Spark Food Allergy Awareness in Family and Friends
Updated Sept. 2023
One of the most stressful parts of being a food allergy parent is increasing food allergy awareness so that friends and family understand why you do what you do to keep your child safe.
This can sometimes feel like a balancing act between people’s expectations and allergy safety, especially at social events. Many people don’t get how serious food allergies are and are resistant to changing what they’ve done for years.
Unfortunately, many parents fumble their way through this process of educating others which leads to awkward and uncomfortable situations and even isolation and loneliness.
Even so, I want you to know that navigating social events doesn’t have to be a minefield of stress and hurt feelings. With the right plan, you can get others to understand and even help you keep your child safe at birthday parties, Holiday events, and BBQs.
If you’re new to going to events with food allergies, OR you’ve had trouble navigating social events in the past, this post will save you awkwardness and tons of stress. Keep reading.
If we haven’t met yet, my name is Corinna.
I’m a 16-year Food Allergy Mama and a 6-year Food Allergy Coach. I help severe food allergy families keep their kids safe and worry less at home, school, social events, and while traveling. I care and believe that food allergy families deserve safe, fulfilling life experiences & delicious meals!
If you believe this too, make sure to sign up for my free Food Allergy Kids Empowerment Guide. This guide will help you empower your child so that they can help keep themselves safe when you’re not around.
Why is it important to be aware of food allergies?
Food allergies are real and serious. As food allergy parents, increasing food allergy awareness will help us keep our kids safe and included. Food allergy awareness is important because it allows others to understand what we’re going through. It helps them to work WITH us to keep our kids safe instead of against us.
How can we spark food allergy awareness with family and friends?
I honestly struggled with this for a long time. After many years, I finally feel confident in how we manage food allergies around our friends and family at birthday parties, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, potlucks, BBQs, and other events.
Some friends and family were amazing. They just seemed to GET how hard food allergies are.
But then there were others that didn’t get it.
In this case, it felt like I was talking and nobody was listening. They just weren’t getting it, and I felt like there was a wall in between us.
Or, at other times, people assured me that I could trust the accommodations they made, but then they did something that left doubts in my head and I didn’t know how to ask them without feeling bad.
Now that I look back, I realize that a big part of the problem was that some people didn’t understand the regular form of communication. I wasn’t doing it wrong, I just needed a new approach that I hadn’t tried before.
So how do you start off on the right food so you don’t have to struggle with awkwardness, isolation, and loneliness for years?
Try these simple tips to start off on the right foot so you can attend social events with confidence.
6 Tips To Spark Food Allergy Awareness With Your Family and Friends
Here are the BEST tips I’ve learned to have a stress and drama-free conversation with family and friends about food allergy safety so they can become more food allergy aware and social events can be easier.
Start with confidence.
Sometimes you don’t really know how to explain (other than saying your child could die). Don’t worry, it’s a common problem! Even so, becoming confident with your needs is really important because if you’re not confident and clear, others won’t believe what you’re saying.
If you can’t explain what you need and why to yourself, then there’s no hope that you’ll be able to explain it to a food allergy cynic. Start by doing the research so you can fully understand what you need. Then PRACTICE telling people what you need by saying it OUT LOUD. I know this sounds weird, but the more you hear YOURSELF say something, the more confident you’ll be in what you’re saying.
NEED help with this?
You can get help in the Get Others To Take Food Allergies Seriously Workshop. I'll walk you through this process so that you can come out with a confident plan to help you increase food allergy awareness without hurt feelings or seeming demanding.
2. Increase food allergy awareness by overcoming misinformation.
Take some time to think about why people are acting like food allergies aren’t serious. Figuring out where things could be going wrong will help you address the problem instantly.
Need help with this? I give you examples of where things could be going wrong in the Get Others To Take Food Allergies Seriously Workshop.
I GO INTO MORE DETAIL ABOUT FAMILY DRAMA IN THIS VIDEO:
3. Decide on your goal for each event.
What do you want to achieve for each family or social event? Do you want all food to be completely allergy-free so your child is fully included, or are you just happy to attend?
For example, your goal for a casual skating event will likely be different than Thanksgiving Dinner. Whatever your food allergy goals are, I think it’s important to define them for each event at the beginning so you can be clear from the start.
