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it?s the weekend, and if you?re a parent of young
child
ren, you know what that means?birthday parties. every parent knows the hurried hustle involved when prepar- ing to attend a
child
?s birthday party. but while most parents only have to prepare one ?special something? for the birth- day boy or girl, dana m. always prepares another special treat, an
allergy
- free one, for her daughter. dana?s daughter is one of the 5.9 million
child
ren in the u.s. living with a
food
allergy
. according to
food
allergy
research & education, one in every 13 kids in the u.s. has a
food
allergy
, which equals about two kids in every classroom. if your
child
is one of the 5.9 million, here are some helpful hints on how to teach them to become their own advocates for their
food
allergies. teach simple rules let your
child
know that cer- tain
food
s will make him or her very sick by using simple phrases such as ?safe
food
s? and ?unsafe
food
s.? dr. ben gaudin of ?e
allergy
, asth- ma, & sinus center says, ?it?s important to teach younger
child
ren to only eat
food
that is specifically made for them and that it is not safe to share
food
or even spoons, forks, knives, cups, bottles, or straws.? talk openly about their
allergy
always maintain a positive attitude. let your
child
know that it is serious but not scary. as a parent, remember you always set the tone. your
child
will mirror your atti- tude towards
food
allergies, whether that is positive or negative. get hands-on use everyday experiences, like trips to the grocery store, as ?teachable moments? to help them identify safe and unsafe
food
s and what they look like. point out gallons of milk, egg cartons, bags of peanuts, or other relevant allergens. look at labels once your
child
can read, read the
food
labels with them. be sure to teach them that the
food
they are al- lergic to may have a variety of names, not just its most common name. dr. joseph redhead of the baton rouge clinic, amc says, ?parents can begin to tell their
child
each time they give them
food
, ?i have read the
food
labels and there isn?t any milk (or egg or peanut, or whatever the rel- evant
food
allergen may be), so it?s safe to eat this
food
.?? by doing this consistently, you are helping them develop the habit of always checking
food
labels. if you are unsure about an ingredient on a
food
label, don?t hesitate to call the manufacturer. when in doubt, say no ?e general rule of thumb is that if the
child
is not 100 percent sure the
food
is al- lergen free, they shouldn?t eat the
food
. dr. adrianne edmundson of ?e
allergy
asthma & sinus center says
food
allergen label laws were created to help in this process. laws now require the label to clearly state if the item con- tains a ?top 8
food
allergens? (milk, egg, peanut, tree nut, wheat, soy, fish, or crustacean shellfish). educate the educators
food
allergy
parents may quickly learn that not all adults fully understand the complexities of
food
allergies. reach out to your
child
?s edu- cators and caretakers and in- form them about your
child
?s specific case. by partnering with these key figures in your
child
?s life, together they can help you reinforce the
food
allergy
messages you have conveyed to your
child
. tell them a story ?ere are dozens of age-ap- propriate books available on
food
allergies. ?is is espe- why can?t i have a cupcake? by lauren labbé meher teaching
child
ren about their
food
allergies 72 brparents.com | july 2016
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