
she was so thrilled as everyone sang the "happy birthday" song :)
My daughter is a thriving and healthy 4 year old who has a postive view on food and loves, loves to eat. Dietary challenges can be just that - challenging - but it does not have to be limiting and it definitely doesn't have to mean tasteless.
I attended an allergy workshop last year and I was saddened by some of the responses of the mothers. One person in particular told me that food and eating were a huge problem in her house, because her children had so many allergies. Rather than eating together, the parents hid and ate things that the kids could not have. They didn't ever sit down together and eat. The parents felt bad and the kids did not have a good understanding of social eating.
Now I don't mean to criticize anyone, but I believe that (as many people pointed out at the workshop) there are other ways to go about this and tackle the challenge.
For one, if the child has a severe life-threatening allergy to a particular food - the consesus is to simply remove that food from your house completely.
Here is what we do, and it works perfect for us.
1. We all eat the same food, with few exceptions
Our house is gluten-free, tree-nut free, etc. We don't eat anything that our daughter can't have, with a few exceptions. Both my daughter and I can't have dairy - but my husband can. It's not a life threatening allergy to either of us (we are casein intolerant) so my husband eats dairy but it's not a big deal because there are all types of alternatives (for example my daughter can eat coconut yogurt). I think the key when a family eats different foods, is that there be a compatible food for the allergy kids/parents in the house. This can help so no one feels deprived.
2. We focus on what we can eat, not what we can't
We've always encouraged a postive view of food and rarely talk about what we can't eat. My daughter knows what foods she is allergic to, but we don't dwell on it. There are so many foods out there that she can eat, and we are thankful for them.
Kids asks questions and that's okay. If our daughter mentions a food she can't have (say, strawberries) we talk to our daughter about how she can't have a certain food, but it's okay because she can have "this food" instead. However this is rare. I think because of the positive reinforcement we have about food, our daughter rarely - if ever - mentions a food that she can't have. She even makes us pretend "strawberry soup" though she's never seen us eat a strawberry (I haven't had one in four years!) and when we go to the natural grocers for shopping, she always asks to pick out a cheese for her dad because she knows he likes it.
She's learned that while she may not be able to eat a certain food, others can and that's okay. My husband is allergic to honey, so that's also made her understand more about how we all may have some type of allergy to deal with. When I make something, she will ask "does this have honey?" so she knows whether or not her dad can share. (Sophie eats 100% Raw Honey).
3. Sophie helps in the kitchen and loves the food making process.
We have made it a point for Sophie, at a young age, to help us make foods. Before she was even 18 months, she was helping us tear kale apart (for kales chips in the dehydrator). We made sure that she understood how blessed we are to have food and how much fun it can be to prepare food.
I highly recommend getting kids involved in the kitchen, even if the child doesn't have dietary restrictions. Knowing how to cook and prepare nutritious foods is an invaluable life lesson that we all should be taught.
What are some of the things that work for your family?
Have kids? make these fun recipes:
Candied Orange Slices
Dehydrated Banana Chips
Baked Butternut Squash and Raisins