Why do kids have to eat peanut butter at school? This is such a controversial subject in the food allergy world, though I can't for the life of me figure out why it's so heated. I've read the reactions to food allergy parents who have given their opinions in the past. I know what peanut butter advocates think. I know that on the extreme side of this argument, peanut advocates think that severely food allergic children should not even be allowed in school--that they should be homeschooled. In fact, I've heard this opinion so many times that this type of verbiage no longer fazes me.
How many times have I heard a parent say, "But she'll only eat peanut butter for lunch!" I just can't figure this out. Because if my kid looked at me and told me he would only eat one thing for lunch, and that one thing was something that could potentially kill another student, I'd tell him no way. Forget that, if my kid told me he would eat only one thing for lunch, period, I would tell him no, that's not acceptable.
I just can't wrap my head around parents who insist that peanut butter sandwiches are the end all. Do their kids eat these for breakfast and dinner too? Do they have a peanut butter sandwich waiting for them when they get home for snack?
Okay okay, I get it, I do. People have rights. They want to eat peanuts and they should eat peanuts. Just not at school. There are personal rights and then there's social responsibility. What are we teaching our children if we're only teaching them one side of the coin?
I mean, if my son was playing in the park with friends, found a long sharp stick and proceeded to wave it around recklessly at the other kids, I would tell him to put it down. Sure, he has the right to play with sticks, just not around other kids. Hey, it's unlikely that he'll poke someone's eye out, but it's possible. He could also unnecessarily scratch or puncture someone. Wouldn't we rather avoid the risk altogether and tell the boy to put the stick down? Or would we all sit around on the edge of our seats waiting to see what would happen? If your child was the one with the stick pointed at her, would you just sit around and do nothing so as not to offend the rights of the stick-brandishing child or his parents?
Do we share the responsibility of helping to keep our kids safe? Every day, my kids go to school and I pray that I don't get a phone call from the school office. When I see the number flashing on my phone, I'm immediately filled with dread. I'm hoping the caller is not about to describe an allergic reaction, and that I won't need to rush myself over to the pediatric ER to meet my child.
So why the peanut butter? Of course, 99.9% of the time, peanut butter sandwiches in the school cafeteria aren't hurting anyone. It's the less than one percent of the time, the time that after eating a peanut butter sandwich, a classmate accidentally spits into the mouth of a peanut-allergic child during a conversation they are having in line about to leave the cafeteria.
Yep, it happened to my kid, yesterday at school.
Within moments, my son developed a stomach ache, told the principal, and was whisked away to the office. While I was on the phone with the principal (thank God I answered my cell!), my son reported trouble breathing, so I told him he needed the epinephrine injection, which my son administered himself. I told the principal that he needed to go directly to the ER, and I would meet him there.
My 9-year-old son is officially a rock star. He recognized his symptoms, got help, related his symptoms clearly, and administered the Auvi-Q auto-injector successfully and calmly. He rode an ambulance alone to the ER, readied himself for a four hour stay, and worried that he didn't have his books to do his homework.
Why can't we just say that there are no nuts allowed in school? Because we know people won't follow the rules? Because we know people won't like it? Because we're worried about people's right to eat what they want for lunch?
All schools have drop-off and pick-up procedures which are not to everyone's liking, and which are probably going to be challenged by a few parents, but we still have them. We have them because we know it's the right thing to do, and because we know if we didn't, we'd have a lot more accidents. If we could avoid just one accident with rules about how to pick up our children from school, would that help to justify their existence? Do we even feel the need to quantify how safe we could be with the implementation of a particular rule?
How many food allergy accidents have to happen before we change our food policies at school?
I don't think most people mean to put food allergic children at higher risk of reaction at school; I just think they don't understand. They haven't had to respond to an emergency situation--adrenaline pumping, hands shaking. They haven't had to live through the ups and downs of managing food allergies on a daily basis, spend literally thousands of dollars every year on medications, ER visits, and specialty foods...in a constant state of worry.
I've always known that food allergy education is a slow evolution. One step forward, two steps back. We had our two steps back yesterday, I'm looking forward to that step forward.
Raising food allergic kids in a mostly non-allergic world
Showing posts with label in schools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label in schools. Show all posts
August 30, 2013
August 26, 2013
It's A Small World
Tristan had three allergic reactions during our three week summer getaway. (Don't worry, he was treated and fine each time). We learned the hard way to look at every label every time and to take the "shared equipment" disclaimers seriously. Very seriously. Every time. I must admit we've been loose about the disclaimers in the past.
