Recently, I showed a small group of college students the airline travel video, “More than an Inconvenience”, created by Amy Wicker, founder of Allergy Safe Travel. I watched their transformation as the short minutes ticked on and the words of real people, with real life threatening challenges filled the quite room. They were silent, eyes widening and often showing expressions of disbelief. At that moment, I realized that those students were changed forever and just became deeply educated on the realities of food allergies and anaphylaxis. I wondered thought, would this new-found food allergy education be part of their moral compass?
Teen Talking
I continued this conversation with my teenage son. I was curious about how teens and young adults take information and then apply it to their personal growth into adulthood. I asked him if he felt that the information we shared with his school classmates in elementary school carried forward into the teen years? Then I asked, “do you think food allergy education received during the teen years impacts your peers to the level that they will make life changes or not?”
His answer: YES! He explained that when he was young, his pals wanted to keep him safe so their play was not interrupted. As teens, they are now beginning to own and develop their own sense of social responsibility.
Social Responsibility
We discussed deeper about as youths develop and grow, they begin to establish their personal set of morals, social responsibilities and sense of belonging. He shared that kids follow the rules when they are young, but when they grow up, they need to understand the what and why. Needless to say, it was a great conversation that has my cogs spinning now about giving the same level of energy towards educating teens and young adults as I did when my kids were younger. I used to read a food allergy story to every single class my children attended, along with bringing in safe snacks to demonstrate food options. Unfortunately, I have not continued that same level of dedication now my kids are in the double digits.
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..
Well done. It would make a great Public Service Announcement to bring an awareness about food allergies to the general population. Every day is a stress on the child and also on the family and it doesn’t matter whether on a plane, at a restaurant, or at school….
I wish that they had similar ones for teachers, administrators, and PTAs to view. Food in school can be scary. If you don’t live with a food allergy EVERY DAY in your family, I don’t think people have reached a point of empathy for those that DO HAVE FOOD ALLERGIES.
My 7 year old hopes to one day get rid of all food allergies. I hope he or someone does. Life would be so much easier if we didn’t have them.
Linda,
My son is currently out growing his dairy allergy and has out grown so many other allergens too! Those nuts and sesame seeds seem to the worst that just don’t want to go away!
I love the idea of increased food allergy education for teens and young adults. There’s certainly room for growth in that area!
We’re still in the pre-school years as my Little Guy is 3. Just wondering, what food allergy story did you read to your kids’ classes when they were younger? It’s something I plan to do in the future!
Hi Kathryn, I have several that I used, The BugaBees, The Princess and the Peanut, Nutley the Nut Free Squirrel is a favorite, but I have not read it to my daughter’s class–she is in fifth grade now and the book isn’t quite appropriate, but I really enjoy the group problem solving aspect of the book, and Patty’s Secret. If anyone else out there in Cyber Food Allergy land has book suggestions, please chime in…