Children seem to love everything about Halloween, from the costumes to the free candy and the scary movies.

Unfortunately, there is something that many children deal with every Halloween that makes them miss out, life-threatening food allergies.

Since there is a high risk of suffering a severe and potentially life-threatening reaction from Halloween candy, many children are unable to do what their friends do on October 31.

There is a movement that is gaining ground that may change Halloween. It uses blue pumpkins as a symbol.

According to Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), 15 million Americans have food allergies, including one out of every 13 children.

In other words, 2 children in every average classroom in the United States have allergies. Some of them may be mild but others could be potentially deadly.

Nut allergies are a common problem and this can certainly affect the child if they are trying to eat Halloween candy.

Some children with food allergies are permitted by their parents to go trick-or-treating but the parents will have to look through the candy carefully to separate any that are unsafe to eat

This can remove some of the fun out of the festivities, which is where the Teal Pumpkin Project comes in.

This trend it got its start in 2012 when a mother from Tennessee, Becky Basalone wanted to help her son Caden, who suffers from allergies, enjoy Halloween.

Basalone used a teal pumpkin in front of her house and gave safe, non-candy treats to children who have allergies. Teal is the color for allergy awareness.

It wasn’t long before this movement started to gain momentum. Parents from around the country started to use teal pumpkins to show that allergy safe treats were available for handout.

It is simple to get started on this trend. All you have to do is put out a teal pumpkin, either painted or purchasedm and give out allergy safe treats.

FARE recommends that some of their free posters can be printed out along with flyers since the movement is still new. It will help introduce the idea to the neighborhood.

The safest thing to give out if you are a blue pumpkin house is a non-candy prize, such as a sticker or a pencil. Children who have allergies or can’t eat candy will still be able to come to your home.

There are also options for allergy safe candy but they should be wrapped individually with a printed list of ingredients on the package. They should also be kept separate from all non-candy treats.

If you are handing out both allergy friendly treats and candy, make sure that parents are aware of what you are doing. They can then make an informed choice about the treats you give to their children.