I’ve heard that there are families out there who travel, stopping for a bite to eat whenever and wherever they feel like it. Families for whom the worst danger from a birthday party or carnival is a kid hopped up on sugar. Families that send their kids to sleep-away camp, trusting that the scariest thing their child will encounter in the mess hall is the mystery meat.
None of those families have a kid with food allergies, though.
The incidence of food allergies has skyrocketed in the last two decades, and almost everyone seems to have a kid with one (or more), or to know someone who does. Summer experiences that are fun for most kids, like camp, cookouts, and parties, are daunting and potentially deadly for families dealing with food allergies (FA).
Today in The Motherhood we were so fortunate to have a large panel of moms sharing their experiences and wisdom in dealing with this particular challenge. Lori Sandler, Susan Weissman, and Sandra Beasley were joined by panelists Sloane (Allergic Girl), Nicole (Allergic Child), Jen, Jodi, Sarah (The Allergist Mom), Barbara (Food Allergy Initiative), and Kelly (Food Allergy Mama). These wonderful moms weighed in on a number of situations that parents of FA kids deal with every summer.
On camp…
Lori reminds us that camp “is all about fun, and should not be stressful.” To keep it that way, we have to make sure our kids feel safe. This starts with the selection of the camp in the first place. Not all camps have the resources to deal with food allergies. Get recommendations from trusted friends, allergists, and allergy-friendly Facebook pages. Susan offered TheCampLady.com as a resource for locating allergy-friendly camps. Once you find a camp, Lori recommends talking to the camp owners at length and getting a feel for their philosophy, because you really need to feel able to trust them. Nicole and Kelly agreed that awareness of allergies is very much on a camp-by-camp basis.
Susan also emphasizes, “Trust in the counselor is crucial since they are there in the minute by minute. I think that simply talking to them about it in an open, calm, and anecdotal way really helps. Let them know that e-mailing or calling you is NEVER a bother.” And Sandra noted, “Consider going in to meet with folks with a copy of an Emergency Action Plan (if you have one) or else a one-page sheet that lists all allergens, likely points of exposure (not only food but CRAFTS), and prescribed course of response. Offer to bring in several laminated copies to make it easier on camp staff.” Having a small picture of your child in the corner of the sheet can help, too.
Another resource that can be helpful to camp staff is this snack list offered by Susan. Nicole has an ebook on her AllergicChild.com site about traveling and eating out with food allergies that also includes preparing for summer camp.
One critical safety tip from BestAllergySites: “Make sure the EpiPen follows your child. There are some camps/staff that will leave it in the medical kit and then stray from the kit to do various activities with the kids. The medical kit should always be close by. Also, make sure the counselor in charge of your child can and will administer if necessary.” If possible, having your child wear the EpiPen on his person in a waist pack is a good option.
On Cookouts…
Even if peanut satay isn’t on the menu today, that doesn’t mean the grill is safe. Hosts who may have been careful in their ingredient preparation may have forgotten about potential cross-contamination from previously grilled foods. Sandra recommends taking along an extra roll of aluminum foil and a separate set of tongs to create an allergen-free zone for grilling. On the bright side, she points out, summer desserts like watermelon are usually much safer than baked goods!
On Traveling…
Barbara offered this terrific resource for families traveling with food allergies this summer. Sarah reminded us never to leave an EpiPen in the car, especially in summer heat, which can quickly destroy the effectiveness of this medication. You can find guidelines for EpiPen storage here. While EpiPens shouldn’t get too cold, either, Sarah says a cooling pack can help keep them closer to room temperature.
And what about that adjunct to the great American tradition of the road trip – eating on the road? While you may not be able to just pop in to any old roadside stand for a bite, there are options, especially if you’re willing to plan. Susan says she’s had success avoiding restaurants and packing picnic lunches to be eaten in state parks. Jen agrees, noting that “picnics tend to be cheaper and much less effort anyway.”
Sandra says she gets tired of never having hot food on the road, though, and says that for shorter trips, she’ll pack something microwaveable, like organic Amy’s wraps or rice bowls, because many gas stations have microwave ovens where she can heat up her food. What a great idea! Along similar lines, Sarah says, “My mom got us a cooler/warmer that plugs into the outlet in the front of the car! It has been a life-saver on warm days to keep food cool (or in the winter when you need to keep food warm).” Divvies.com and Tasterie.com also offers lots of road-friendly foods.
But getting there, as they say, is only half the fun. When you arrive, you may have to deal with hosts who don’t have as thorough an understanding of food allergies as you would like. One option, of course, is staying in a hotel where you can prepare your own food, as several of the moms in the discussion like to do. As Susan observes, however, that can get expensive, and sometimes it’s just not practical. If staying with friends or family, Lori advises, “Start by having an in-depth discussion with your potential hosts to get a sense of their willingness to keep an allergen-safe environment. Calling restaurants and grocery stores ahead of time can prove very helpful.” It’s a judgment call; staying in a hotel may keep you away from Grandpa’s cashew addiction, but being in a house offers you more opportunity to cook and store food and to thoroughly wash pans and dishes.
On Summer Jobs…
For teenagers, getting a summer job is a rite of passage, and many (if not most) of the summer jobs available to teens are in restaurants. Sandra says that her parents “flat-out vetoed (her working in a restaurant) out of fear. But in hindsight, I wish we’d sat down to brainstorm options that didn’t require direct exposure to food – hostessing, for example, or making deliveries. It’s as important to cultivate independence as it is to protect.”
On Summer Sports…
If your kids participate in sports leagues over the summer, don’t forget the most important part of the game: the team snack. Don’t forget to communicate with coaches about your child’s food allergy, especially, as Sarah points out, if you drop the child off for practice and don’t stay to watch. Kelly cautions NEVER to forget to pack the EpiPen in sports bags (and let coaches know it’s there). Susan points out that some coaches require the removal of all jewelry, including medical alert bracelets, during play. This makes it especially important that the coach knows your child and her allergies. When you sign your kids up for sports, there may be an area on the form that asks about food allergies and medical issues. Ask if this information makes it onto the roster so the coach sees it regularly.
On Sending them Off to School (or College)…
Even the most blissful summer eventually comes to an end, followed by … school. (Insert collective sigh here.) For the little ones, get a 504 Plan. Ideally, your child should be able to self-carry her epinephrine and staff who deal with her, including bus drivers, should know how to administer it. In some ways, sending a student off to college is even more scary than sending a five year old to kindergarten. By this age, your child should know how to talk to others about his allergy in order to protect himself. All-you-can-eat dining hall buffets can be a nightmare for those with food allergies (not to mention dining tables with lots of food spillage), so talk to college administration with your child to see what measures are in place to protect those with food allergies, and see if your child can have living arrangements where he can (safely) prepare his own food.
In the end, as Lori says, we have one goal for our food-allergic and non-allergic children alike: “to make sure their physical, emotional, and social needs are met so they can focus on going about the business of being regular kids.” By helping each other through challenges in the summer – and all year round – we can do just that.