IS NEVER TOO EARLY TO START TEACHING A CHILD ABOUT HIS/HER FOOD ALLERGY How to teach a toddler what they can or can't At the age started taking my child to the supermarket almost daily to help him visually learn what he could and could not eat. Learning to read as earlier as possible was a necessity, so the summer prior to entering kindergarten we hire a tutor to teach him how to read. By age four, he was reading labels and could tell if it was safe to eat the food. If you can't read a label, or the food doesn't have one DO NOT EAT. Better stay hungry than risk your life. “Better safe than sorry” continues to be our mantra. I can't teach my kid that staying hungry is OK? I was called crazy, hysterical, and words that can't be written in a public post, bought I had to teach my child how to stop people from trying to force him to eat food unless he brought it from home. Every time my child told someone that he didn't want to eat and when question why he would say things like "I am hungry but mom said I can't eat that" or "My mom said that I don't have to eat until she is with me" someone would call me, get mad at me, call me crazy, and the list goes on. Most parents will never get used to the idea of telling their kids to not eat and stay hungry if they can't find safe foods. I never got used to it. It is not easy but unfortunately no matter how much you try, there will be At the age when staying hungry is the only option. No matter how much you try to pack snacks, call restaurants ahead of time, and make sure they eat before leaving home there will be many occasions when your child will be hungry for a while and you will always feel guilty and blame yourself for it. Unfortunately, most adults choose to allow kids to eat foods even if there is a risk. Others don't take the time to teach and remind their kids that is OK to stay hungry and not be able to eat until they get back home. Food safety always has to come first. What kids can do when they can't find allergy safe food: Show them what sodas, sport drinks, juices they are not allergic to that they can easily find at a friends house or in vending machines. Always remind them "If you are having a soda or juice make sure the container is sealed before you drink it". "My kid doesn't have to carry his Epipen to school because they have a nurse and they are really good about food allergies". I always though that giving the school nurse the Epipen's was enough, until one day that I dropped by school to replace the outdated Epi's and the nurse was out to lunch. No one really knew her exact location. I asked if anyone could open the nurses office and no one really knew who could. An administrator showed up and open the nurses office so that a student that was feeling ill could wait for the nurse. When I asked if anyone had keys to opened the medicines cabinet the answer was "only the nurse" Thank God that happened only few weeks after school had started. After that day I always make sure my child carries a set of auto injectors on him at all times. Even if there is an Epipen in every classroom immediate access is easier when you have the auto-injectors on you. School policy doesn't allow kids to self carry their epinephrine auto injectors. For many years I felt like I was forcing him to carry an illegal weapon because there were no clear school policies regarding epinephrine. Today, thanks to the efforts of some amazing parents, all but five states in the US have passed the “self carry epinephrine legislation”. Unfortunately, the majority of food allergic kids are still not carrying their Epipen’s on them and many schools don't allow them to do so. Even if there is an Epipen in every corner of the school, if the kid doesn't carry one on them, what happens when they get in the school bus, or get a ride home with a friend because you are running late? I always told my son, you carry them on you but keep it as a secret. Not because you are doing something wrong, but because not everyone in school knows about food allergies. But mom what if I get in trouble at school because they noticed that I was hiding the auto-injectors inside the WaistPal? I always told him that he wouldn't get in trouble (I was just hoping he didn't) and that if he did to tell them to call me, and to explain that he had no choice. That it was a rule I wouldn't allowed for him to break. What do I think about peanut free schools? I am not a fan of peanut-free schools because it can paradoxically lead to a false sense of security, could affect how soon a kid learns how to manage their food allergies in the real world, and it will not help the millions of kids allergic to other foods. “If you walk into a school and start asking teachers if they know what an Epipen is and how to use it, most will answer yes. If you don’t say a word and simply show them an Epipen the majority will ask; What is that? Unfortunately, many first aid trainings given to school personnel other than nurses, do not include when nor how to administer an epinephrine injection. More efforts are needed to teach kids and school personnel about managing food allergies like adequate monitoring of meals and snacks, reading labels, clean up after food is served, creating a not sharing food policy, hand washing, and ensuring children self carry their Epipen's and school personnel learns how and when they need to administer the injection. Parents need to teach their kids how to use the Epipen and ensure that they self carry the auto injectors. Don’t let your food allergic kids step outside your home unless they have the Epipen’s; not with them, but ON them. Make it clear and remind your child that carrying the Epipen is a rule that can’t be broken, just like going out of the house naked is unacceptable. To ensure 100% compliance get an epicarrier. It needs to be discreet, cool looking, and comfortable. |