Halloween Food for Babies & Toddlers

Wait until you are confident that a toddler has both the skill and molars to safely break down candy in the mouth. Never offer candy to babies, including gummies and soft candies, as most candy is a common choking hazard due to its texture, shape, or both. If you would like to share a treat with baby, consider making or offering an age-appropriate treat.

An occasional taste of food with chocolate (such as bread, cake, or pancakes) may be offered as soon as baby is ready to start solids, however wait until the child is older to offer chocolate candy. Chocolate candy can pose a high risk of choking due to its size, shape, and texture or ingredients mixed in, such as dried fruit and nuts. In addition, chocolate often contains ingredients that are not appropriate for young babies, such as alcohol, honey, and caffeine. Wait to offer chocolate candy until you are confident that a toddler has both the skill and molars to safely break down candy in the mouth, which tends to be closer to 24 months of age.

Softer candies like 3 Musketeers and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups pose a lower choking risk. However, you should wait to offer candy of any kind until you are confident that a child can follow directions and has plenty of practice biting, chewing, and managing challenging foods. Typically, a toddler has developed the skills to safely practice eating candy by around the 2nd birthday. For babies and toddlers around 1 year of age, consider sharing an age-appropriate treat. When you feel ready to share candy with a toddler, make sure they are seated, calm, within arm's reach, and still; do not offer candy when a child is walking, running, dancing, or moving.

Wait until after the second birthday. Research on the long-term health impacts of artificial and alternative sweeteners like stevia is limited in young children. If baby happens to taste food with sweetener, keep calm and know that it is probably fine. An occasional taste as one part of a variety of food in the diet is fine in the long run.

There are a limited number of candies that do not contain any common food allergens (cow’s milk, egg, peanut, sesame, soy, tree nuts, wheat, finned fish, and shellfish). Some include Dum Dums, Enjoy Life, and Smarties (in the United States; Smarties-branded candies in other parts of the world contain milk chocolate).

Always read every label, every time. Even "fun-sized" candies marketed for holidays can have different allergen labeling than standard-sized packaging. Be sure to review the ingredient list on the label before offering candy to a child with food allergies.

It depends on the child. Some children are more sensitive to trace amounts of an allergen and may need to avoid foods with these statements, while others are able to tolerate them. Talk to your allergist about whether your child needs to avoid foods with precautionary allergen labeling.

Avoid sharing candy with babies, and sort through your toddler’s stash before they dig in. Be sure to check the labels before offering candy to a child with food allergies.

Dark Chocolate: Some high-percentage dark chocolates (70% or higher) may be dairy-free, but always check labels for milk ingredients and cross-contact warnings. Be aware that dairy-free chocolates may contain other common allergens, like peanuts or tree nuts.

Fruit Candies: Candies made purely from fruit juice or purees, like fruit leathers or gummy snacks.

Hard Candies: Simple hard candies are frequently free of milk.

Avoid sharing candy with babies, and sort through your toddler’s stash before they dig in. Be sure to check the labels before offering candy to a child with food allergies.

Hard Candies: Some hard candies like lollipops or mints are typically free of egg.

Gummies: Certain types of gummies made without egg-based marshmallows.

Licorice: Red or black licorice may be egg-free, though labels should always be checked.

Avoid sharing candy with babies, and sort through your toddler’s stash before they dig in. Be sure to check the labels before offering candy to a child with food allergies.

Gummies and Gelatin-Based Candies: Gummies, licorice, and jelly beans often do not contain peanuts or tree nuts.

Hard Candies: Lollipops and sour candies are typically peanut- and tree nut-free, but some may be made on shared equipment with nut products.

Many chocolates are not appropriate for nut-free families because they may be cross-contaminated with peanuts or tree nuts during production, although there are nut allergy-friendly brands available.

Avoid sharing candy with babies, and sort through your toddler’s stash before they dig in. Be sure to check the labels before offering candy to a child with food allergies.

Gummies and Licorice: These often do not include sesame.

Hard Candies: Lollipops, peppermints, and sour candies are generally free of sesame.

Chocolate: Some chocolate bars can be free of sesame, but it is important to check the labels because ingredients can change at any time. In addition, many chocolates are not appropriate for sesame-free families, and they may be cross-contaminated with sesame.

Avoid sharing candy with babies, and sort through your toddler’s stash before they dig in. Be sure to check the labels before offering candy to a child with food allergies.

Fruit-Based Candies: Gummies, fruit chews, or fruit leathers made without added emulsifiers often avoid soy.

Marshmallows: Some marshmallows are soy-free marshmallows; check the label for cross-contact warnings.

Hard Candies: Many hard candies do not use soy lecithin, but some do. Check the label.

Avoid sharing candy with babies, and sort through your toddler’s stash before they dig in. Be sure to check the labels before offering candy to a child with gluten intolerance or sensitivity.

Marshmallows: Many plain marshmallows are gluten-free, but some may contain wheat starch or be produced in facilities that process wheat. Check labels carefully.

Rice-Based Candies: Some rice-based chewy candies are gluten-free.

Gummies: Many varieties of gummy candies are wheat-free.

The Teal Pumpkin Project is an initiative started by FARE where families place a teal-colored pumpkin outside their home to signify that they are distributing allergy-safe candies and/or non-food goodies, such as bubbles, squiggly straws, toys, and more. That said, make sure to always check ingredients.

Trust that your decision is right for you and your child, and know there are still many ways to celebrate Halloween. Some ideas:

• Set boundaries.

  Share your preferences with family and friends ahead of time and explain your rationale. They love you and they will respect your choice.

• Use alternatives.

  There are plenty of bright, fun foods, toys, and treats that can stand in for candy. Make sure you and others are also modeling how to eat these foods.

• Get creative.

  Place foods that you're comfortable with your child exploring in fun packaging or in a Halloween "bucket" to feel they're a part of the fun.

• Have fun.

  Paint a pumpkin, sing and dance to a spooky song, make a scarecrow, and engage in fun activities that are not centered around candy.

Got questions about sugar? Check out Sugar in Food for Babies and Toddlers for guidance.

Apple cider, baby-friendly popsicles, energy balls, frozen bananas dipped in yogurt, oranges with pumpkin faces, spooky pancakes—the Internet is full of many ideas to try.

It depends on your family and your priorities. Some options that families use:

• Keep it in a regular spot and offer a piece or two alongside a meal or snack, the way you would any other food.

• Donate it. Some dental offices, community groups, and organizations that send care packages to service members run buy-back programs for unopened candy.

• Hand it off. Give the candy to family friends or bring it in to your workplace to share.

No matter which direction you go, try not to make the candy and what happens to it a secret. When candy is hidden, carefully rationed, or made into something a child has to earn, research shows that children tend to want it more and eat more of it when they do get access. Interest usually fades faster when candy treated neutrally as simply one of many foods in the house.^[3]