Allergy Smart Tips
It takes a village to ensure the safety of children with Food Allergies. Often, it is one small act of empathy and innovation that provides valuable proactive protection. Here are a few tips we've received:
Bully Awareness
Children are more engaged with visual tools. A simple DIY learning lesson about impact of bullying is to utilize the toothpaste lesson. Simply squirt out an amount of toothpaste for every rude comment or behavior. Then, ask a student to try to put all the toothpaste back into the tube. Only a small amount can ever be replaced into the tube, demonstrating that bullying or hostile words and actions are hard to take back.
A Recess Backpack
Our school utilizes a simple backpack to carry every child's Epi-Pens when on the playground and field trips. This can reduce response time greatly so during an adverse reaction, no one has to run to the classroom or office to retrieve the appropriate medication.
Student Generated Learning
Our High School students created presentations about the Food Allergens and related symptoms for our Middle School kids. The younger generation looks up to the older students. Students may respond more favorably to a fellow peer than an adult conveying the same information.