Parents of children with a life-threatening food allergy must be extra careful when their child is the recipient of food outside the home. With a little planning, children with a food allergy can stay safe without having to miss out on the Halloween fun.

Sally Porter of Sammamish, whose son Charlie has a deadly peanut allergy, approaches Halloween as a learning opportunity. She is fortunate to have many neighbors who ask about the safety of treats before purchasing or giving one to her son. Last year, for the first time, Charlie, then 5 years old, asked on his own if candy was safe before taking it--an important milestone toward becoming independent.

Yet Porter says the holiday also serves as a reminder that she and her family can never be complacent about Charlie's safety and insists on strict enforcement of two rules: 1) Charlie's costume must include gloves to avoid skin contact with candy, and 2) a parent must examine all food before consumption to remove anything unsafe or in doubt.

By enforcing these rules, Porter says she feels confident they are taking necessary precautions and hopes they are giving her son the foundation he needs to learn how to protect himself.

"Charlie will have to make decisions for the rest of his life--decisions that can have dire consequences, so if our consistency can make it almost second nature for him to make good decisions, we are happy," added Porter.

According to How To Manage Your Child's Life-Threatening Food Allergies by Linda Marienhoff Coss, the author recommends the following:

1. Stay home: Allow your child to distribute "safe" candy at your home. 2. Distribute safe candy to your neighbors: Secretly go around to your neighbors and explain your situation and only trick or treat at those houses. 3. Go trick or treating and sort out the safe candy from the unsafe before your child eats anything.

4. Throw your own Halloween party instead of going door to door.

In addition to directing their child to homes they have confirmed in advance will have a treat without the allergen, parents can maintain control by hosting a party in their home where they not only have allergen-free food, but also can emphasize costumes and activities to minimize the focus on candy.

Distracting children from eating the candy is a goal shared by many parents--not only those whose children suffer from food allergy. Another way to achieve this is to offer children the option to trade their candy for a toy, small amounts of money, or a special activity with Mom or Dad.

Last but not least, parents of food allergy children can often find assistance to navigate holidays and other potentially harmful situations through local support and advocacy groups for food allergy sufferers.

One such group, Food Allergy Initiative-Northwest (http://www.faiusa.org/?page=northwest), for which Porter serves as the regional representative, offers resources for Washington families and educators seeking information about food allergy. The organization is also actively working to increase awareness and expand education about the dangers of food allergy--in classrooms, hospitals and with civic leaders.

Every parent worries about their child's safety, especially on Halloween. Whether implementing these ideas or some of their own, parents can create new traditions that will ensure their food-allergic children will enjoy Halloween as much as other kids while remaining safe.