NEED HELP Figuring out your goals and boundaries when it comes to food allergies at events?
I’ve got an easy step-by-step way to create a plan that works for you using the Get People To Take Food Allergies Seriously Workshop.
With this workshop, you’ll become confident with your family’s unique food allergy boundaries so that you never feel like you’re asking too much or too little.
You’ll be able to clearly explain what you need and why so you and your child can enjoy social events again.
4. Stay away from fearful food allergy language.
When you’re describing what you need at family events, try not to overdramatize or exaggerate what could happen. As much as YOU and I KNOW how real and scary anaphylaxis is; your friends and family may not be in that place yet, and making things dramatic and scary will only make people question and doubt you. I find that it’s best to convince them without emotion whenever possible.
Trust me, I know how hard this is because your emotions are real. Do your best because it will help, I promise!
5. Be clear about your food allergy needs, and be consistent.
Increasing food allergy awareness with friends and family starts with clear communication.
For many years I knew what was needed to keep my daughter safe, but I didn’t know how to explain it clearly. I finally realized that I came across as confusing and maybe even frustrating for others because I was making all the mistakes in tips 1-4, and my communication wasn’t working either.
Not only that but I figured out that there are some people who don’t understand using the regular ways of advocating. These people need a different approach that I never tried before.
When I finally figured this out, I started to work on an email that would eventually make a massive impact on our lives. It took time and many drafts to do it right because I needed the right information and the right tone.
After all that extra time and effort, I found the strategy that worked.
After sending this email, people who were difficult to deal with started responding with understanding and a desire to help. This was amazing because I thought they would never understand. You can do this too!
Need a new approach or a strategy that will give you the BEST chance at explaining allergies to everybody?
I have a food allergy RSVP email/text template already made FOR YOU as a bonus when you register for The Get Others To Take Food Allergies Seriously Workshop.
You don’t have to take hours and days creating your own email because you can get the one that I’ve perfected over 16 years as a food allergy mama.
6. Keep an attitude of graciousness.
No matter what happens, if you keep a kind and gracious tone, you know that you’ve done your best. Now it’s up to the others to decide how to respond. If they can’t do what’s required, then be confident with your boundaries and don’t worry about what they think. I know, this is easier said than done, but it’s so important.
How you can navigate social events with ease:
Maybe you just want an easy step-by-step plan that gets people to take allergies seriously so you can confidently attend birthday parties and social events.
OR
Maybe you’re wondering how to clearly communicate what you need because every time you try, it makes things worse.
OR
Maybe you trust some people, but there’s been reason to think that they may not be checking thoroughly enough, and you need reassurance about how to ask them without feeling bad.
OR
Maybe you’ve told them over and over and you’re exhausted from it. You just need confirmation that you’re still on the right track from someone who knows.
You’re NOT ALONE, and I can help!!
My workshop will help you quickly create a plan to get people to take food allergies seriously. In this workshop, you’ll get simple & practical tools so you can avoid awkwardness and isolation.
You’ll create your own customized plan that works so you don’t get exhausted and worn down with stress while you try to keep your child safe.
PLUS you’ll get 2 exclusive bonuses:
A Food Allergy RSVP Email/Text Template that you can copy and paste for every event and
2. The “What To Say” Responses to Common Food Allergy Myths so you never have to fumble for words.
You and your child deserve to be included in events without drama!
This program is pre-recorded so all the materials will come directly to your inbox and you can watch whenever it works for you. Save your spot now so you can see that increasing food allergy awareness doesn’t have to be utterly frustrating and exhausting.
Conclusion
Saying the right things to increase food allergy awareness so that friends and family know how serious food allergies are, and you can attend events can be hard and even a minefield of stress and hurt feelings.
After 16 years, I’ve learned the most successful tips that decrease family drama and increase food allergy awareness for social events.
What about you? What tip will you use first? Let me know in the comments!
What is Food Allergy Awareness Month?
Food Allergy Awareness Month is in May every year and it’s when the whole food allergy community comes together and works on increasing food allergy awareness. This is a great time to work on food allergy awareness. Be sure to check out my Instagram feed (@friendlypantry) for thought-provoking and interesting posts you can share with friends and family.
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The Best Allergy-Free Gifts For Kids
Confidently Introducing Allergens When You’re Nervous
