I hear time and again about kids, usually around the age of 6 or 7, who start to exhibit signs of anxiety about their food allergy. I know my own son went through a rough period at age 6. He became fearful if someone, whether they were eating peanut products or not, touched him during…
Food Allergy Safe Birthday Parties
Updated April 2016 (First Published July 2013) Get this post in PDF format for easy printing Let’s talk birthday parties and food allergies. If you’re hosting the party, you probably have a ton of things on your to-do list, but at least you know the food will be safe for your food-allergic child to consume and…
Peanut-Free in New York City
We did it: we had a wonderful spring break in the Big Apple and ate safely the whole time! Granted, we weren’t at all adventurous eaters, but we were safe. I spent a lot of time planning our trip because I had to not only research the attractions and plan our days, but also extensively plan our…
New to Peanut Allergies? Start Here
Last updated: May 2016 Welcome You’re likely here because you have one or more children with a peanut and/or tree nut allergy. For that, I’m sorry, but I’m glad we found each other. Eight years ago, I was exactly where you are: scared and overwhelmed because my child had been diagnosed with a life-threatening and life-altering…
How to Annoy a Food Allergy Parent
10 Ways to Annoy a Food Allergy Parent Ask me if a certain type of food is safe for my child. For example: “Chocolate chip cookies are OK, right?” Please know that there is absolutely no food that I can definitely say is safe for my children in the absence of a label or more…
The Oral Food Challenge
My Preparation The day before my daughter’s peanut oral food challenge I found myself, kid-free, in the grocery store scrutinizing the labels of jars of peanut butter. I wanted to ensure whatever I purchased contained only peanuts and had not been cross contaminated with any tree nuts. I felt like a deviant, as if I…
Why Peanut Component Testing Didn’t Work for Us
Background My six-year-old son is anaphylactic to peanuts. This we know with certainty because, after eating two bites of a PB&J when he was two years old, he experienced a swollen tongue and lips, congestion, runny/itchy/red eyes, vomiting, and head-to-toe hives. My daughter was just six months old when my son had his anaphylactic reaction…
Have a Food Allergy Safe Halloween
As a mom, I want my children to experience all the enjoyable events I did. As a food allergy mom, I want to ensure that, when my children participate in food-related events, they do so safely. Obviously, Halloween is a tricky holiday – bad pun intended. So what’s an allergy mom to do? Moms in…
Danger of Delayed Allergic Reactions
Recently in my local food allergy support group, a brave mom – I’ll call her Mary – recounted the terrifying experience of dealing with her daughter’s delayed allergic reaction after eating peanut. This mom is brave for reliving those overwhelming emotions and for calling out her family’s mistakes to help educate other moms so their…
Peanut-Free Parenting 