate bar in terms of extra insulin.
Hey child with Diabetes here. I usually trick or treat with my friends and their younger siblings. Normally I would eat a small snack before (something healthy) and then go out and just run around and have the same halloween as I always had. I make sure to take my bg every so often and keep in touch with my parents with my phone. Usually after a while (2 hours) I would eat a small sweet that I can chew or suck on.
Just make sure to check sugars, eat snacks and keep in touch with parents!!
Don’t make your child dress as some diabetes related costume. When I was 11 (I think) my mom thought it would be cute for me to dress as a syringe… only another diabetic mom thinks that’s cute. I thought it was lame.
You’ll learn to carb count for candy so don’t stress about that part.
Everyone here is right. Still let her go trick or treating and just limit her candy intake in one sitting. Please don’t tell her she can’t have any candy at all or cancel her halloween because of diabetes. It’s no big deal to have a piece or two a day or use some of it to treat lows. You can handle it–ask your doctor for advice.
My son was diagnosed when he was 5 and we started a new system for Halloween candy that year. I’ve had my kids – all three of them – trade in candy for money. (I get rolls of coins in preparation for Halloween) When they were younger, they loved seeing the coins stack up! They usually would keep 10 pieces of candy or so. I’d let them have 3 or 4 pieces to eat that night (they aren’t big). No one felt deprived – which is really important!
I also talk about the importance of staying healthy – for all of us, not just my son with T1. And that means minimizing how much candy and junk food we eat. With their Halloween money, I used to take the kids shopping at a toy store the day afterward so they would get the joy of a new toy. And we’d stress how awesome it was that they could enjoy a new toy when others’ candy was disappearing. My son is now 13 and we still do that system today (minus the toys!).
Yes, I would get some guidance from your Endo, too. Best of luck to you!