We may not be able to casually saunter in to whichever café you like, or accept a party invite without a good few questions. But we make up for it in other ways…
1. We always carry extra snacks.
The need to carry safe alternatives to placate a child who’s desperate to have what his friends are having means we’ll usually have a decent bag of tricks at the ready wherever we go.
2. We bake. Oh, do we bake. We’ve had to learn to make our own, because we can’t always rely on shop bought or other people’s kitchens being allergen-free. Bon appetit!
3. We’ll probably invite your kid over for dinner, and probably won’t expect a return invitation…
4. But if you do invite us, we are likely to supply some of the goods…
5. Or, if you’ve managed to cater for the allergy completely, we’ll be over the moon.
6. We’re always prepared for an emergency. If your kid has a hidden allergy to wasp stings or suffers an insect bite, we’ll be ready with an EpiPen (two, actually) and antihistamines.
7. Empathy. Our kids are used to dealing with adversity and being ‘different’, so they’re likely to be understanding of other people’s differences, too.
8. We love that you understand us. When we find a friend who gets it and supports us and our child, we hold onto them.
9. We are champion risk assessors. Your kid is in safe hands. I can spot a peanut brittle across a busy funfair, after all.
10. When food is handed out at parties, you’ll probably get our share of the cake, and the party bag treats. Nom nom.
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