Taking Charge of Your Child’s Allergy

Being the parent, or grandparent or caregiver of a child with a food allergy can be scary.  How am I going to shop or cook for a Child’s Allergy now?  First take a deep breath, then remind yourself that you know what the offending food is. You know what to do and you can keep your child safe now.   This is not to say that an occasional food that causes an allergy or reaction won’t be ingested, but for the most part you should be able to keep the offending food away as much as possible.

What is involved in taking charge of your Child’s Allergy?

1.  Eliminate the food that is causing your Child’s Allergy.  Avoidance is the best policy…just don’t have it around for them to eat and then there will be no bad reactions to have to deal with.     But have a plan to know what to do if your child does eat the food that they are allergic to.   Your doctor or health care provider should have provided you with some specific things you can do.

2.  Find a replacement food for your Child’s Allergy  if possible.  For example, if peanuts are the food that is causing the allergy…you will want to look for something like sunflower butter to take its place.

3.  Reading food labels will be a huge part of detecting the food allergen and keeping it away from your child.  You will need to learn all the names that the food may go by because food companies try to hide certain ingredients without labeling what they are.   For instance, your allergy may be dairy and the product may say dairy free but you find that under the contents is listed whey or casein, which are dairy components that need to be avoided if you have a dairy allergy.  So you can’t buy that product.

4.  Inform others  

• Make sure others know about your Child’s Allergy.   So make sure teachers, babysitters, day care providers, extra curricular class teachers, school nurses, friends, family and anyone you take your child to knows what they are allergic to.
• Make sure the above people in your child’s life know what a reaction can look like so they know when to call you or call for help.

5.  Wear a medical alert bracelet if the allergy or food intolerance is severe.   That way if your child should be with someone who does not know their situation, your child will get proper medical care when they need it.

6.  Teach your child not to eat the food that they are allergic to.   You may have to wait until your child is old enough to understand this.  So even if you think your child understands not to eat a certain food, ask them what they have eaten.  Keep a dialogue open with your child.   And have foods available at all times that can be eaten stuffed in their backpacks when they go to friends or events.

7.  Read what others are doing who have the same type of allergy, if you can find it.  Find cookbooks that will help you prepare foods that you and your child will love.   Here are a few allergy cookbooks that can help you get started cooking allergy free.  Just click on the pic and it will take you to Amazon where you can order it:

Most of all, love your child, and know that you have done all you could by finding out what their food allergy, sensitivity or intolerance was.   Praise yourself because you have changed your lifestyle to include your child’s allergies.

Click on the links to read my other articles on the Top 5 Food Allergies and Symptoms to help with your Child’s Allergy.