Okay, the these resources are hot to me since any resource regarding a teenager and food allergies is hot, cherished and God sent in my book.  Last fall, I popped a few gray hairs when my son entered high school.  In a panic, I began asking mothers that I admired about how they dealt with dating–with or without food allergies.  The best advice I received from from a lovely lady named Vicki.  She explained that as parents, we teach our children how to swim, ride bikes, study, do good in school and all the good stuff, but we don’t teach them how to date.  She suggested I speak to my son about how to date, then of course, go into the necessary depth about dining out and kissing.  So…

 Yes, the location of his first date (I’m sure every teen boy is thrilled to have this noted on the internet–so shhh, don’t tell him).

I did it on a Sunday afternoon and by Wednesday Casanova had asked a darling young lady out to lunch!  I didn’t think he would move so fast, boy was I surprised!   We then strategized that to handle is food allergy health needs and to avoid frustration, he needed to invite her a restaurant that was safe for him.  Grimaldi’s is his favorite, so off they went!  Since she attended the same school, she learned on day one about his allergies.  Here we are almost one year later and they are still dating.  In teen years (similar to dog years), I think this equal to dating for 3 years already.  I am sure no boy or girl looks forward to talking to their mom about kissing, but I respectfully told him that this is my responsibility to educate him on the various dangers and how to avoid risky behavior.

Of course, I had a few resources to back me up with Vicki’s advise in hand….

Sloane Miller, Author of Allergic Girl: Adventures in Living Well with Food Allergies

Food Allergy Websites and Resources for Teens

WhyRiskIt even though this website is from Canada, this was my main line to really understanding teens and food allergies.  Teens can find information about dating, dining out, risk behavior, bullying including other resources, videos, newsletters and more in this spot.  The images are pretty hip and current too!
FARE’s Resources for Teens  is created by Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) and offers teens the opportunity to sign up for the FARE teen summit, join a facebook group or learn more about the the Teen Advisory Group
FAAN Teen  is a website created by FAREalso and is all about FOOD ALLERGIES in the REAL WORLD with links to pages about school, personal stories, food allergy basics and even embarrassing stories!
Allergic Girl  is the website of Food Allergy Counselor Sloane Miller.  I never realized what a gem of information she was until I heard her speak last January, now I’m one of her biggest fans.  She spoke about dining out and dating.  Sloane was phenomenal.  After listening, I finally found peace of mind regarding my son dating.   She is nationally recognized as an authority on food allergy management and has helped many teens approach dating and socializing.  Sloane also assists food allergic families nationwide via Skype.  I actually liked her so much my local food allergy support group is planning on hosting  a Skype meeting with her!

For the sake of convenience, I created a Resource Ideas for Teens with Food Allergies PDF so you can download it and “accidentally” leave it on the counter to get the conversation started!