Easter Egg Hunt for Diabetic Child

Ask her mother what treats she CAN have, after the hunt have her trade her found egg treats for ones she can have.

Or put little prizes in the eggs

I also liked the suggestion of doing Real eggs!

But, I would call the mom, find out what will be best for her in terms of treats & foods.

The mom will be used to this & very appreciative that you want her daughter to feel included.

P

You could put money and small toys in the eggs. Call her mom and get other suggestions for what to put in the eggs. She will be appreciative that you are being sensitive to the special needs of her child. I have a child that doesn't eat chocolate. When the children open their eggs he trades chocolate for the things that he likes.

My sister in law did a hunt a few years ago and she asked each parent to bring a baggie of change. We filled the eggs with coins instead of candy. There were several "golden eggs" that had a dollar or a five in them as the grand prizes. When you think about how much a bag of candy is, this actually works out pretty well and the kids don't have as many sweets.

My 5 year old daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 last June... Last Sunday the local JDRF had a "sugar free" egg hunt which meant they put little prizes in the eggs instead of candy. The Dollar Store has a lot of small inexpensive items...

The important thing to know about Diabetes is, it's all about counting carbs... Thinking "oh, something is sugar free, so it's ok" is not always true... A marshmallow peep for example has 7 carbs... Jelly beans are about 1 carb each... 99% of packaged things today have a label with info so it's pretty easy. Once you know the carbs, you can figure out how much insulin you need to keep things balanced. I'm sure the 11 year old is well versed in all this so no real need to treat her any differently.

I feel it's better to have a little real sugar then something "sugar free" which often has the same number of carbs plus the chemicals to make it sweet.

Best advice, talk to the child's mother and see what she says.

You could fill all the eggs with things like plastic rings, bubbles, etc. Altho....

At 11 she's prolly gonna be too old or too cool for an egg hunt. most middle schoolers scoff at such immature things....

Also, my family has food allergies. If she's been diabetic long, she's prolly like us and expects to say thanks, but no thanks while enjoying the fun of the hunt itself. She's prolly used to it and it is most likely no big deal for her. Talk to the parent.
Fun times!

Corina,
We stopped putting candy, etc. in our Easter eggs. We use things like tiny toys (you can buy them by the bag and put one or two in an egg), pennies and stickers. I read a suggestion about putting "specials" in the eggs, like little certificates for one night to stay up late, one free pass from a certain chore, or from any chores for one day, one long walk alone with Mom or Dad- you get the idea. No money involved, just love.
Hope this helps. Happy, blessed Easter!
S.

My son (5) is diabetic and I would give the parents a call. I get questions all the time, I'm sure they're used to it and would appreciate it. I like the idea of money and candy. A lot of the kids are probably getting plenty of candy in Easter baskets too. Maybe have a prize(bubbles) for who finds the most/least amount of money. Good Luck!

A couple of ideas:
1-You could fill the eggs with stickers, coins, and small toys instead of candy.
2-You could hide one color of eggs filled with stickers for her. Or filled with pretzels, coins, etc. Before the hunt starts mention to all the kids that the "pink" ones are for "name".
3-Or maybe put tickets in the eggs and the children can pick one "prize" for every ticket. You can have a bowl of candy packets, a bowl of stickers, and a bowl of non sugary snack bags.

I'm not sure if any of these will work for you, but I hope it helps....
Good luck!

if you are filling eggs pick a certain color and fill it only with sugar free candy, or little things non candy, you could do this for everybody. my grandma did this forus when we were young. she would even put in a variety of quarters nickles and dimes into assorted eggs. she would hide things that weren't candy tho. individual goldfish bags, stickers, chalk sticks, hair ties, ect.. everybody could hunt for as much as they liked. when we were done the person who found the most got a prize and then everything was divided up equally by color. hope this gives you some ideas.

