Halloween and PWS
Halloween is a time for celebration, fun, candies, chocolates, and treats. However, some parents are more scared of this night than you might think, especially parents of children with PWS.
Sugar, the enemy and seducer
Sugar is a big enemy and seducer for PWS children, as it can cause blood glucose level spikes and plummet, increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, interfere with immune function, affect behavior and cognition, increase stress, and take the place of important nutrients. This might alter our kids’ behavior so much that it produces huge tantrums, increases the perseverative urge and OCD behaviors, makes them less cooperative, and causes huge meltdowns.
The challenge of Halloween for PWS children
However, we don’t want our PWS child to miss out on the fun of Halloween, so what can we do?
A solution: trading candies for presents
One idea is to trade your child’s bag of collected candies for your bag of funny little presents, mainly tiny toys that your child likes. This way, your child can still participate in trick-or-treating and be a part of this funny night.
Honesty about sugar
You can be honest with your child about sugar not being good for anyone, and offer to exchange their collected candy bag for your much more interesting bags of presents.
Assorted presents
The presents can be very assorted, and you can get them from your local consignment shop, such as tiny things, pens, soft toys, funny ornaments, books, puzzles, funny socks, tiny Halloween decorations, cars, or whatever your child might like. If you can afford it, you can even get a bigger present from the toy shop, as your child deserves it for understanding and cooperating with you.
Teaching your child about the value of non-food items
This way, your child can learn that there are much better and interesting things in the world than food and candy, and can fight against the PWS Monster!
Healthy Halloween desserts
It’s also important to prepare healthy Halloween desserts at home that your child can freely enjoy, so their desire for sweet treats can be fulfilled in a healthier way. There are plenty of sugar and carb-free dessert recipes available online, but you can also check out some easy and quick recipes in the recipe section.