In our defense, since Tristan just turned nine, we have probably read 14,600 labels = (365 days x 5 labels x 8 years)! Just for him just to make sure that what we were about to give him wouldn't make him sick. And that's a conservative estimate, and includes labels for new foods as well as labels for foods we regularly eat.
So now that we are being overly cautious about ingredient labels and cross contamination, I feel like our world just got a lot smaller. Our safe product world, that is. I never wanted to be the kind of mom to stress and fret every day about how few foods are available to my son, but the fact is, this new development has gotten me to a heightened state of awareness. Meaning my stress level went through the roof.
There is enough worry associated with the first week of school: new teachers, new kids, new classrooms. On day 1, Tristan found out that his teacher has a cat. Tristan is severely allergic to cats. Oh yeah, and he was sneezing all day with a runny nose, and is now taking a daily antihistamine. And thus is the life of an allergic child. But I digress...
What I wanted to say was that my discovery of homemade bread and my mother-in-law's breadmaker actually helped to save my sanity. Yes, I just said my mother-in-law just made me more sane.
Bread and other bakery items so commonly are made on shared equipment with several ingredients that my son is allergic to (egg, dairy, nuts, etc.), so I decided to try my hand at homemade bread. We were on vacation and had no machine, but I tried it out and the bread was incredible, hot and fresh. It was likely the best bread my son has ever tasted, as we are usually forced to buy from a short list of breads that are dairy-free.
I googled "easy vegan bread" and found the recipe for the Easiest Simplest Vegan Bread Ever. Obviously, I made that one, and am officially experiencing a homemade vegan bread obsession. And I must say if you find a breadmaker with a timer feature (which I'm sure they all have by now), there's nothing like the smell of hot bread to wake up three sleepyheads during their first week of school (and one sleepy mommy who hasn't yet had her coffee).
So even though my world got smaller this summer, a few things opened up for our family in our food world. Managing my children's food allergies has always been a journey--this is just another turn in the road.
In our defense, since Tristan just turned nine, we have probably read 14,600 labels = (365 days x 5 labels x 8 years)! Just for him just to make sure that what we were about to give him wouldn't make him sick. And that's a conservative estimate, and includes labels for new foods as well as labels for foods we regularly eat.
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| Happy Birthday to our big guy! |
There is enough worry associated with the first week of school: new teachers, new kids, new classrooms. On day 1, Tristan found out that his teacher has a cat. Tristan is severely allergic to cats. Oh yeah, and he was sneezing all day with a runny nose, and is now taking a daily antihistamine. And thus is the life of an allergic child. But I digress...
What I wanted to say was that my discovery of homemade bread and my mother-in-law's breadmaker actually helped to save my sanity. Yes, I just said my mother-in-law just made me more sane.
Bread and other bakery items so commonly are made on shared equipment with several ingredients that my son is allergic to (egg, dairy, nuts, etc.), so I decided to try my hand at homemade bread. We were on vacation and had no machine, but I tried it out and the bread was incredible, hot and fresh. It was likely the best bread my son has ever tasted, as we are usually forced to buy from a short list of breads that are dairy-free.
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| The kids loved making the bread. Definitely a great activity for a rainy day. |
So even though my world got smaller this summer, a few things opened up for our family in our food world. Managing my children's food allergies has always been a journey--this is just another turn in the road.
March 25, 2013
A Successful Marin Overnight
When Tristan left in the morning with his big duffle filled with sleeping bag, toiletries, and layering pieces--for which I had specific instructions lest he go out everyday in a t-shirt--I was in pieces. There was never a doubt in my mind that we would make it happen, and figure out a way for him to be included in his class' first overnight stay. I just hadn't anticipated how nerve-wracking it would be. And little did I know how much of a learning and growing experience it would be, for the both of us.
Eighty third graders stayed two nights at the Point Bonita YMCA. It is a clean facility, with separate boys' and girls' dorms. Bunks are divided into several smaller rooms and one meeting room, and large bathrooms. Their spacious dining hall includes a buffet and plenty of long cafeteria-style tables. All the children were given an orientation about how the dining hall works, with an emphasis on composting and taking only what you can eat. The food is mostly organically grown and healthful, with basic ingredients, which simplified things for us. On top of it all, the meals were delicious.
