Guest Post: A Food Allergy Mom Discusses Navigating Food Allergies Post Covid-19
The pandemic has been the most stressful year of my life. I remember waking up every morning from March through June with a pit of dread in my stomach, worrying about what I would read in the news that day. My anxiety about the pandemic was off the charts.
However, one small silver lining about the last year is that I haven’t had to worry at all about my son’s food allergies. He’s been at home — in first-grade distance learning — since March 2020 and has eaten all meals at home. While I still read every food packaging label from the groceries I buy, and we always have to remember to bring the EpiPens whenever we leave the house, overall, I haven’t spent much time this past year worrying about food allergies. The pandemic, while horrible and stressful in so many ways, has provided a mental break from the constant food allergy anxiety I’ve had since the day my son was diagnosed. But now with summer day camp and the return to traditional in-person school on the horizon this fall, I’m starting to wonder how I’m going to cope again with the anxiety that so many parents of young children with food allergies face.
The constant vigilance of being a food allergy parent has been one of the most challenging parts of this journey. Checking every food packaging label, worrying about dining out at restaurants, and feeling stressed that my child will feel different because he can’t eat the same treats as everyone else at birthday parties and class parties have all been a part of the worries that many food allergy parents share. And now that I’ve had a yearlong mental break from that worry, I’m wondering how it will be when things get back to normal.
Here are some coping strategies I’ve used in the past and that you can embrace to help alleviate some of the worry:
Take an EpiPen class to feel more comfortable administering the EpiPen. (I took a class through the American Red Cross.)
Volunteer to be the room parent at your child’s school, so you can be in charge of the food at class parties and make sure it is safe for everyone in the class.
Chaperone field trips.
Meet with camp counselors/teachers/school nurse to explain your child’s food allergies, discuss their allergist’s written plan, and give them a box of two EpiPens and some safe snacks to keep on hand in case there is a birthday treat or snack that they can’t eat due to food allergies.
To help encourage my son’s sense of empowerment and self-advocacy, I’m also working with him on the things he can do on his own to stay safe at lunch or snack time. I tell him:
Avoid sitting near anyone who is eating food containing your allergens.
Do not share food.
Say no to any food you’re not sure about.
Read labels (if your child is old enough).
Hopefully these strategies will ensure a smooth transition from this past year at home to getting back safely to in-person school, camp, and activities.
Rebecca Greene, MSW, LMSW, is the mother of a child with multiple food allergies, a social worker, and the author of a new children’s book called My Perfect Cupcake: A Recipe for Thriving with Food Allergies. My Perfect Cupcake is the debut title in The Fearless Food Allergy Friends series. Each book features a different main character coping with one of the top eight food allergies. Rebecca was inspired to create this series based on her son’s food allergy journey. Learn more about Rebecca and her newest books at www.rebeccagreeneauthor.com.
