Teens and Food Allergies: Resources for This Risky Time

Just a few weeks ago, we celebrated my daughter's 13th birthday and new "teendom." I know that many of you are facing the same thing, so I posted about some of my concerns and attempts to prepare my own child for future independence and self-advocacy as a young adult.

Earlier this week, a tragic story out of Massachusetts showed us that food allergies can indeed be fatal for teens. A 19-year-old young man lost his life due to an apparent peanut allergy reaction. This story is still unfolding, so it's not clear exactly why events unfolded the way that they did in this case.  When these tragedies occur, everyone wants to figure out the exact circumstances so they can avoid the same tragedy. I understand that completely, but we don't always know. I'm very sorry to hear of any young life lost in this way and my deepest sympathies are with his family.

If you hear stories like these and they cause you to feel afraid and helpless for your own child, please take heart. Education and awareness work--it's a proven fact. The more someone knows about potentially fatal reactions and the more prepared you are if one occurs (and they do--you never know when an accident or mistake will happen)--the better.

Obviously, teens need to carry their medication, know the symptoms of an allergic reaction and know how to avoid these reactions.  Teens need access to facts they can explore on their own and they need to know that they are not alone.As parents and relatives, we also need to know what to do if they need help.

Luckily, many resources exist for teens with food allergies (and their parents). If you have a teen with a food allergy (or will have one someday), if you know a teen with a food allergy or you just want help understanding how you can steer your young adult in the right direction, please check out the following links. I've found all of them extremely helpful and I hope you will, too.

Article about food-allergic teens from the web site Healthy Child: This article explores the many issues faced by teens with personal stories and great information. I highly recommend reading it.

FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education) teen resources section: Includes a video with teens talking about their allergies and lots of good information for coping.

Why Risk It site: This Canadian-based resource has a variety of info specifically for teens and the issues they face, like dating, risk-taking and peer pressure. (A reader recently reminded me about this, so thank you!)

Anaphylaxis Canada: This site has a comprehensive section on teens, including a video discussing how to talk to your date about what they ate before kissing. Awkward! But necessary.

Allergic Living Magazine: Section on teens, high school and college has many great articles available online.

If you have a teen, what do think has been your best teaching resource so far?

Food Allergies and Allergic Teens: Taking the Next Big Step

Happy Birthday, dear Alex.

Today my daughter is a teenager! And while turning 13 is exciting and fun on many levels for her and for us, it also represents for me, at least, a new phase for our family. Food allergy management is no longer just the domain of parents or other adults; kids now step into a leadership role.

Our daughter was diagnosed with life-threatening nut allergies 9 years ago; it's hard to believe it's been that long. We've all learned a lot and grown a lot. No matter how old she gets, of course I will always be there for my daughter if she needs me. I'm always willing to advocate for her if she needs the help, which she will need, for awhile. However, more and more I'm seeing that it's time for me to begin to trust her, offer her the opportunity to self-advocate and make good decisions. This is what she will need to do the rest of her life and frankly, I've always had an eye on this fact. All through her childhood we've encouraged her to self-advocate and learn to self-manage. Now the real test begins, because she will need to do this for herself more and more frequently.

For parents of younger kids who are not yet in my shoes, let me tell you that it does give me a lot of hope and a feeling of security to know that I have taught her as well as I can. Whatever you are doing now to support and teach your child, it will give you more peace of mind when they get older and manage things on their own. I trust my daughter; she's given me no reason not to. But let's face it--kids are kids. They make mistakes. Teens are famous for pushing the envelope; in a way, it's their job to do that.

My daughter's pink "Groovy Girl" b-day cake when she was in kindergarten.
Yep, that seems like yesterday.

The goal is an independent, self-sufficient teen and young adult who can confidently manage their food allergies. But life isn't perfect and neither are we. How do we go forward and help kids get through the teen phase, safely, and healthy in both body and spirit with regard to life-threatening food allergies?

For me, a lot of unknowns still exist. We have a long way to go. But I feel confident (most of the time!) that my daughter can manage her allergies in just about any situation because we have done a lot of work together to get to that point.

A few things I can suggest that have helped me in this effort:

Try to stay positive about handling food allergies. Yes, food allergies rocked our daughter's world and occasionally prevented her from certain activities (ice cream shops, bakery birthday cakes, school treats) but we always focused on the positive as much as possible. Everyone has a challenge in life or multiple challenges; that's life. This is just one of them. If you approach food allergies with an attitude of  "you can handle this" I do believe it helps kids get through some potentially difficult situations.

Offer unconditional, calm support. Suppose your child makes a mistake about what to eat or is struggling with managing the allergy at school. Even if you are so upset (at the school, your child, another child) try not to freak out on this subject, at least in front of your child. They need to feel like they can share with you and so, be calm and offer solutions. If you need to vent, talk to your spouse or a friend. Some kids might feel like they don't want to burden you, so if you get really upset, they won't tell you what's up. And you don't want that. It's good to remember the motto: "Keep Calm and Carry On."

Give kids ownership of the allergy right from the beginning. Starting when they are young, have them be the one to remember to pack the epinephrine (of course, you'll double-check, but let them initiate), speak up in a restaurant or to a friend. We have always encouraged our daughter to do this and it's second nature to her now. I remember my daughter's kindergarten teacher telling me that my daughter always asked about foods, would say "no" to certain things and generally advocate for herself. Start young and it will pay off later. It also helps kids to feel more empowered and less shy when they can do this.

Be honest. This is life or death stuff, so you have to be honest about concerns and food allergy management requirements. In turn, kids should be able to feel comfortable sharing their feelings, good or bad, about food allergy management.

Remember that you are not your kid. If you don't have any food allergies yourself, you may not understand everything that your child is going through. Listen to them and sympathize and acknowledge that they may be experiencing things unknown to you. They will respect you and trust you for admitting that.

I'm not going to tell you I'm never scared about sending my daughter out there with allergies or that I don't have anxiety about certain things.  All I can do is trust that I have done what I can do and that I will continue to be a resource for her.

For more information on teens and food allergies, click the link for a great article on management and coping.

And visit Anaphylaxis Canada and the FARE web site for specific teen info. Allergic Living magazine has a lot of good information, too.