So how does a multiple and severely allergic child eat in a dining hall in a camp-style setting? With a lot of planning, foresight, and a bunch of faith thrown in for good measure. Richard Holden at Point Bonita YMCA was a pleasure to work with. We communicated via email, with a follow-up discussion with his chef when we got there. Here are a few things that worked for us:
1. I emailed Food Service Director Rich Holden well in advance of the trip. We emailed back and forth until I came up with a modified menu for Tristan. It would have been nice for these menus to have been posted in the kitchen upon our arrival, but Tristan brought two copies of the menu with him, both of which he ended up giving to the chefs for reference. I made sure to introduce Tristan to the chef before the first meal.
Here is the dinner menu for day 1. Rich was willing to do a modified menu, or a combination of a modified menu and supplements, depending on the food allergies. We needed to do minimal supplementation (just soy milk boxes and Oreos), as there was lots of variety.
Point Bonita Sample Dinner Menu
Pasta and Meat Sauce
or Vegetarian Pasta
Sauteed Vegetables
Dinner Roll, Salad Bar
Fresh Baked Cookies
Tristan ate a hearty meal of pasta with meat sauce and vegetables on day 1. His food was either separately plated by the chef, or he was allowed to plate his food first to avoid cross contamination at the buffet. We brought a stash of Oreos for dessert, and he ate those instead of their cookies. Although I was very impressed by the kitchen's attempt to accomodate Tristan with allergy-friendly cookies, I decided against them after reading a "traces of dairy" warning on the package.
2. Before the trip, I gave Tristan's third grade team a refresher on food allergies and Epi-Pens. I used some of the materials from our Food Allergy Summit in NY (and later improved the presentation with a food allergy quiz). Each teacher tried out a trainer pen, and I answered everyone's questions as best as I could. We agreed that Tristan would carry his Epi-pen in his pack. It was really valuable to reconnect with the teachers about the severity of Tristan's allergies. During his stay, Tristan was grouped with the male teacher in the group for hiking and bunking. Big thanks to Mr. H and the third grade team!
3. On the advice of his allergist, Tristan brought Claritin to take nightly. In an unfamiliar place with allergens all around, it was smart to have some antihistamine in his system.
4. The naturalists were alerted of kids who had special needs or medications, so they were made aware of Tristan's allergies and medications in his pack.
5. I tried to prep Tristan about managing his food allergies with a balance of trust and caution. I needed him to trust that I had prearranged a safe menu for him, but I also warned him that adults could make mistakes, and that he needed to make sure he was getting what was on his menu. I asked him to look at his copy before each meal, and make sure he knew what he was supposed to be eating. I think that helped empower him and give him a sense of confidence.
6. I packed safe granola bars in his pack, in case he wasn't comfortable with a meal, snack, or just got hungry.
When I went to pick Tristan up from school on day 3, he looked relieved to see me. In the car, he told me that he "just missed us so much." I was so proud of him for having such courage and stamina to collect his worries and gain such a valuable experience. Three days without him at home gave me a glimpse into the future, with a bit of worry, but a lot of optimism, too.
The day I was there, we hiked around and down to the beach, then back to the Y. The kids would approach the trail as a group, each with different responses and ways of coping. Some would charge straight down the hill, without looking back. A few would sidestep down, cautiously taking each step. Others would look straight down, as not to brush against poison oak, or step into a hole.
My hope for Tristan is that he is cautious, but confident through life, and that he take the time to explore and take in his surroundings. I hope that when he needs to, he will grab my hand for some extra support, and that he will let go when he's ready. I may never be ready, but knowing that he will be is an awesome feeling.
Eighty third graders stayed two nights at the Point Bonita YMCA. It is a clean facility, with separate boys' and girls' dorms. Bunks are divided into several smaller rooms and one meeting room, and large bathrooms. Their spacious dining hall includes a buffet and plenty of long cafeteria-style tables. All the children were given an orientation about how the dining hall works, with an emphasis on composting and taking only what you can eat. The food is mostly organically grown and healthful, with basic ingredients, which simplified things for us. On top of it all, the meals were delicious.
1. I emailed Food Service Director Rich Holden well in advance of the trip. We emailed back and forth until I came up with a modified menu for Tristan. It would have been nice for these menus to have been posted in the kitchen upon our arrival, but Tristan brought two copies of the menu with him, both of which he ended up giving to the chefs for reference. I made sure to introduce Tristan to the chef before the first meal.
Here is the dinner menu for day 1. Rich was willing to do a modified menu, or a combination of a modified menu and supplements, depending on the food allergies. We needed to do minimal supplementation (just soy milk boxes and Oreos), as there was lots of variety.
