The day after a food-filled holiday like Halloween is a good time to reflect on handling food allergies in a way that makes your child aware, but not fearful.
I love this article from Allergic Living magazine that addresses the fear factor inherent in dealing with food allergies and how parents can manage it.
I know a lot of you are new to nut allergies and you may be wondering how/when to get the point across to your kids. This article gives some helpful advice and great perspective and it shares the philosophy that I have which is to make sure that kids understand the real risk and not be overly concerned about their allergies while still maintaining a healthy respect for them.
I hope we all enjoyed a safe Halloween and I'm sure learned a thing or two about how to make it go more smoothly next year if there were any bumps in the road.
The winter holidays are coming up with their many food challenges so let's take today, at least, to enjoy the relative quiet!
Showing posts with label food allergy fears at school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food allergy fears at school. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
It's Olympic Day--and Mom's Got Her Cell Phone On
Today is my daughter's Olympic Day at school. Her entire class travels by bus to a nearby school in order to compete in outdoor sporting events.
It's a fun, fun day but of course I'm just a little bit on edge. First of all, there's the bus ride. Who had peanut butter for breakfast? I don't wanna know.
Then, there's the assumption that the nurse and teacher brought my daughter's medication with them. My daughter has participated in Olympic Day since kindergarten and I've called each year to make sure they've got it covered.
The other big issue--the kids are asked to bring a "bag lunch." There is no refrigeration, so one guess what a lot of them bring? You got it. Peanut butter. So of course I wonder how that's going to go. According to the nurse, they even segregate the peanut-allergic kids at lunch time, just like in the caf. So that's good enough for me. And at this stage, my daughter is used to having special treatment at lunch, so it doesn't seem to bother her.
I've become a known quantity to the school, which has helped them get organized with regard to food allergies and field trips. Last year, the school nurse told me she was waiting for my call and so had all the info ready for me. The teacher was waiting for my call. They even sent a note home to reassure me. This year, I didn't call (my daughter has the same teacher as last year, since she's in a multi-age classroom) so I guess you could say the school has earned my trust. Still, I've got the cell phone attached to my body in case.
I don't plan to spend the day freaking out or anything--don't get me wrong. In fact, these events are probably good for me (as well as being a lot of fun for my daughter). From time to time, every parent of a food-allergic child (and let's face it, every parent in the world) has to make that leap of faith and trust that their child will be OK.
Maybe when Olympic Day is over, I can celebrate with that other ancient Greek tradition--a nice glass of wine.
It's a fun, fun day but of course I'm just a little bit on edge. First of all, there's the bus ride. Who had peanut butter for breakfast? I don't wanna know.
Then, there's the assumption that the nurse and teacher brought my daughter's medication with them. My daughter has participated in Olympic Day since kindergarten and I've called each year to make sure they've got it covered.
The other big issue--the kids are asked to bring a "bag lunch." There is no refrigeration, so one guess what a lot of them bring? You got it. Peanut butter. So of course I wonder how that's going to go. According to the nurse, they even segregate the peanut-allergic kids at lunch time, just like in the caf. So that's good enough for me. And at this stage, my daughter is used to having special treatment at lunch, so it doesn't seem to bother her.
I've become a known quantity to the school, which has helped them get organized with regard to food allergies and field trips. Last year, the school nurse told me she was waiting for my call and so had all the info ready for me. The teacher was waiting for my call. They even sent a note home to reassure me. This year, I didn't call (my daughter has the same teacher as last year, since she's in a multi-age classroom) so I guess you could say the school has earned my trust. Still, I've got the cell phone attached to my body in case.
I don't plan to spend the day freaking out or anything--don't get me wrong. In fact, these events are probably good for me (as well as being a lot of fun for my daughter). From time to time, every parent of a food-allergic child (and let's face it, every parent in the world) has to make that leap of faith and trust that their child will be OK.
Maybe when Olympic Day is over, I can celebrate with that other ancient Greek tradition--a nice glass of wine.