When did your child understand their food allergy?

[snshne322]

DS will be 3 next week.  I still feel that he's a little on the young side to understand his food allergy (eggs) and know what to avoid.  We're pretty good at reminding him to always ask us before he can eat something, but I know we won't always be there or a classmate might innocently give him something. 

How old was your kid when they understood their allergy? Because eggs are in so many things, is the best thing to do to help him understand that there are foods that make him sick and he needs to make sure to ask us before he eats something?  Just continue pushing that?

[blueberry10]

DD knew by 3 as well that she's allergic to peanuts - now at almost 4, she's pretty good about asking if she's eating something outside of our home. Keep reminding him and I'll bet he'll catch on pretty quickly.

[ECB]

Yeah- same here. By 3 DS knew the words celiac, wheat and gluten and knew that he can't have foods w/ wheat and gluten in them. By 4, he definitely had a good grasp on what he could or couldn't eat. I didn't have 100% confidence but I knew he "got" it. By 5 and kindergarten? He's a great advocate for himself.

Anecdote: In preschool, when he was 4, I put a GF cookie in his lunch. It was a new cookie he hadn't had before. It came back in his lunch box that afternoon. I asked why and he told me because he didn't know if it was safe or not. I had to laugh. I told him that it was GREAT that he didn't eat something that he didn't recognize and didn't know ifit was safe. BUT if he knows I made him his lunch, he can trust that everything is safe.

But I was honestly happy that he decided to be safe in his choice.

[truckentruck]

My almost 3 year old celiac has been able to verbalize on a basic level what she can and can't have and why on a basic level for a few months now. I grocery shop with her weekly and we talk about how in our house we only buy gluten free for her belly, but most other people buy things with gluten. I show her common snacks and baked goods other people might have while we go through grocery aisles, and likewise show her the "certified GF" label, fresh fruit and veggies, safe foods etc. When we're out and about and she sees snacks she can't have, she will say, "Goldfish have gluten. That makes my tummy sick." Etc., but I don't trust that she'd ask a stranger if a cookie was GF before taking a bite. She doesn't eat out of the home without me or trusted adults who understand celiac yet, though, and I wouldn't feel comfortable putting her in a position where she'd have to know to say no on her own yet. Next year she'll start 2 mornings a week preschool, and that will be the first big experience consistently having to be aware of her food needs in a social setting.

[irishbride2]

He's 2.5 and he seems to ask all the time "milk in it?" He's very concerned.

[browneyedgirl9]

When did you start teaching them to ask? DS is 1.5 and has a peanut allergy. I should probably start teaching him to ask.

[indifferentstars]

My son is a little over 2.5 with multiple food allergies. He understands he has food allergies and that we read labels to check if things are safe for him. He has few experiences where he encounters food from someone other than a parent so we haven't had much opportunity to practice asking "is it safe?" or refusing food yet so I wouldn't expect him to do those things on his own at this point. I do talk to him about needing to always check with mommy or daddy before he eats something but he hasn't been put to the test on that yet. I figure I'll just keep hammering in the idea for now.

We got him a book called "DJ's Food Allergies." It was the only food allergy board book I could find, it's cute enough and helped him understand the concept, but now he'll sometimes repeat DJ's allergies instead of his own when asked, so I'm not sure how helpful it really was ;-)

[cece]

Good question! I was wondering the same thing! DD is just over 2 and has a dairy allergy but in addition to being anaphylactic she has a contact allergy to dairy. It can't even touch her, which has proven to be a challenge. And is the reason the preschool asked that she wait another year before attending. I am hoping by 3 she will be able to go or maybe have out grown it. As of right now, she doesn't understand it at all.