Point Bonita Sample Dinner Menu
Pasta and Meat Sauce
or Vegetarian Pasta
Sauteed Vegetables
Dinner Roll, Salad Bar
Fresh Baked Cookies
Tristan ate a hearty meal of pasta with meat sauce and vegetables on day 1. His food was either separately plated by the chef, or he was allowed to plate his food first to avoid cross contamination at the buffet. We brought a stash of Oreos for dessert, and he ate those instead of their cookies. Although I was very impressed by the kitchen's attempt to accomodate Tristan with allergy-friendly cookies, I decided against them after reading a "traces of dairy" warning on the package.
2. Before the trip, I gave Tristan's third grade team a refresher on food allergies and Epi-Pens. I used some of the materials from our Food Allergy Summit in NY (and later improved the presentation with a food allergy quiz). Each teacher tried out a trainer pen, and I answered everyone's questions as best as I could. We agreed that Tristan would carry his Epi-pen in his pack. It was really valuable to reconnect with the teachers about the severity of Tristan's allergies. During his stay, Tristan was grouped with the male teacher in the group for hiking and bunking. Big thanks to Mr. H and the third grade team!
3. On the advice of his allergist, Tristan brought Claritin to take nightly. In an unfamiliar place with allergens all around, it was smart to have some antihistamine in his system.
4. The naturalists were alerted of kids who had special needs or medications, so they were made aware of Tristan's allergies and medications in his pack.
5. I tried to prep Tristan about managing his food allergies with a balance of trust and caution. I needed him to trust that I had prearranged a safe menu for him, but I also warned him that adults could make mistakes, and that he needed to make sure he was getting what was on his menu. I asked him to look at his copy before each meal, and make sure he knew what he was supposed to be eating. I think that helped empower him and give him a sense of confidence.
6. I packed safe granola bars in his pack, in case he wasn't comfortable with a meal, snack, or just got hungry.
When I went to pick Tristan up from school on day 3, he looked relieved to see me. In the car, he told me that he "just missed us so much." I was so proud of him for having such courage and stamina to collect his worries and gain such a valuable experience. Three days without him at home gave me a glimpse into the future, with a bit of worry, but a lot of optimism, too.
The day I was there, we hiked around and down to the beach, then back to the Y. The kids would approach the trail as a group, each with different responses and ways of coping. Some would charge straight down the hill, without looking back. A few would sidestep down, cautiously taking each step. Others would look straight down, as not to brush against poison oak, or step into a hole.
August 15, 2012
Calling all school nurses! Get your free Epi-Pens!
Mylan Specialty announced a program that will enable schools to better handle anaphylaxis. The company, which produces and distributes Epi-Pens, is offering qualified schools two twin packs of EpiPens at no cost through EpiPen4Schools.
This is great news for states that have laws authorizing or requiring Epipens to be stocked in schools. If your child needs an Epi-Pen you already know how expensive it is to stock and restock them (because they expire) year after year. With educational fundings in every state suffering huge cuts in this sluggish economy, schools that can legally carry prescription Epipens for their entire student body often do not keep them in stock because of the financial burden. The strains of budget cuts force many schools to choose between Epipens and classroom materials.
So far there are only a couple of states that require their schools to carry Epipens: Illinois, Georgia, and Virginia. The School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act has been put forward by Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk to encourage states to allow schools to keep Epipens in stock by offering incentives. While the potential of this program is great, states and even individual school districts and sites will vary on whether or not they can carry Epipens without a prescription directly attached to a particular student.
To apply for the Epipens district or school nurses must download, complete, and fax in the forms, which can be found at the EpiPen4Schools website. A valid Epi-Pen prescription must accompany the forms. Mylan's EpiPen4Schools program does not provide Epipens for individuals so it is invalid to send a prescription made out to an individual student. The prescription must come as a standing order from a physician for use by medical and school personnel for any individual in the school setting that is experiencing a life-threatening allergic reaction.
I encourage you to read about EpiPen4Schools and share this information with your school nurses and district personnel. See if something can be done about stocking your local schools with EpiPens. My son's school nurse told me that EpiPens must connected to an individual's prescription. But I'm searching California law to see if there is in fact language that allows school districts to use their discretion on making this call.
Beyond your school sites, join FAAN's efforts in support of the School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act by writing to your state's senators and representatives. Share your personal stories and how stocking EpiPen auto-injectors could mean the difference between life and death for your loved ones.
