The final days of school are in view. Depending on where you live, your kids have either already tucked the backpacks away for the summer or they’re counting down the days until they can. The family calendar is shifting from the flurry of school year activity to the slower pace of pool time, park visits, camp, and evenings in the yard chasing the last bits of sunlight. The transition, of course, isn’t completely stress-free.
The pace may change a little and the days may feel longer as the sunlight stretches deeper into the evening, but there’s still the task of managing the coming and going of an active family with work and activities. There’s still the need to be vigilant about food allergies – especially now as the type of activities summer brings can be more relaxed without 504 plans and structure to help facilitate allergy management. Sound familiar? These tips may help.
Same Allergies, Different Day
Let’s start with the obvious. Your day-to-day routines may shift around a little as the school year closes and summer vacation takes hold. Your family’s allergies, however, have not changed. You’ve developed a solid habit of reading labels, and checking them again. You’ve cultivated a habit of hand washing and cleaning spaces where food will be served. You’ve empowered your allergic child to ask questions and make safe food choices. You’ve got a stash of safe treats and meals that can be brought along as a substitute for the things that may be served at a gathering or event. You’ve got a system that works and that system doesn’t change just because the school year is over. These same skills and habits that make September – June work carry over into June – August span.
Collect & Debrief
At the start of the school year, you gave the nurse or other personnel responsible for managing the needs of allergy students on campus a set of paperwork and emergency medications. As the school year winds down, you’ll need to make arrangements to pick up that autoinjector of epinephrine.
Arrange a specific time to grab these items and take a moment to ask what worked well this year and what didn’t from the perspective of the person managing the plan your allergist helped you put in place. Take notes. Use the feedback to make adjustments with your allergist that may help make the next school year (and the summer!) even easier to manage.
Say Thank You
You know from experience that managing food allergies can be, well, it can be a lot. It can be stressful. It takes focus and intention. It’s a big responsibility. Take the time to say thank you to the school staff that helped keep your child safe. Let them know you appreciate the way they worked with you as a team to mitigate the risk of food allergies in your child’s day-to-day life.
This is the team that will be working alongside you in the next school year, or the one that worked with you for a stretch of years already by the time your kid is ready to move onto the next school in their educational career. We’re often good about offering feedback about what isn’t working and letting folks know when they’ve disappointed us or upset us. Make space to let them know what went right and how much you value their efforts.
Communicate with Summer
Is camp or other activities on the summer agenda? Make time to communicate allergy management plans and procedures with the adults that are part of those plans. Turn in paperwork to camp. Help your child become familiar with the protocol. Remember that summer brings its own set of allergy-related considerations and challenges.
From keeping temperature-sensitive epinephrine from overheating to reading labels on sunblock and visits to the ice cream truck, do your due diligence and be prepared for the unique challenges summer offers.
