Don’t react
Filed Under Stuff, Tips & Tricks | August 22, 2007
Allergies are become more and more prevalent and so are the precautions schools are taking to keep kids safe. When preschool starts, make a point of finding out if your child’s school is a peanut-free zone or if they request certain other foods not be brought for snacks. Most preschools will collect a list during the first week of school of foods not to bring to school – one mum we know was surprised that strawberries raised a flag at her child’s preschool, but it’s true, strawberries are a potentially allergenic fruit – and circulate it. If your child’s school doesn’t do that, it’s worth asking that they start.
For those of us with kids with allergies we have a couple of great ideas for making extra-certain that people know just what your child should NOT be eating.
Local company Blue Bear Aware makes fun T-shirts for kids with allergies. They’ve got pretty much every allergy covered – from nuts to gluten to seafood – with their collection of T-shirts featuring funky illustrations and great slogans like “We Steer Clear of the Milky Way”, “No Fish in My Dish” and “Swinging Free, No Nuts for Me”. Not only do their shirts, which also sport a bright allergy alert symbol on the back right shoulder, help adults be aware of a child’s dietary needs, but the fun graphics can help kids talk more readily about their allergies as well.
Blue Bear Aware also offer allergy alert labels for many common allergies, and we’re also quite partial to labels from Stuck on You. Their customizable allergy kit covers every eventuality with everything from wrist bands to bag tags. Stuck on You also makes fun iron on labels for everything from clothes to pencils that will make children who don’t like sharing feel very secure that everyone will knows just what’s theirs.
It can be frustrating if you have a peanut butter loving kid who can’t bring his favourite sandwiches to school, but trust us, other parents will thank you.
Blue Bear Aware: www.bluebearaware.com
Stuck on You: www.stuckonyou.biz
New today on our list of things to do around town that aren’t affected by the strike:
We talked taking the seabus to Londsale Quay, but what about if you live in North Van? How about going the other way? Lonsdale Quay has great ice cream, fountain and sometimes concerts and the cruise ships downtown are fun to see too. See our list of things to explore downtown and at Lonsdale Quay further down under “Ideas”.
Have you fed the birds yet? The birds at Lost Lagoon, Jericho Park and Granville Island, are shameless in pursuit of your food, and kids have a great time running around with them. But don’t feed them stale bread, instead use proper birdseed (available at your local hardware store), it’s better for them. Here’s a great blogpost on why bread’s not good for birds, and it could be a good springboard to discussing nutrition with your kids as well.
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On the subject of labels, another fabulous label maker (and ‘Mompreneur’) is Mabel’s Labels (www.mabel.ca). The labels they produce really are as good as they claim & withstand all kinds of abuse (including hot water of dishwashers!). They have some great ‘back-to-school’ specials right now, to help get little ones (or rather, Moms!) organized for the great return-to-school adventure!
[...] possible avoid trans-fats and opt for whole grains and organic fruits and veggies. Check out our info on preschool and allergies, as allergies can affect your snacking options, especially if you’ve got an avid peanut [...]