October 17, 2011
A Classroom Presentation on Food Allergies
We are so excited about this post from our friend and fellow allergy mom, Michelle K. In it, she outlines how to give a 30 minute lesson full of practical, important, and age appropriate information about food allergies to a class of elementary school students. Read on for some helpful tips and useful resources. You rock, Michelle!
A Classroom Presentation on Food Allergies
"Until there's a cure, education is key."
-Eleanor Garrow, Vice President of Education and Outreach for FAAN.
On my quest to become an ever-vigilant food allergy mom, I stumbled upon the opportunity to do a classroom presentation on food allergies. With open arms, my son's 2nd grade teacher warmly invited me into her classroom to read a book and discuss food allergies with the kids and of course, I happily accepted. So where was the first place I went to seek info? You all win: Online, of course. I really wanted to find out if anyone had done a classroom presentation on food allergies before and posted details, but to no avail I came up with my own agenda. Here are the tools I used:
And within the 30 minutes that I had, I was able to:
1) Read two books 2) Discuss the Be a P.A.L. Program 3) Review the signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction 4) Establish a lunch buddy system 5) Honor the teacher
What I found out is that a short and simple agenda such as the one above is all you need in order to execute a successful presentation on food allergies. Now to elaborate…
1) Read two books. Never having owned a storybook on food allergies, I came across a good list online at the KFA: Food Allergy Book Shop which you can find here. So I ordered any that I thought would be most relevant to a 2nd grade class. I then narrowed it down to two that I thought were age-appropriate, educational, informative and at the same time gentle and fun. The two books I chose were Taking Food Allergies To School by Ellen Weiner and Food Allergies and Me by Juniper Skinner. I just posted a book review on the former here. A book review on the latter is written by our very own Get Allergy Wise mom, Irene Chu, which you can read here. Most importantly, these two books portray two well-adapted and conscientious kids who navigate through the food allergy world confidently and successfully. Furthermore, they both illustrate how having food allergies is just one of many elements that makes a person who they are.
2) Discuss the Be A P.A.L. program. If I had only 5 minutes to do a presentation, thi
s would definitely be my go-to topic! I feel that the brochure lays out everything you need to know to make a complete food allergy presentation in a classroom setting. Created by FAAN, the Be A Protect A Life Program "is an educational awareness program designed to help parents and educators teach students what food allergies are and how to help their friends who have food allergies." –FAAN. Need I say more? Even better is the fact that FAAN provides resource materials that you can print out including a poster, P.A.L. HERO awards, and even a Girl Scout Patch Program. I offered the poster to the teacher and printed out one brochure per student and handed them out during this segment. Together we went over the entire brochure which clearly outlines 5 simple steps to keep your classmates with food allergies safe. Many thanks to FAAN for these invaluable teaching tools!
s would definitely be my go-to topic! I feel that the brochure lays out everything you need to know to make a complete food allergy presentation in a classroom setting. Created by FAAN, the Be A Protect A Life Program "is an educational awareness program designed to help parents and educators teach students what food allergies are and how to help their friends who have food allergies." –FAAN. Need I say more? Even better is the fact that FAAN provides resource materials that you can print out including a poster, P.A.L. HERO awards, and even a Girl Scout Patch Program. I offered the poster to the teacher and printed out one brochure per student and handed them out during this segment. Together we went over the entire brochure which clearly outlines 5 simple steps to keep your classmates with food allergies safe. Many thanks to FAAN for these invaluable teaching tools!
3) Review. If a reaction is going to happen at school let's say at lunchtime, the students are most likely going to be the first witnesses to a reaction. That is why I felt that it was imperative for me to review the signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction so they could learn how to identify a reaction if they ever encounter it. The ensuing discussion led me right into a demonstration of what would happen to Kian's trachea if a peanut entered his body and a reaction took place. Using a cardboard tube taken from inside a paper towel roll (with a rubber band
wrapped around it), I showed them that a normal trachea (windpipe) is open much like the hole in that tube. I then took off the rubber band so as to represent a cross-section of the trachea, using my hands, I showed them how it could swell up like a marshmallow all the way around causing the inside of the tube, or airway, to become constricted, or completely closed. Eyes widened and jaws dropped. This demo helped me make my next point clear: never take food allergies lightly. Serious things can happen and that's why we never bully or tease someone for having food allergies. And a simple review wouldn't be complete without reviewing the protocol of what to do in the event that a student witnesses these signs which is to tell an adult immediately. The adult should then retrieve the necessary medications and call 911 in the event of an anaphylactic reaction.
