Be A Halloweenie!





The countdown to Halloween is on.

Costume parties, school parades, church trunk or treating, neighborhood trick or treating, boo'ing with your neighbors, classroom parties, bonfires in the backyard and so much more.

All of this is so much fun!  Right?  (insert googly eyes here)

Well, for the kids maybe.  But for the parents suffering from Halloween over-load, I get it.  I feel it too.  The one-day-a-year holiday has now morphed into weeks of festivities.  Everyone wants to be able to provide a young child with a magical memory to last a lifetime.

To me as a parent, it is like living in Halloween 7, except Michael Meyers is now best friends with Martha Stewart and Willy Wonka.  And they live next door.  And hold seats on the PTA.  But I digress...

Sooooo, how do we deal with it?

We dive directly into the fray.  The girl's enjoy the activities from costume selection to savoring all of the junk food.  We count carbs, dose more insulin than we ever thought possible and go to bed early at night, preparing for even more fun the next day.

Yes, with type 1 diabetes.

I've seen quite a bit floating around in blog land about ways to stop your child with type 1 diabetes from participating in enjoying the holidays, especially Halloween. 

As a reminder, "kids first, diabetes second."  This means that you have permission to let your children participate in the fun.  Revel in it, brag about it and fall to sleep dreaming of the goodness of Halloween overload.

The years of childhood are few and precious.  It seems that in a blink, our children are grown and no longer want to participate in family oriented events.  My advice is to enjoy this time.  Try not to fret about candy or donuts or cider.  Count up the funsized candy bars with your kids and make a pile of the gross pieces that have wrappers missing.   Laugh about the house that gave out toothpaste. Take a taste of one treat or even five.  Talk to your kids about their favorites and enjoy watching them savor a bite.  Give a high five to your kids for scoring a full-sized candy bar.  And take turns teasing daddy as his belly swells from the laffy taffy. 

Carbs will be counted, insulin will be given and in a few weeks, the leftover candy can safely be disposed of...

If Michael, Martha or Willy happens to also live in your neighborhood, may I suggest a care package to them?  They will undoubtedly love it!