Food Allergies: They're Everywhere You Read

I had no idea how much food allergies would affect my kid’s life until she had her first reaction. I knew about epipens and the rising prevalence of peanut allergies, but I didn’t realize how it would seep into every part of my kid’s life. Having to pack separate snacks for her. Not getting to eat the special Friday pizza at school. Making her big brother wash his hands each time he eats cheese. Extra planning for other kids’ birthday parties.

But you know when it really hit me? When I was reading Yummy Yucky to her when she was a baby. Yummy Yucky is a great book (as are all of Leslie Patricelli’s books!)- fantastic pictures and really fun to read with kids. We loved reading it with our oldest, but reading it with a baby with food allergies was a completely different experience. Out of the 18 yummy foods, 15 of them have top allergens, and 11 of them my kid couldn’t eat. This means that over half of them I would say, “Yummy! But… not for you.” Being reminded of all the things she can’t eat really did suck the fun out of that book.

A quick selection of books that I read differently after feeding a kid with food allergies

It's not just Yummy Yucky, though. The amount of kids’ books that have top allergens in them is really surprising. You would expect books like The Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar to have allergens in it, after all it’s centered around foods. But there are a lot of books out there that don’t seem to have anything to do with food that include really common allergens. Llama Llama Mess, Mess, Mess- why do you have to bring peanut shells in to the mix? I get it, you are trying to teach kids not to have a messy house, but can we keep the number one cause of anaphylaxis in young kids from being thrown around? Even I Love You Stinky Face, a book that my in-laws saved over the years that my kid loves to read every time we visit, that should really not need to talk about food at all has a couple of pages dedicated to a peanut butter sandwich (not, might I add, a PB&J sandwich, which I think would be excusable since it is such a classic kid meal... but just peanut butter? Who eats just a peanut butter sandwich???)

I just want my kid to be able to do things without being constantly reminded of things she can’t have. I guess that’s impossible when food is such an important part of life.