4) Establish a Lunch Buddy system. So my son, Kian, who has multiple food allergies including peanuts would often sit at the peanut-free table at school all by himself, th
at is until I established lunch buddy system. Frankly, he prefers safety over being included socially, he's just one of those kids, but a mom's going to do what a mom's going to do. I finally asked him if he would like it if someone sat with him at lunch time and his face beamed in delight . He answered, "Yes, mom, I would like that." So I created the Lunch Buddy system where each student volunteers once a month to bring a nut-free lunch and sit with Kian at the peanut-free table. How hard is that? They can volunteer alone or bring along friends. The more the merrier. So I provided the teacher with a sign-up calendar as well as a letter to go home to the parents. Contact us if you'd like to get a copy of the letter and we'll be happy to email it to you. Parental feedback has been nothing but positive. They tell me that their child is excited to have their turn to be Kian's lunch buddy! One mom even called to share with me her personal experience with severe food allergies and how everything will be alright because it's definitely manageable.
wrapped around it), I showed them that a normal trachea (windpipe) is open much like the hole in that tube. I then took off the rubber band so as to represent a cross-section of the trachea, using my hands, I showed them how it could swell up like a marshmallow all the way around causing the inside of the tube, or airway, to become constricted, or completely closed. Eyes widened and jaws dropped. This demo helped me make my next point clear: never take food allergies lightly. Serious things can happen and that's why we never bully or tease someone for having food allergies. And a simple review wouldn't be complete without reviewing the protocol of what to do in the event that a student witnesses these signs which is to tell an adult immediately. The adult should then retrieve the necessary medications and call 911 in the event of an anaphylactic reaction.
4) Establish a Lunch Buddy system. So my son, Kian, who has multiple food allergies including peanuts would often sit at the peanut-free table at school all by himself, th
at is until I established lunch buddy system. Frankly, he prefers safety over being included socially, he's just one of those kids, but a mom's going to do what a mom's going to do. I finally asked him if he would like it if someone sat with him at lunch time and his face beamed in delight . He answered, "Yes, mom, I would like that." So I created the Lunch Buddy system where each student volunteers once a month to bring a nut-free lunch and sit with Kian at the peanut-free table. How hard is that? They can volunteer alone or bring along friends. The more the merrier. So I provided the teacher with a sign-up calendar as well as a letter to go home to the parents. Contact us if you'd like to get a copy of the letter and we'll be happy to email it to you. Parental feedback has been nothing but positive. They tell me that their child is excited to have their turn to be Kian's lunch buddy! One mom even called to share with me her personal experience with severe food allergies and how everything will be alright because it's definitely manageable.
5) Honor the teacher. I have to say, I cannot be happier with my son's 2nd grade teacher. Not only is she amazingly organized and structured, not to mention talented, but she is compassionate to needs of the food allergy community – a huge BONUS! Since the beginning of the year, she has been very attentive to my concerns and has been diligent in having the students get in the habit of washing hands after lunch and snack whether or not they've eaten nut products. What can I say, she just gets it. It is this simple task of handwashing that minimizes the risk of a food allergy reaction due to cross-contamination or second-hand contact, not to mention the added benefit of having good hygiene and preventing the spread of infection. So at the end of my presentation, I asked the teacher to come up to the front of the classroom and said, "I want to thank you for allowing me to come into your classroom to teach the kids about food allergies. By doing this, you've Protected A Life from food allergies. " I then handed her the P.A.L. HERO Award. I also presented her with a Kyle Dine's Food Allergies Rock CD so she could get a preview of Kyle Dine's visit to our school next month (more on that in another post)! Later that day I received an email from her saying, "I'm still at school rocking out to Allergy Rock! Your presentation was not only informative, but also lighthearted and fun! The children could've sat through another 30 minutes or more."
If you're a busy mom like me living in the food allergy world, I would highly recommend doing a classroom presentation on food allergies! The first step would be to approach the teacher. I would emphasize the importance of raising awareness in the classroom and mention that teaching kids how to identify signs of a reaction could help Protect A Life and in doing so, turn the students into heroes.
If we can gain the support of not only the faculty and staff, but also the student body, then we've covered all our bases and the school environment will be that much safer for our children. Best of luck on your presentations! We'd love to hear about them! And don't forget to RSVP to the Food Allergies Rock Event in San Francisco!
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