My church, Cathedral of Praise on Macon Road in Cordova is having an Easter Egg Hunt Good Friday at 3p for special needs children. I know that they have baskets for those who can't eat candy. The kids can turn their eggs in for baskets.
My cousin has a special needs grandson and we had the privilege of going to her house for an Easter Egg Hunt. She had stuff animals and toys hanging in trees and in the bushes. She also had money and other such things stuffed in the egg. Hopes this helps you and if you decide not to do you egg hunt, please feel welcome to come to Cathedral of Praise for our hunt. Friday at 3p is for Special Needs Children and Saturday at 11a is for all other children.

Maybe she can help with hiding eggs and planning the hunt.

11 y/o are too old to hunt.

C.

We are doing an egg hunt for our family and using non candy items. Stickers, coins, chapstick, hair clips, , that kind of thing. Many of the eggs will be empty. The kids are more concerned with finding them than they are with what is inside. We will give them each a small chocolate bunny, but that is it for candy. We are trying hard to get away from giving them a big basket of sugar. Good luck to you. I love the previous poster's idea of small "coupons" to turn in... we will be adding a few of those this year.

A great way to include a child with issues with sugar is easy. We have done many things. First you can offer to swap out any eggs she collects for money. Or you can choose special eggs that everyone would know that those are the special eggs and put sugar free candy in them for her to find And lastly, instead of candy in any of the eggs, put toys or money- All kids love to find money just as much as candy. You would be surprised at how its just the hunt not the eating of candy that they want. Good luck, in our house, the Easter bunny has been delivering quarter filled eggs for years!!

When I was little my family wouldn't put anything in the eggs, instead they'd have us trade them in for things like school supplies or toys.

I have a friend whose child is asthmatic and cannot have a lot of things (i.e. sugar, food coloring, etc) I found that simply asking her mother what she would prefer her have is key. Her mother was so impressed that I went out of my way to find out and make sure she had something really spoke loudly to her. I know in school people did not do that and this little girl never had anything unless I brought it. People just don't think until your in that situation ya know? Depending on if she makes too much sugar or not enough as to what he mom would want her to have.
Your so sweet to think of her and care enough to ask.
Good luck.
W. from Indiana

Well you could buy the sugar free candy for diabetics and put it in only a certain color egg like pink for example and then she could hunt for that color which might make it more fun.

You can let her turn her candy in for prizes or money/change (or any other child, for that matter) . You can find some cute prizes at the dollar store. Make her feel extra special and make her a special egg with some sugar-free candy in it... find out her favorite! That is so thoughtful of you. Hope you have fun & many blessings on Easter =)

Corina, You could all hunt for eggs, then pool the eggs after to sort by color, and tell which color egg each child would get, making sure the diabetic one got the sugar free candy! S/he would feel like just one of the crowd and no difference! It might take a bit of organization, and purchasing eggs accordingly, but I'm sure you could work it out. Have fun,

H.

try putting tiny treats (toys, games, etc... check at the dollar store or target's $1 section) in the eggs rather than candy... all of the kids will enjoy it and it will be nice for her as well.

Hello Corina,

There is a great website eHow.com on how to make kid friendly diabetic treats,I use it often cause my little girl's friend who is 5 has juvenile diabetes too so I make her little treats all the time..Happy Easter and Good luck!

We just went to an Easter Egg Hunt and some of the eggs had Play dough in them, which I thought was a great idea. They were actually play-dough brand, but I'm sure you can make your own and put it in the eggs. There was also some little cheap toys in a few too. Good luck!

Ask her mom for types of candy that she can have and then stuff all eggs with this candy, it will be better for all invovled anyway. or, you can color code the eggs for her and tell all the kids that the ie 'gold' eggs are for her.....or stuff with tattoos, erasers, etc then no one has to worry about candy. :O)

Why don't you put stickers and some little toys in some of the eggs. If this child can have some candy (not sure) then the mother should limit it for her or maybe she already is aware of what she can and can not have because she has been living with it. You can have carrots with dip for snacks and just try to make it fun.

