Food is an essential part of living. It fuels us to do what we aspire to do. But what happens when our bodies respond to what we eat in a very different way? That forms the genesis of food allergies.
Food allergies happen when the body mistakenly treats proteins found in food as a threat. Allergies can be experienced by anyone irrespective of age or gender.
Adults are usually well equipped to handle their own food allergies, with education, medication, and a lifetime of experience. But how about children?
Data suggests that about seven percent of children in the UK and about one in 13 children in the United States suffer from a food allergy. Allergies can cause a range of symptoms, and some can even be life threatening. In children, common food allergies include allergies to peanuts, milk, shellfish and tree nuts.
The burden, however, lies on the parents and caregivers in managing their children who are prone to or have been diagnosed with having a food allergy. This can be incredibly overwhelming for parents and caregivers, but there are ways adults can work to reduce the stress on their families. On top of these strategies, it’s also important to lean on healthcare professionals (like those qualified with a FNP online program in the US), who can provide medical advice and help parents make well-informed decisions when it comes to keeping their children safe.
This article will also address practical ways parents can work to manage newly diagnosed food allergies in children.
While these should not be taken as medical advice, they do provide strategies to help make everyday life a little less stressful, for both parents and children.
Talk to your children about their food allergies.
Communication is key in anything we do, but is especially important when there are risks like health problems on the line.
Through clear and constant communication with children, they can understand what it means to have a food allergy.
This will then provide the kids with an avenue to play a significant role in reducing the effects of having a food allergy.
You must start simple when communicating with your children. Some action steps include:
- First, explain that certain foods make them sick. Use terms like “I can eat this” and “not for me.”
- Second, teach and show them samples of these two types of meals.
- Third, instil in the child the habit of only consuming foods prepared by you, the parent, or perhaps a trusted adult.
- It would be beneficial to inform them on who to contact should the crisis associated with their food allergies arise.
Remain calm
While the worry of your children consuming foods they are not supposed to have is apparent, the parent and caregiver need to remain calm so as to create anxiety for the child.
Children learn from adults, and as such if you are very stressed, the child will likely emulate this.
It is indeed important that your children understand that food allergies are serious. But it is equally important that you remain calm when discussing their food allergies.
The last thing you would want to do is unnecessarily scare your child.
Find a community of parents with children who have food allergies
Being part of an engaging community brews a sense of belonging.
The journey of finding what works best for your kid can be daunting. However, if you find yourself in a community with shared experiences, you can learn from their struggles and the ways they have adapted to treat their children’s food allergies.
Such community groups can be found via social media platforms such as Facebook.
Find friends for your children
Just like the parents and caregivers benefitting from the sense of community, children too could use such community.
Kids who have food allergies may feel that they are different because of it. As the parent or caregiver, you must try to avoid this feeling for your child. To do this, find friends for them that can relate to their experiences.
This will help foster a sense of belonging in the kids. It will give the kids a sense of hope that they are not alone and make them realise that other children too have the same condition.
Should you have difficulty finding such a community, the FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) in America support group directory lists all the available support groups within your area.
Food allergies, particularly when they present in young children, can be incredibly stressful for all family members. Of course, you should always follow the advice of healthcare professionals, and seek medical advice whenever your child has an allergic reaction. Outside of this, parents and caregivers can adopt the measures explored in this article to help alleviate the stress associated with managing food allergies in their children.
