Offering alternative treats for Halloween
Abstract
Community members can help make Halloween a more inclusive, and healthier, holiday for children with diabetes and other health concerns by adding non-sugar treats to their trick-or-treat offerings. This effective practice is shared by the Institute for Applied Biomedicine. Their website provides a downloadable poster and sample community letter to promote the Non-Sugar Treats program.Issue
For children and adolescents with diabetes, and other health-related dietary restrictions, Halloween can be a truly haunted holiday. Many feel excluded from community festivities because they cannot safely partake in the tradition of trick-or-treating for candy.Action
Anyone who traditionally gives candy to excited trick-or-treaters is invited to offer small toys or sugar-free treats. By putting an Ask Me For Non-Sugar Treats poster on their door or window, community members can identify their homes as offering alternative treats to young people. When distributing the poster, print it back-to-back with the accompanying community letter onto goldenrod or orange paper for greatest visibility. In addition to distributing posters through local schools and pre-schools, consider asking grocery stores, drug stores, and discount stores to place a stack of posters either next to their seasonal candy displays and/or next to alternative treats. It is also helpful to distribute posters to senior citizens groups and other people who don't have young children but still participate in trick-or-treating. Students helped create a list of non-sugar alternative treats:- Temporary tattoos
- Stickers
- Pencils
- Fancy erasers
- Pencil toppers
- Crayons
- Coins (pennies, nickels, dimes)
- Small novelty toys
- False teeth
- Superballs
- "Slime"
- Miniature magnifying glasses
- Plastic jewelry/decoder rings
- Necklaces
- Glow-sticks
- Sugar-free candy
- Tiny decks of cards
- Plastic medals
- Fake money
- Origami paper & instructions
- Bubbles
- Did you know that eating too much candy is not good for our bodies, and that it can make it hard for us to stay healthy?
- What would be fun to get for Halloween, if candy was not offered?
- Do you know any friends who have diabetes? What do you think they might like, since too much candy could make them sick?
- Where do you live?
- How did you find out about this program?
- Did you/will you provide non-sugar treats?
- If you are providing non-sugar treats, are you also giving away candy?
- Do you plan to do this again next year?
Context
More than 200,000 children in the U.S. have diabetes. Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. The cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles.
This program also offers communities an opportunity to help stem the rising rates of childhood obesity by providing an alternative to Halloween candy. About a quarter of school-age students are overweight, and the typical trick-or-treater receives more than 5,000 calories worth of candy the equivalent of a pound and a half of fat.
The Institute for Applied Biomedicine is a not-for-profit biotechnology firm developing drugs to treat immune system diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. They are committed to making their drugs affordable and available to the broadest possible population.
Outcome
Providing alternative treats for Halloween allows all children, regardless of health status, to enjoy this traditional celebration. Additional benefits include greater community awareness of diabetes and general health issues.
Feedback from the 2004 Non-Sugar Treats Halloween program included the following:
Many people who received the poster (with information on the backside) read it, approved of it, talked to friends and neighbors about it, and provided non-sugar treats for Halloween trick-or-treating. Despite that, very few people actually placed the poster on their doors or windows. The program organizers were satisfied with that outcome, however, acknowledging that the real goal is to broaden the range of Halloween treats available, regardless of whether the posters are displayed.
Some families decided to offer candy and non-candy options to everyone rather than setting aside the non-sugar alternatives for the few who asked. One woman, for example, mixed a bunch of plastic "spider" rings in the bowl with the candy, and let the kids take whatever they wanted. This approach has the advantage of not putting kids in the position of requesting special accommodations.
Posted On
October 13, 2005For More Information
Resources
The Institute for Applied Biomedicine grants permission to print and photocopy the Halloween poster and letter available on their website free of charge, so long as these conditions are observed:- The letter and poster, including the Institute's name and logo, are not changed. It is particularly important that the copyright notice remain unchanged. If you need to request a change (e.g., re-formatting to include a local sponsor's name), please contact the Institute for assistance.
- You may not sell the copies or otherwise use them in a commercial manner. You may, however, give them away free through schools, community organizations, local businesses, and neighborhood groups.