Kids with food allergies… gobble THIS!

As we move closer to the holiday season, we’re beginning to look forward to winding down, spending quality time with our loved ones and doing lots of EATING of course. Because who doesn’t anticipate Thanksgiving day dinner?! The turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes, mac ‘n cheese, dumplings, pumpkin pie… We could go on and on. However, for our food allergy kids and their parents, there’s still a bit of anxiety that comes with that excitement.

Luckily, many of you have families who support providing safe foods, and it’s just a simple task of reminding them ahead of time to read labels and avoid cross contamination. For the rest of you, we know it isn’t as easy to keep control of all the food served, but with a bit of planning, your child can safely gobble his or her way through Thanksgiving, too. Here are some helpful hints how:

Play host. Sure, it’s a lot of effort, but as host, you can ensure your child’s entire meal is allergen free. To keep everyone else happy, feel free to share your menu in advance, so that others have the opportunity to bring and enjoy their favorite dishes. You’ll just need to be mindful of your child and his or her plate to prevent accidents.

BYO…P. If you aren’t hosting, your child will encounter a lot of unknowns. You can avoid risk by Bringing Your Own Plate from home, piled full of safe foods your kid loves.

Skip the family meal. There’s nothing wrong with having your own Thanksgiving feast at home. Time it to coincide with your extended family’s dinner and then head over afterwards to get in some quality visiting time. (If everyone’s not already in a turkey coma…) We all know this is a food-laden time of year, so it’s important that we up our game regarding precautions over the next couple of months, to include:

• Reminding children to wash their hands and faces after eating to avoid sharing allergens with your child.
• Making sure your child wears alert jewelry, like an AllerMates band, to remind others of their allergy.
• Having rescue medications, such as epinephrine auto-injectors, Benadryl and an asthma inhaler if necessary, with your child at all times.
• And finally, when you just don’t know if a food’s safe, erring on the side of caution and keeping your child away from it.

We hope these recommendations and cautionary reminders help your child to not have to go cold turkey this holiday season. If you have others you want to share with the AllerMates community, please let us know on our Facebook page or send us a Tweet!