Welcome to the world of allergy warriors - where parents must go the extra mile to ensure their kids are safe from... regular food. 🤯

 
Caregiving for an allergy warrior means knowing firsthand the challenges of managing food allergies. One of the biggest challenges of all? Dealing with other adults who aren't taking your little one's food allergy seriously.

When someone hasn't walked in your shoes, so to speak, and so they haven't ever been directly impacted by a food allergy, the entire concept can feel abstract and confusing. After all, to someone unfamiliar with food allergies, the food you're trying to protect your kid from is completely harmless – and why pay attention if there's no danger, right? Throw in people who think food allergies are fake news, and your stress level goes from frustration to frightening.

Open conversations about food allergies with other adults are vital for your child's safety and well-being.

Truth: most adults who don't have direct experience with food allergies still want their children to feel welcome and safe around them. Even those who choose to believe food allergies are "made up" or "overreactions" by helicopter parents (newsflash: they're not!) don't want to put your child in harm's way.

For the most part, people are good, conscientious, and very much care that your child has fun and is safe at their party or on that field trip. No one wants to inadvertently be the reason your child ends up in the emergency room!

To an adult who's never witnessed an allergic reaction, it can seem like a rare, random, easy-to-treat occurrence. They might think a reaction is unlikely to happen on their watch... but allergy emergencies aren't rare; they can happen anytime, any place, with anyone — especially someone who's not paying close attention to ingredients, cross-contamination, or which kiddos at the playground didn't get their hands wiped down after snack time.

Communicating with the adults in your child's life makes your village safer for your little allergy warrior to play, learn, and grow. 🌱 😌

Surefire tips to make sure your food allergy conversations are clear and easy to follow:

⚠️ Explain Severity

First and foremost, honestly explain the severity of your child's allergy to others. Knowledge truly is power! Don't sugarcoat the realities of your child's food allergy in an attempt to make someone else feel more comfortable. Make sure they know that even just a little exposure in their mouth or on their skin is enough to send your sweet baby straight to the hospital.

Explaining the severity can help someone realize that taking a child's food allergy seriously isn't a choice but a MUST. After chatting, you might be surprised as someone previously ambivalent becomes even your child's strictest advocate. (Score!)

🤒 Walkthrough Symptoms & Tools

Show where to find emergency supplies and demonstrate how to use them, especially the Epi-pen. Share resources, allergy cards, and anything that might help a different adult manage a child's food allergy. Bonus if you also bring a copy of your kiddo's emergency action plan from your allergist!

If someone uninformed is planning to spend a lot of time with your little allergy warrior – teachers, babysitters, nannies, grandparents, etc. – we HIGHLY RECOMMEND gifting them The Ultimate Food Allergy Field Guide. It's chock full of bit-sized educational videos and life-saving resources, such as the Easy How To Use The Epi-Pen Guide, the Handy Reading Labels Guide, and a fully Customizable Emergency Action Plan. The best part? It takes less than 90 minutes to become an informed Allergy Warrior!

🚑 Share Emergency Resources

Ensure everyone knows who to call and what to do if an allergic reaction or allergy emergency happens. Who do they call first – you or emergency services? When do they deploy the Epi-pen, give Benadryl, or apply Cortisol Creme?

🎂 Be Honest Above Social Events & Gatherings

With a little allergy warrior in toe, popping over to a friend's house for dinner or attending a family birthday party is no cakewalk. Be honest with others about why certain events or gatherings may be challenging for you and your family. If you're avoiding an event because of food allergies, it's okay to explain why. Clarity is better than confusion! Let others know that safety is your top priority and you appreciate their understanding.

Have a list ready of things someone could do to make it easier for you to say yes to their event, such as savings pre-packaged food boxes for you to read ingredients from or ordering from a restaurant you already know is food allergy friendly.

Advocacy is important! As an Allergy Warrior, you know what's best, and it's 100% okay to trust yourself and be firm about it.

Be vocal and declarative about what is and isn't okay for your family. This sets clear boundaries and opens the door to positive conversations about allergy awareness in your community. 📣💛

Sharing your favorite food allergy resources with others is also key. From informative social media accounts to follow, articles to read, online courses to learn from, and handouts to have handy – share the world of allergy info! The more insight you share, the easier it becomes for food allergies to become a consideration for non-allergy families, too.

Yes, it's upsetting when other parents don't seem to think or consider allergy warriors.

Remember that allergy missteps come from a lack of awareness –not a lack of compassion.

That's why it's essential to be open about what it means to be an allergy warrior and why even the most minor things can make a big difference in safety and happiness. ✋🏽

Allergy Scout is here to help you navigate the world of food allergies. We've created easy-to-share resources for you and your community, such as reference sheets and safety guides. And when there's a resource you want that we still need to make, let us know! We love being as helpful as possible when navigating a food allergy and are open to your thoughts and ideas.

With so much emotion involved in managing a child's food allergy, facts are your ally. Be patient with others as they learn, and stay open to questions. Questions about an allergy are often not judgments; they're a sign of interest and concern.

Try to be patient as missteps and questions about food allergies come up. It can take time for other adults to get used to food allergy safety.

💗 The tips in this article can help make your life as a parent of an allergy warrior just that little bit easier. Together, we can make the world safer for allergy warriors!

Most importantly, wherever you are in your food allergy adventure, you're taking steps to be informed and prepared, in other words: you're doing great!