Kids with diabetes face a challenge on Halloween: what to do with all the candy. While their friends are busy consuming their trick-or-treat booty, kids with diabetes must be more careful.

There are many possible approaches to helping kids with diabetes enjoy Halloween, including:

• Exchange candy collected while trick-or-treating with something else, such as a small toy or money. Younger kids might like this, especially since they can get something more permanent than candy.
  
  
• Donate candy collected -- or most of it -- to a local children's hospital or your local American Diabetes Association. Older kids might feel good about helping other kids.
  
  
• Keep selected candy and fit it into your child's meal plan. With carbohydrate counting and a fast-acting insulin such as Humalog or NovoLog, you can easily accommodate an occasional treat.

Alternatives to Candy

You may even wish to choose non-candy treats to give away. Some families give out Halloween-themed pencils, small plastic bugs, glow-in-the-dark rubber balls, or other small toys instead of candy. These kinds of items are readily available at local party-supply stores, or via mail-order from places (like the Oriental Trading Company).

Carbohydrate Values for Common Candies

Candy   Size/Package   Carbs (g) 3 Musketeers   16 gram fun-sized bar   12g 3 Musketeers   2.13 oz bar   46g Baby Ruth   2 oz. bar   37g Baby Ruth   1 fun size   17g Blow Pop sucker   One sucker   13g Butterfinger   2 oz. bar   41g Butterfinger   22 gram-fun sized bar   15g Candy corn   15 pieces   15g Dum Dum suckers   One sucker   5g Gummy Bears   11 pieces   30g Heath Bar   1.4 oz. bar   25g Hershey's Almond   3 minis   15g Hershey's Almond   1.45oz. bar   20g Hershey's Kisses   6 pieces   16g Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar   snack size   10g Jolly Rancher   1 piece   6g Kit Kat bar   3 piece bar   10g KitKat   1.5 oz. package   26g Licorice   3 6-inch Twizzlers   15g M&M's   "Halloween" mini box   10g M&M's, plain   mini pack   15g M&M's, plain   1.69 oz bag   34g M&M's, peanut   mini pack   13g M&M's, peanut   1.74 oz bag   30g M&M's, peanut butter   1.69 oz bag   27g Milky Way   2.15 oz bar   43g Milky Way   fun-sized bar   14g Nestle's Cruch   1.5 oz   28g Nestle's Crunch   4 mini bars   26g Reese's Cups   2 regular-sized 1 oz cups   18g Reese's mini cups   4 1-oz mini cups   16g Skittles   15 pieces   15g Skittles   mini pack   17.5g Snicker's   fun size   12g Snickers   2.07 oz. bar   36g Snickers   20-gram fun-sized bar   12g Starburst   4 pieces   16g Sweet Tarts   mini packs - 5 packs   13g Tootsie Pop   1 pop   16g Tootsie Roll midgets   12   30g Tootsie Rolls   2 bars   23g Twix   2 2-oz. cookies   37g Warheads   5   13g Whoopers   8 Pieces   15g Whoppers   1 small pouch   16g Wonka Pixie Stix   Each (about 6 in. in length)   2g

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