HI Corina,

Our family tradition is to put money(change) in the eggs. We'd always go to my aunt's for Easter and all of my cousins would participate in the egg hunt, even the older ones. There would be some special eggs with a $1, $5, $10, you get the idea. It was more healthy than candy and heat wasn't a factor. We have candy in our house year-round, so that was never a big deal. Besides, who doesn't like money? It also eliminates the problem of what type of candy to put in the eggs. Everyone can donate a dollar amount and fill the eggs with change. My 11 and 13-yr old still look forward to the Eater Egg Hunt. Good luck! L.

First of all there is sugar free candy. Second, she can still hunt for eggs, and even eat some candy. Insulin will cover her sugar control.

do you mean, what to put in the eggs? my son's play school doesn't do candy period (thank goodness, my kid wouldn't blink til next week!) and they put allkinds of stickers, tatoos, and little toys and stuff in the eggs.

My cousin is diabetic and one thing that my aunt used to do, especially around Halloween, was that Sarah went trick or treating like everyone else, and when she got home, she traded candy for things like notepads, hair bows, stickers, pencils and stuff like that and my aunt and uncle got the candy (SCORE!) Until one year, her friend ran ahead of her to every house and told them she was diabetic and they gave her fruit so she had no candy to trade :)

Maybe just call her mom for suggestions :) have fun with your party!!!! and props to you for thinkin ahead and of others' feelings.

Lots of stickers and little novelty items like that...erasers, mini bunnies, balls, etc-you usually can find these sort of things at the Dollar Tree or even Walmart

I would put all the regular candy, stickers or toys in the eggs as you would any other time. Then I would tell the parents that after the hunt is over, their daughter can come over to exchange any candy she can't have for little toys, stickers or sugar-free candy that she can choose out of a "Treasure Chest" or bowl just for her. You could even make a game out of her "trading" for other stuff (like she's shopping, and her candy is the money). I'm sure the parents are used to dealing with this, so just communicate with them and see what they are comfortable with.

I have seen sugar-free candies and chocolates at Wal-mart and other places. Maybe you make all of her eggs a certain color, like pink, that no one else can have if they find them. That is if you are using plastic eggs with treats in them.

My 5 year old daughter has diabetes. We have been to Easter Egg hunts where they wrote the child's name on their eggs, so they all get the same amount of eggs, but nobody has ever stuffed her eggs with anything different than the other kids. My husband and I buy her candy from her at .25 cents a piece and promptly throw it out. We take her shopping and she buys something she likes more than candy anyway (we also do this at Halloween). When the Easter Bunny comes, he brings diabetic friendly treats, small toys (like stickers, note pads, erasers, play dough, silly putty, lip gloss...), money, etc.

One thing I would do is check with the child's mother. Depending on how long she has had diabetes and what kind of insulin therapy she is on, she may be allowed some candy. Children who have been living with it for a long time tend to be responsible and know their own limits. They usually do not want or need special treatment.

Good luck and have fun.

Depending on how many kids you have hunting eggs, use a different color for each child. We started this a couple of years ago in our family, I have 16 nieces/nephews! Not all 16 hunt eggs anymore, but the ones that do range in 2 to 12, and for them I get a different color eggs. So that the smaller ones have the same chance to get eggs as the bigger kids, and we fill the younger ones up with age appropriate stuff. Each child has the same amount to find, I get bags in the same color of the eggs (gift wrap bags), then they know what color to look for. Doesn't single anyone out as they have their own special ones to look for.
Good luck!
T.

P.S. If you do this yearly , like I do, think ahead for next year and get you eggs on clearance at Wal-Mart or somewhere to insure you have enough colors for all the kids, I bought bags of them last year for under a 50cents a bag. Then at the end of the hunt I ask for all the kids to dump their goodies in their bag i supplied and give me back the eggs, that way I have them year after year.