For kids whose choices of costume or candy are restricted due to special needs, Halloween's not always such a treat. Try these tricks to keep the haunted holiday from being the wrong kind of scary.
Make Costumes Work for Your Child
The traditional boo won't do if your child will be dressing up in a wheelchair, or hates the feel of seams and scratchy closures and makeup and masks. Check these articles for costume ideas that keep your child's needs in mind -- or accommodate last-minute mind-changes.
Add Warnings to the Wardrobe
People don't mean to be ghoulish when they hand your little one treacherous treats. If you're terrified of trusting others to remember what's allowed and what's not, add a warning sticker, shirt, or print-out to your child's costume ensemble. Here's where to find some.
Take Some Trick-or-Treat Tips
Unlimited candy access is a dream come true for most kids, but for those with
diabetes, Prader-Willi Syndrome, food allergies, Celiac Disease, and other diet-restricting disorders, it's more like a nightmare. Learn how to make the best of the sweet onslaught, or avoid it altogether.
Collect Some Cool Candy
Not all goodies are baddies. With a little Internet research or kitchen confecting, you can give your child special sweets that won't spoil her health. Find out here where to order, what to purchase, and how to cook up your own.
Supply School Party Snacks
Send in allergy-safe
cookies or pumpkin muffins for your child's school Halloween party that can be consumed without worry.
Get Some Halloween Brownie Points
Bake up a batch of brownies that respect your child's dietary needs -- for a school party, a home get-together, or facilitating the trade-in of forbidden sweets.
Tame Your Party Monster
Whether it's your child going crazy at a loud and noisy get-together, or you getting crazy defensive when others find his behavior ghastly, these primers on
holiday party survival can make your Halloween festivities less scream-worthy, too.
