If you have kids, there is a good chance they’re excited about the festivities associated with Halloween. With elaborate costumes and endless hours of trick-or-treating, you may be trying to figure out how to minimize their sugar intake this time of year. If you’re excited about seeing all the ghosts, goblins, witches, and beautiful princesses in the coming days, you might want to consider participating in the Blue Pumpkin Halloween Project! Instead of giving out traditional Halloween candy in Katy, why not opt for alternative toys and treats that will keep kids with food allergens smiling? Read on to learn more about this global effort.
How Can Too Much Sugar Negatively Affect a Child’s Smile?
With buckets being filled with sugary treats this Halloween, you should understand just how damaging these sweets can be to your child’s teeth. It’s no secret that sugar often leads to dental decay and cavities. If left on the tooth enamel too long, bacteria and harmful acids will begin to eat away this top layer, causing caries to form and dentists to quickly fill up with appointments requiring dental fillings and/or crowns.
Proper oral hygiene habits at home are essential, especially this time of year when candy and all other types of sweets are easy to obtain. While it’s best to set a limit on how much of their Halloween earnings your child can have, you may want to spread the word about the Blue Pumpkin Halloween Project to try and get other parents on board to give out non-candy treats this year.
What is the Blue Pumpkin Halloween Project?
Blue pumpkins may look vastly different than the plethora of orange seen on Halloween night, but there is a reason for it. The Food Allergy Research & Education team started what is known as the “Teal Pumpkin Project” in 2014 in an effort to make trick-or-treating more accessible to children with food allergies.
By placing a blue pumpkin on your porch, you can signal to parents and children that the items you’re handing out are non-candy or food-allergen-friendly. Stickers, glow sticks, vampire teeth, and even bottles of water can be great alternatives to the sugary treats many children cannot enjoy.
But there’s also another reason for the blue pumpkin – autism awareness. For many children and adults with autism, Halloween can be a fun but also nerve-wracking time. Because many find social interaction to be quite difficult, seeing someone carrying around a blue pumpkin can be a great way to share candy and make the festivities enjoyable for these individuals.
Spread the word about the Blue Pumpkin Halloween Project and help kids who experience food allergies and autism have a safe, inclusive, and fun-filled holiday.
About the Author
As a board-certified pediatric dentist in Katy, Dr. Adeel Khan wants all children to have a safe and fun Halloween. Knowing many will partake in plenty of sugar treats, he encourages patients and their parents to participate in the Blue Pumpkin Halloween Project. This effort not only gives kids an alternative to traditional Halloween candy but also create an inclusive opportunity for children with food allergies to also enjoy the festivities. Visit our website or call (832) 789-8348 to learn more about this project and how you can participate.