When there’s a food allergy in your family and you’re traveling to a relative’s home for dinner, the basic holiday party rules apply: Talk with your host about your child’s food allergies beforehand; ask about menu plans and ingredients; and bring your own safe foods.
There are some behind-the-scenes things you can do, as well, to prepare your child.
1. Help your child learn how to be a good guest.
Teach your child to always ask you if a food is allergy-safe before eating something that didn’t come from home. It may be best if you sit next to your child at the dinner table. Stage a few family-only practice parties at home and role play. Going to buffets? Practice this, too — with your child holding the plate and you helping to choose and serve. Children will be more confident when they know what to expect and how to handle themselves. At the party, ask the host if you can move your child through the buffet line first to reduce risk of cross-contamination from shared serving implements. Notifying hosts of your child’s food allergy ahead of time will reduce anxiety for all parties involved.
2. Bring allergy-free goodies to share.
Browse through allergy cookbooks from the library, the Internet or social media sites with your child, and choose a couple of snack, dessert or main dish recipes that sound good. Set aside time to work together and try them out. It’s a great learning opportunity for all ages: measurements and simple math; reading food product labels; and basic hygiene while handling food. If the child is old enough, involve him or her in designing notecard labels for buffet dishes.
3. Keep calm, cool and collected.
Your child will pick up on your emotions. Treat the food allergy as a simple matter of fact, not a source of fear. Too often, food and eating are areas of stress between parents and children; make your comments clear and calm. When children are confident about what to expect at a party and how to handle new foods, they are less likely to stray from safety.
4. Work with facts, not fear.
Schedule a well-visit with your allergist to talk about your child’s food allergy and get a risk-assessment. Help the child make a list of questions to ask, then let him or her do the talking. “Can I sit next to Cousin Teddy if we don’t share food?” “Will I get sick if Aunt Sally kisses me if she’s eaten something I’m allergic to?” “What if they tease me?” If necessary, role play how to handle difficult situations like teasing or well-meaning people who don’t fully understand food allergies and think one little bite will be fine.
5. Keep watch.
You don’t have to hover, but keep a watchful eye on what’s going on. Depending on the age or maturity of your child, you might need to avoid parties where the kids have separate play areas and dinner tables, but for family parties where people are all together, just keep your eyes and ears open. Make sure your child always knows you’re there for support, no matter what.
6. Be prepared.
Be sure to carry two epinephrine auto-injectors — and keep them close at hand. Epinephrine is the first-line treatment for anaphylaxis. If your child develops symptoms of anaphylaxis — hives, swelling of lips and mouth, dizziness or trouble breathing — use the epinephrine right away. The epinephrine will likely relieve symptoms quickly, but have someone call 911, because the child will need to go to the emergency room for follow-up care. Here’s another role-playing opportunity — make sure the child is familiar with the epinephrine auto-injector and what will happen if it needs to be used. If you don’t panic, your child won’t, either.
Purvi Parikh, MD, is an allergist and immunologist with Allergy & Asthma Network , the leading nonprofit patient education organization for people with allergies, asthma and related conditions. She practices in New York City at Allergy and Asthma Associates of Murray Hill and New York University School of Medicine. She sits on the Board of Directors for the advocacy council of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
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Holiday Party Planning for Kids With Food Allergies originally appeared on usnews.com
