By Alyssa Hillman

Eating too much candy is a common problem kids experience around Halloween, but how do parents handle this treat-filled holiday with a T1D child?

The Rose family, from Peoria, celebrates just like most households. They dress up, eat dinner together, and then visit their neighbors hoping to get some treats tossed into their bag. However, Adalyne, 11, has something special from her mom, Wendy, in the bottom of her basket every year- a testing kit.

Adalyne will be celebrating her ninth Halloween with T1D, but it has never stopped her from enjoying a night full of traditions, especially the candy. Although she is good about not eating tons of the tempting sweets, she wears an insulin pump to ensure her levels are being monitored while snacking along the way.

Wendy says her three daughters are all treated the same when it comes to how much candy they can enjoy, regardless if one has T1D. She doesn’t let a disease define Adalyne and is constantly asking herself, “If she did not have diabetes, what would be my answer?”

Although they have only had a few instances with the night ending in a high blood sugar level, Adalyne has yet to go trick-or-treating without experiencing a low blood sugar level while walking around. To keep the fun, Wendy let’s her take out a bag of skittles to treat it instead of a typical item they turn to, like a juice box.

Despite the girls urge to dive into the candy, Wendy has created a system where they each are able to pick out their favorite 10 pieces and eat them when they choose. She says regardless if a child has T1D or not, it’s not the best idea to allow them to eat five Kit Kats at once, but maybe one.

Halloween is filled scares and treats, and Adalyne will get to enjoy both thanks to her mom’s precautions!