by Tab Moura
What a month this has been! With kids in school, and holidays approaching, time seems to be speeding by. Can you believe it’s already time for Halloween? I don’t know about you, but I have been wracking my brain for how to safely participate in some of our favorite traditions. At the time of writing this, we don’t know what Halloween adjustments we’ll have to make for Covid, so that we can still honor these traditions for our children, but I do know that every community will have some big decisions to make.
There are, however, a few things that are always relevant when it comes to Halloween, so I’m sharing today about how I use cannabis to support my kids’ experience.
1. Costumes
Oh. my. word. Is there anything worse than finding out (the hard way) that a costume scratches weird, or the texture of the fabric overstimulates them? For my sensory sensitive kiddos, I like to scroll Pinterest for modified costume ideas. At the beginning of the night I lather them up with a cannabis topical, so they have low-key relief of any skin irritation. Despite the lotion, we may need to ditch part of the costume half way through the night, so I like layered costumes that still allow them to feel IN costume, despite the adjustment. This typically isn’t an issue, since the weather is a little chilly in October anyway. Last year my girls were archers. They had bows, and wore dresses and capes; and when one needed to lose the dress, she had an undershirt and pants that still matched.
2. Candy
Thanks to Teal Pumpkin project, we have seen a dramatic rise in food allergy awareness during holidays like this. Since my middle daughter has a severe egg allergy, we have a few tricks we use, along with looking for teal pumpkins. For one, I always carry a bag of candy that I know she can have. We have been at this for a while, so she knows not to eat candy that we haven’t verified for her, but if you guys aren’t there yet, the bag of candy you take with you makes for a great Houdini swap. Time sometimes gets away from us on days like these, so as I mention in my next point, make sure our busy babies are properly medicated so they can fully enjoy their costumes and candy collecting.
3. Routine Changes
As Cannabis patients, we make adjustments with their medicine schedules on days like these, since they aren’t usually in bed on time, and they may need naps, etc. Another change is that we drastically reduce how much sugar they take in leading up to a candy holiday. Since my kids’ edibles are usually 1” brownie squares, this means we switch to oils and capsules during this week. The change in method means they typically metabolize their medicine more quickly, so we also prepare for them to need their medicine more frequently to control symptoms appropriately. If you typically use tinctures or oils, you will have to remember make sure they take it with real food in their stomachs, as the increase of candy may make them metabolize their medicine more quickly as well.
4. Last, but not least:
Don’t forget to medicate yourself while you work so hard to make the magic happen, you deserve it.
I know that 2020 has had many unexpected twists and turns, so I am fully expecting all of us to wing it this year… to that effect I invite you to join me in sharing on social media about how you are adjusting and modifying, so that all of us can be inspired to make the most of this holiday for our babies.