Multiple Severe Food Allergies and the School-Age Child

When my son Ben started kindergarten five years ago, I was pleased that an allergy protocol was already in place at his school. Students were not permitted to bring to school food items containing peanuts, the nurse was informed concerning allergic children, an extra epi-pen and recent photo of the child were kept in the staff lounge, and all staff were trained in emergency treatment of anaphylaxis. However, although the protocol was reassuring, given Ben's potentially life-threatening allergy to peanuts, it did very little to address his other potentially life-threatening allergies to dairy products, tree nuts, eggs, and sesame seeds.

While I was grateful that I did not have to worry too much about exposure to peanuts, I knew that there would be no way to ban the other items on the list, especially milk. Ben's allergy to milk is at least as serious as his allergy to peanuts (perhaps even more so), yet I knew that every child in the lunch room would receive a carton of milk at every lunch. I also knew that I could not bring him home for lunch, as I work, and that I did not want him to eat alone (in the Principal's office, for example) every day. With these factors in mind, I approached the situation as I had always approached Ben's multiple food allergies: rather than undertaking the impossible task of trying to guarantee an allergen-free environment, I decided to focus on educating Ben, part of my ongoing mission to prepare him for life in a world full of "dangerous" food items. My aim has always been to foster extreme caution, but not fear (I worry enough for the two of us!). Now, as he heads into grade 5, I know that he will not eat anything unless he is completely certain that it is safe. This doesn't mean that accidents can't happen, but at least I know that he has in large part taken responsibility for his own safety.

Needless to say, I do my utmost to reduce any chance of exposure, especially to the dreaded, spillable, ubiquitous milk. For Ben's first three years in elementary school, he ate in the same room as his classmates, but at a desk that was separated from the others. Although not ideal from a social perspective, it seemed a good compromise, and he felt safe while still being within talking distance of his friends. By grade three he was allowed to sit at the end of a row of desks, next to one or another of his good friends. Indeed, the protective and understanding attitudes of his

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