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Back-to-School with Food Allergies

Team SunButter

By Keeley McGuire

For food allergy families, back to school is both an exciting and stressful time of year. There are many items needed to help make the transition as smooth as possible and ensure your child is safe while in school.

It’s very important to make sure school staff, teachers, and parents are all on the same page when it comes to your child and their food allergies. We as food allergy parents, also want to ensure our child has every opportunity to fit in and never feel left out during lunch, parties, field trips, and classroom activities.

Here are my back-to-school must haves and tips:

1. Have a plan: If your child attends a public school, make sure you have a 504 plan in place. This outlines accommodations and services your child needs so they can fully participate in their education. This also gives you, as a parent, a legal agreed upon document with your child’s school in case something should happen outside of those agreed upon arrangements.

It’s also necessary to have an Emergency Action Plan. This plan let’s caregivers know what to do in an emergency situation should your child potentially experience anaphylaxis. I keep a copy of our plan in my daughter’s backpack with her epinephrine (she self-carries) at all times. I also give copies to her school office, teachers, and bus drivers as well.

emergency plan

2. Be a partner: Some of us have had bad past experiences when it comes to allergies – with daycare, schools, or even family members. And it’s made us tough. A wall has been built. And it takes a long time for us to break that down and learn to trust others with our children. That can sometimes come across as demanding to others; I try my best to always remember and remind my daughter’s educators that we are a team and I can’t do this alone. I need their help to keep her safe. I approach everything with a smile from a perspective of educating and understanding. Yes, there are times you must draw a line in the sand and be firm, but try to remember that you will get more accomplished by working as a team.

3. Wear it proud: Having allergy awareness gear is also important. Make sure your child has an emergency wristband, dog tag, or shoe tag they can wear during the day. There is all sorts of unique allergy awareness gear on the market today that include different charms, colors, and even scanable QR codes to keep your child stylish and safe. It’s also a great idea to invest in an awareness t-shirt. This is helpful when on field trips or on class party days as an extra precaution to draw attention that your child has food restrictions. Backpack and lunch bag tags are a fun and important as an extra indicator with their allergen info and emergency contacts. I love using SunButter’s “Made with SunButter” stickers on her lunch bag or sandwich baggies. You can print these stickers online for free, and they help indicate that her lunch is made with SunButter and is peanut free!

Back-to-School with Food Allergies

4. Love your lunch: I pack my daughter’s snacks and lunches daily and share ideas on my blog, as well. We keep lunches interesting by incorporating fun gear and lunch items. My daughter feels proud of her foods, instead of left out, because she can’t eat hot lunch like her friends. Invest in some cookie cutters and silicone cups to add a smile to your child’s face when they open their lunch! Using SunButter keeps it simple for mom, but means endless ideas for my Little Miss. I often create characters and shapes by not only filling her sandwich with SunButter spread, but also using it as my “glue” to hold pieces in place. The new SunButter On the Go Cups (available at Target stores and Target.com) also make it simple to pack some yummy veggies and fruit with crackers for a quick and safe lunch for busy mornings. Pinterest is a great resource for inspiring ideas, too. Get creative! It doesn’t have to be complicated or boring. By focusing on the foods your child can have, they’ll learn to be proud and enjoy their lunches!

Keeley McGuire Back-to-School with Food Allergies

For more back-to-school tips for children with food allergies, check out my blog here or message me on Facebook with questions!

Keeley McGuire is the mother to Little Miss, her sous chef, and author of www.keeleymcguire.com.  Together, they have fun in the kitchen baking, creating, and eating yummy allergy-friendly & gluten free recipes.

Make It With
SunButter

Make It With SunButter