Parenting

Making Summer BBQs and Picnics Safe for Your Child with Food Allergies

Summertime not only brings warm weather, vacations, and endless trips to the pool—it's also time for BBQs. For the average person, BBQs equal fun, but for the 15 million Americans living with food allergies, such gatherings can often be more worrisome than wonderful. Imagine this: Your neighbor invites the entire neighborhood to his home for an afternoon of corn hole, swimming, and food. What a great neighbor! He’s supplying the burgers and dogs and is asking everyone else to bring a side dish and dessert. In your arsenal, you already have your list of safe foods you can whip up with ease. But what about the other families on your block? Sure, they have their go-to list, but will it be safe for your child? How do you ensure that your child can have fun with the neighbors and stay safe?

How Parents Handle This Situation

There is no right or wrong answer for this scenario. Everyone’s comfort level is different. Some families will choose to ask other families not to bring anything their child may be allergic to. Others may choose not to attend at all. When I asked the members of the Central Mass Parents of Children With Food Allergies Support Group how they would handle such a situation, their responses were similar. Most agreed that they would bring a separate, safe meal for their child. Some would bring a side and dessert their child would enjoy and make sure he or she gets served first. One mom brought up a great point: Jennifer said, “Even if we bring food that is safe for him, we scoop and package his food at home before going. People don’t mean any harm but they quickly use whatever spoon, or eat deviled eggs, then reach for a plate of watermelon or whatever.” They all agreed that each family will handle a situation like this in a way that works best for them. What’s important is that kids never feel excluded, know how to advocate for themselves, and never accept food from anyone other than someone who completely knows and understands their allergens.

Ensuring Kids Understand Their Allergies

For kids to take seriously that job of never accepting food that's not definitely allergy-safe, it helps if they understand their own allergies and know this isn't something you can forget about when you want to be like everyone else. The best piece of advice I can give is to start talking about the allergy immediately after the diagnosis. When my son was a baby, there weren’t too many resources. When he reached for a food at the grocery store, I would remind him that we needed to be sure the food was safe. As he got older I would have him read the ingredients, and do the research if an item was not clearly labeled. Thankfully, today there are many great resources out there, from articles to apps to a plethora of children’s books. Here are a few of our favorites: • The BugaBees app • "Fun Ways to Teach Your Kids About Food Allergies" from Huffington Post • "Wizdy Diner" app from Wizdy Games • "36 Skills To Teach Your Food Allergic Child" from Spokin

Remind Others of Your Child’s Safety Needs

Especially when you can't be there or there are a lot of people around who may be tempted to hand your child a cookie, it's important to remind everyone of what your child needs to be safe. Fun T-shirts, temporary tattoos, and other products can put that message out in a positive way. Try these sites for awareness products: • Allerware • Allergy Apparel

Great Allergen-Free Recipes to Share

Desserts:

• Allergy-Friendly Rice Krispie Treats from Allergy Awesomeness • Fruit Sparklers from Tastes Better from Scratch Remember, you may not be able to please everyone, but keeping your child safe is a priority.