Keeping your food allergy child safe can feel like a full time job

I saw the article Keeping kids with food allergies nourished is a full-time job by Joyce Clark Hicks and thought "Right on sister!". And after reading her post, it really hit me that it's not just about feeding them safely but their safety in general that's a full time job. Some days I seem more consumed with it than others but the days I'm not consumed by it are few and far between.

I know for me, I:

~ Cook/Bake safe meals/food. There aren't too many safe places that we can go out to eat so I do most of the cooking at home.

~ Plan ahead for parties/holidays/school functions. I don't want my son to feel left out.

~ Plan ahead for vacations. When we are going to a new place, I need to find grocery stores/restaurants that can accommodate our needs.

~ Read labels and keep track of safe foods that he can have and any ingredient changes that may have occurred thus changing a once safe food into an unsafe food.

~ Research the latest food allergy information on the Internet. This is so important. I've learned so much from articles/blogs/message boards that I've read on the Internet and it's also how I find out that some of the food on our safe list actually isn't (although the Dino Bites in question are back on the market and supposed to be gluten free again).

~ Help to educate the newly diagnosed.

~ Try to educate friends and family.

~ Keep track of all medication and expiration dates.

~ Try to advocate for the food allergic.

~ Try to balance everything else.

Some days I feel like I'm out of control, other days I feel like I'm not doing enough. But most of the time I do feel like keeping my child is my full time job. And for those that have a full time job on top of all of this, I don't know how you do it. I'm in awe of you.

As my son gets older, it has gotten a bit easier, and things that I worried about when he was a baby, like picking up food from the floor and putting it in his mouth have gone away. But new things, like play dates, field trips, sleep overs and feelings of being left out have cropped out. When one things ends, another begins.

How do you keep it all together? How do you not fail at your job? Do you ever feel like you are totally overwhelmed by all of this? What techniques do you use for keeping all of your information and time organized when dealing with child's food allergies?

Robyn from the Peanut Allergic Kid talks about the need to be organized (And read the comments too! Many people are struggling with organization and keeping their FA child safe).

From Peanuts In Eden, a list of great food allergy resources on the web. They've already compiled information so you don't have to.

Tags: allergies, community, food allergies, organization, parents of food allergic children, stress, working together

Keeping your food allergy child safe can feel like a full time job

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