pI finally feel like I'm doing it right this time, with my second one, by teaching him to avoid nuts. I'm amazed how quickly he has picked up the fact that he should not eat nuts, and that nuts are yucky. He is 27 months and just an average talker. The other day we were in the grocery store and he asked for a cookie. He then said "no nuts" and made a face like nuts were yucky. I agreed "no nuts. nuts are yucky". Every now and then he will just bring it up out of the blue, too. Yesterday we were at a party at my mom's house. My husband showed Matthew which crackers were O.K. and which weren't. (We're avoiding sesame with him, too.) My step-dad offered him the "wrong" cracker and Matthew refused to take it. I explained about the crackers and he then offered Matthew a "safe" one. Matthew took it! I am so proud of him. The irony is that we do not even know if he is allergic. My gut tells me he probably isn't, but denial is a powerful thing! /p
pWith my daughter we didn't find out she was pa and tna until she was over 3. (We just "quietly" avoided all nuts and peanuts because she had a milk and egg allergy and we were trying to be cautious.) We didn't want to make too big a deal about her allergies. Instead I just tried to micro manage every situation. I now think that was a mistake, as Leah only started taking some responsibility for her allergies at age 7. Of course I still "micro manage" behind the scenes, and a parent always has to do this. I just wish I had been more open with her./p
pI applaud all of the parents who are being so proactive with their PA kids. I do think it's incredible what kids can learn at a young age, without any emotional damage at all. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] Miriam/p
I\'m so proud of my two year old!
Posted on: Sun, 09/08/2002 - 12:07am
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I like your approach California Mom! I have been saying "this is safe" and "not safe" to my 25 month old. Most of the time I try to point out the candies while we are waiting to pay at the grocery. (the only "safe" one there is skittles...) Now he will come to me at home (where everything is safe!) and ask "safe?" I too am happy that they are catching on so young.
Jaime
Jaime, that's great that your son is learning so early, too. Isn't it a bit heart breaking that so much is off limits to them? I still find it really tough, at times. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] Miriam
Yea, me too.
Jaime
How did you initially explain the PA and TNA to your children or did you just start with safe and unsafe, no explanation.
Welcome, ColesMom. I started by saying "We don't eat nuts. Nuts make you very sick. You are allergic to nuts." We have the video "Alexander the elephant who can't eat peanuts", which is very good for little ones. You can order it from the FAAN website. There are also (apparently) a lot of good books out now for preschoolers. I try to be matter of fact and not act like nuts are evil. It is a balance; but I want my kids to understand that they cannot eat nuts - but it's O.K. for Raffi or Barney to sing about peanut butter, etc. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]Miriam
Miriam, I have taken the same approach as you, and also am so pleased when I see my dd just matter of factly declares things safe or unsafe because of nuts or eggs((and she used to have sesame seed(smeeseeds) in her list too)).
She was 18 months, so I just never thought not to teach her, as PB was already around alot at gatherings with friends, who all had slightly and much older children(I had yet to learn of the cross contact risks and such). We just always said, "You are allergic to peanuts and they make you very sick. Yucky." Similar stuff to no eggs. Never scary, just a fact of life. Simple.
She now will take products off shelves and say, "Mommy let me see if you can have this? No peanuts, no eggs, yup, it is ok!" Or the opposite. She does seem to get it.
However, I must emphasise, she is great with us, but peer temptation is tough. She just turned 3 in Sept., and if kids try to share, she wants a taste. I also caught her with a hand in a chip bowl, but it was fine-no reaction. She has always been picky and reluctant to try new things. This proves frustrating, nutritionally, but advantageous allery-wise! Now, she is becoming influenced by peers, which would have been great if not for the allergies. But still, she seems so aware, it allows us to talk easily about it.
Good for your little one. I sometimes have worried that I fall on the side of giving too much info., but I do believe(based on memories of my own as a child) that kids filter what they are not ready for. I do not talk about the shot much, but I have told her she might need to go to the hospital if she ate peanuts. She had a broken arm, and knows what it means. However, they were so nice, she has fond memories, and I am not so sure this helps my cause!
Anyhow, I think the kids do need some awareness as they grow, so as not to feel a loss or deprivation, but to just incorporate this routine into their nutritional patterns. Becca
Becca, it sounds like you are doing a great job with your daughter! The peer thing is tough: we didn't emphasize the "no sharing" thing as much as we could have, because my daughter was going to a nut and peanut free preschool, and all her friends' parents were equally aware of her allergies. Her really scary peanut reaction happened when she was almost 5: she ate a peanut butter filled pretzel nugget that a neighbor child gave her while the mom and I were 20 feet away in another room! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/eek.gif[/img] Leah thought it was just a pretzel and didn't see anything about it that provoked a warning in her mind.
On the one hand, if we had enforced a "no sharing" rule or an "ask Mommy before you put anything into your mouth" rule this wouldn't have happened. However, in hindsight I realize it was a learning experience for all of us. That incident happened three years ago and we have never had any problem since.
My son, (whom I was boasting about in the first place in this thread [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/wink.gif[/img]) has yet to have any dangerous experiences. He is always closely watched around food, but he does understand not to eat something if he is specifically told in advance. I wouldn't trust him on his own yet, however. To reiterate, however, we don't know of any allergies that he actually has - we are just trying to be extra cautious. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] Miriam
Coles Mom:
I have known since my son was 9 months old so I have always talked about it to him (even before he probably had any idea what I was talking about!) Every trip to the grocery is filled with "this is safe" and "not safe-this will make A.J. sick". I just repeat the same things over and over. Obviously he doesn't fully understand the implications of having the allergy but I think just learning that certain foods are "no-nos" is a huge victory for a two year old.
Jaime