It’s Off (Gulp) to Kindergarten
Tips for Working With the School
Put yourself in the shoes of others. While our allergic children have a right to a safe environment, avoid having an overblown sense of entitlement. Parents often make the mistake of demanding accommodations that are unrealistic or impractical for the school community.
School policy development is a process of negotiation, so try to bear in mind the other side: principals and teachers are faced with cutbacks in funding, a greater number of children with special needs, and more demands from the wider school community.
Managing anaphylaxis is important and they want to do the right thing, but this is one of many challenges. Most educators entered the profession because they like and care about children. They are there to help. Be respectful of that, and you’ll get better results.
Provide “need-to-have” information; avoid the temptation to “tell all”. While minute details of your child’s worst reaction may have the effect of getting others to take anaphylaxis seriously, they can also lead to a debilitating level of fear.
Other adults (babysitters, parents of your child’s friends, teachers) may not want to take care of your child as they worry that they cannot possibly protect him or her.
Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. If your child’s school needs an anphylaxis plan, don’t start toiling away. There are now great sample school plans and forms at www.allergysafecommunities.ca, the companion website for the national guidelines, Anaphylaxis in Schools and Other Settings and Anaphylaxis Canada’s website,www.anaphylaxis.ca.
Say “thank you”. These two simple words can go a long way to getting others on board. The majority of teachers and other families don’t live with severe allergies. But out of respect for our children, they comply with school food policies almost 200 days of the year.
As awareness increases, these people often support our kids at camps, community centres, and on sports teams. We owe them our thanks.
Don’t Miss the Schools & Allergies Resource Hub here.
From Allergic Living magazine.
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Sylvia
I was not surprised to read your article as I too am a mom to a soon to be 4 yr old name Julian who just entered JK. Our son is anaphylactic but here’s the kicker, he’s allergy includes touch in addition to ingestion. This has meant providing the school with lists of food and non food sources that contain tree nuts, peanuts and seeds (the allergens that cause Julian great harm). Both the school staff, board and parents have been especially caring and understanding to Julian’s severity and monitor not only their children’s snacks but also lotions, lip balms and even toys that they send to school. Ours has been just as frightening an introduction into the elementary school system but thankfully the children, parents and staff have been warm and welcoming of Julian and his safety needs … he’s even made some best buds already.
davidjulian
So good to hear, my son Julian is also starting kinder soon and its super stressful. He is allergic to all tree nuts, sesame seed, sunflower seeds, dust mites and extremely fatally allergic to dogs and cats…Hope our experience is as smooth as yours. God Bless!
mamadizastre
We’ve struggled countless times to figure out how to communicate our son’s allergy with importance, while putting peoples anxiety at rest. The truth is we haven’t really found a good balance. Part of the problem comes in where we as parents experience a great deal of fear and anxiety and often this comes out in the way we talk to others. I like what you had to say about conditioning your son to follow the rules, “no sharing food with others, always carry your auto-injector.” Personal protection has to start at a young age, as we don’t always have our eyes and spidy senses nearby.
One of the things we have found helpful in reducing the risks is making our yard the place where kids want to be. Toys, play structure, sandbox, etc… We make it so that kids ask to come to our house, that way it’s easier to enforce the rule “no nuts allowed.” It’s hard to expect others to have the same diligence as we do for our children, however, there are things we can do to make up for missed opportunities and still promote understanding and kindheartedness. That’s my rant for today (:
http://mamadizastre.wordpress.com/
catromano
thank you for sharing your story. my son is named Julian also and he will start school next year. he is allergic to peanuts and eggs and i am an anxious mom.
i do my best to teach him not to share food, wash hands before eating, and remind him that we carry his epipen all the time, but once he is out of my watchful eyes, i am feel quite nervous.
once he starts school, i will keep in mind that i should be proactive and realistic – and perhaps have a little more confidence in the school his teachers, and even my own little Julian.
thanks so much.