I keep seeing all of these random Facebook posts telling me I need a teal pumpkin this year so I finally got curious enough to do some research. Turns out, the motivation behind the Teal Pumpkin Project is pretty awesome and will help many of our BurritoBuzz families with LOs that struggle with food allergies.
We have been so fortunate to have only experienced mild food sensitivies with our LO thus far. So naturally the fear that my child will be receiving treats during Halloween that could trigger an allergy simply hadn’t crossed my mind. But I’ve come to find that so many of our friends and family have had to experience the heartbreaking moment of taking your child’s Halloween bag and removing half of the treats that could be potentially harmful to them.
The Teal Pumpkin Project is on a mission to get as many homes as possible to offer non-food treats this Halloween. Leaving a teal colored pumpkin on your porch lets other parents know, hey we’ve got treats here that won’t harm your kid. It’s quickly becoming a symbol of relief for parents that live with the constant fear of “what if she accidentally eats something with nuts (or gluten, or dairy….)?!”
So what is a safe treat? The Teal Pumpkin Project recommends staying away from candy or food completely and offering a fun alternative (like our kids need one more piece of candy this holiday anyways) Here are some ideas that would be super easy to find:
- Crayons
- Notepads
- Pencils
- Toothbrushes
- Stickers
- Bracelets
- Fake tattoos
- Bouncy balls
- Silly putty
- Bubbles
Any of these would be inexpensive to pick up in bulk and a great alternative that kids would still be excited to get while out trick-or-treating.
I love any initiative that keeps kids safe and lessens the sugar-high insanity that becomes my early November. You’ll be seeing a teal pumpkin on my porch this Halloween!
-Chelsea
Perfectly Imperfect Parenting 