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5 Creative Ways to Teach Children about Food Allergies

August 23, 2016  |  Action-plan, Advocacy, Allergy, Allergy-awareness, Anaphylaxis, Anaphylaxis-action-plan, Awareness, Back-to-school, Blog, Children, Education, Epinephrine, Food, Food-allergies, Food-allergy, Food-allergy-blog, Know-the-faacts, Kyledine, Medications, Nurses, School-lunch, Support, Tips
5 Creative Ways to Teach Children about Food Allergies

by Kyle Dine

I remember when I was in elementary school, some of my close friends and classmates knew I had food allergies, but they likely didn’t know what exactly that meant. There weren’t too many kid-friendly resources back then to bring the topic up in age-appropriate way in the classroom.

For kids, there is an aura of mystery around a health condition like food allergies.  The concept of something so simple as food making their friend very sick is foreign.  

Kids generally want to learn about them and not always sure where to start. If they don’t have a close friend or relative with food allergies, then how are they supposed to get the right info?

I believe it’s crucial that kids receive the right info early on in life, but in an age-appropriate manner. The goal is to provide them with a sense of understanding, respect, and empathy for those with this health condition without scaring them. The resources below all have a great balance of being educational, interactive and of course – fun!

5 Creative Ways to Teach Children About Food Allergies

1.     Allergy Awareness Video – Kyle Dine & Friends

A bit biased here, but this is the one resource that I truly wish was around when I was a kid. It’s a video that a whole class can watch featuring fun interactive games, music and a zany cast of puppets. It comes with two discs and a full teacher resource guide available at www.foodallergyvideo.com.

2.     Non-Profit Resources

Did you know that FAACT has a Food Allergy Curricula Program for Schools for K-3, 4-8, and High School? It is very educational and does a great job of bringing students together to work on problem-solving. All programs are free and downloadable.

I’m also excited about Food Allergy Canada’s universal elementary school program being launched this fall titled the “Allergy Awareness Challenge” which follows the game-based activity format as their program for high school students.

3.     Books

There are many wonderful books that allow children to learn about allergies with fun storylines and lovable characters. Here are a few of my favorites:

   The No Biggie Bunch- Everyday Cool with Food Allergies

   HumFree the Bee Has a Food Allergy

   The BugaBees friends with food allergies

   The Princess and the Peanut: A Royally Allergic Tale

   The Ultimate Guidebook for Teens with Food Allergies

4.     Interactive eBooks

With this interactive book created by Mylan, kids can watch a fun story about “Ana and Phil Axis” unfold and be told before their eyes. 

5.     Fun Websites

I love Allergy Adventures and all of the fun puzzles and games that kids can play online. Plus lots of great kid-friendly recipes too!

Many of these resources will help start the conversation about allergies. As parents and educators, it’s our job to clarify, answer their questions and reinforce the key messages over time.

About the Author
Kyle Dine is an allergy educator who uses music, puppetry and story-telling to raise allergy awareness amongst children. He performs school-wide assemblies across North America and has an educational DVD available to order. For more information, visit www.kyledine.com.