Boo! Stay safe this Halloween with allergy kids

Do you go trick or treating with your allergic or coeliac child? Have you heard of the Switch Witch?

Halloween has become a popular child friendly night for some communities, a chance to dress up and catch up for some fun with people in your neighbourhood.

But how can you include your allergic child while focusing on safety?

Last year our family discovered the "Switch Witch". We love Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny.... so why had we not heard about the Switch Witch? 

Switch Witch is a wonderfully good witch that visits your home on Halloween night and trades some of your treats for a toy. She flies from house to house on her black broom with her cat, to collect unwanted lollies/candy from children and generously leaves a wonderful toy in exchange, as a surprise for children when they wake!  It was a big hit at our house! A wonderful way to foster inclusion for your allergy and coeliac kids too! 

At our house we imagined all about the life of the Switch Witch, what she was like, and why she was a good witch. We managed to "switch" most of the collection from Halloween for some fun toys and safe welcome treats. I think the Switch Witch can be what you want her to be, but she is definitely inclusive and fun! 

And I must admit we had avoided trick or treating in past years, deciding to stay clear of it, not only because of food allergy safety but also worries of being excluded. Especially as Halloween can seem like such a food focused event and not exactly allergy friendly. But as it turned out Halloween night did for us,become an opportunity for education and awareness too as we would ask about allergens at every doorstep. And we found a way to be safely part of the fun and excitement!  

Trick or treating quick tips:

Focus on fun, rather than food - Dressing up, imagination & social fun is the best part!  

No label no eat. Every door we knocked on we asked about if there were labels!

Don't accept baked goods. Not everyone knows about allergy safety in the kitchen if they don't live with food allergies

Don't take lollies without wrappers and ingredients written on them.

Ask friends and neighbours to consider offering non-food treats like stickers, glow in the dark toys etc. 

Make a plan before you leave the house. Chat with your child about staying safe but ALSO make a plan for having fun.

Don't eat the lollies or treats until you get home. Take safe treats/lollies for energy. 

Always carry your emergency medications. Don't risk it always carry your Epipens! 

Have you heard of the Teal Pumpkin Project?

A fantastic allergy awareness campaign which has been promoted by FARE is the #Tealpumpkinproject , starting in 2014 it has had fantastic success. This allergy awareness project was initially created by an allergy mum who wanted her allergic children to be included in the special celebrations of Halloween. The campaign promotes the fantastic idea of non-food treats like stickers, and small fun toys and focus on fun rather than just the sweets and food.  Hopefully the Teal Pumpkin Project can become more international to globally promote food allergy awareness and inclusion everywhere.

Happy Halloween! Be spooky, and stay safe! 

Interview with Kiss Freely creator, Jennifer Kurko

Kiss Freely is an exciting cosmetics range, designed for and by a family with food allergies.  Free from the top 8 food allergens, but also free from some other common allergens (sesame, shea butter, coconut, avocado, and mango). Kiss Freely is now launching in Australia.

  

How did you come up with the idea for Kiss Freely? Was there a catalyst or inspiration?

I kissed my daughter on the cheek one night after her bath and she broke out in hives.  At the time I had no idea what caused the hives.  It was a really devastating moment to realize that I could not kiss her without thinking about it first.  Once I realized the hives were from my lip balm, I also realized we had a ton of cosmetics and bath and body products that were not safe for her.  I looked for products that were safe but they were very hard to find.  The labels were impossible to read without consulting Google constantly! It was so frustrating that it made creating my own products seem like the easier choice!

  

Kiss Freely is such a fabulous name for your allergy friendly product range, how did this come about? 

The name Kiss Freely came from my daughter. I was wearing our homemade lip balm and I went to kiss her.  She got very excited and said "we can kiss freely!"  We used that phrase in our house for a while before we started the company and it just seemed like a natural choice. 

What are some of the issues you came across personally, as a food allergy mum, with the regular mainstream ranges of cosmetic and beauty products on the market?

I really couldn't find a line that was free from my daughters' allergens.  I would find one product would work but not another.  I also prefer natural ingredients.  Almond oil and coconut are pretty popular ingredients in natural cosmetics so a lot of options were ruled out. 

How have you found the response from the food allergy community, to your first launch in the U.S.?

It has really been amazing.  The community is so supportive and has spread the word more then I could have imagined or hoped for.  The food allergy community is my community so to be embraced by them is humbling and helps keep me motivated to make Kiss Freely available to more people.  I am so excited to be able to have our products sold through you and to introduce Kiss Freely to Australia.

What were the aims of the creation of Kiss Freely? I know for me, as a food allergy mum, I think saving time is a really great benefit, and as sometimes reading cosmetics labels can be so boggling.

All of the above!  I still go to multiple food stores to get safe food for my children.  I wanted Kiss Freely to make life just a little easier for food allergy families. We also donate a portion of our profits to organizations that promote food allergy awareness and research.

Are your products also vegan and cruelty free? What about gluten?

Our products are vegan, cruelty free and gluten free.  We are big fans of FREE!

Jennifer, I know many families are very grateful for the creation of Kiss Freely, and what I find so amazing is that Kiss Freely is a completely unique product range like no other: dedicated to food allergy and coeliac communties! 

You and your family are an inspiration, but who inspires you?

This is a great question. This may be cliché but my daughters inspire me.  They are the reason for this endeavor.  The way the deal with and manage their allergies inspires me. They have an amazing ability to advocate for themselves and others even at such a young age.  They are so much more aware of others and have become incredibly empathetic. They handle a lot of tough situations with so much grace.

Thanks Jennifer!

SHOP Kiss Freely Australia

Learn more about Jennifer and Kiss Freely