My 6 year old daughter has been allergic to milk since she was a baby.
She is half-way through her first year of school (kindergarten).  When she
was younger it wasn't much of a problem, but now "peer pressure" is setting
in.  She doesn't like being different.  Teacher told me that other kids
shun her (ie won't hold her hand, don't want to sit beside her etc) because
of her severe excema.  Kids can be cruel.  B'day parties and other events
are becoming increasingly difficult also.
        Immediate problem is this: Last night she got into some M & M's.  I
wouldn't even have know about it if I hadn't seen some of the chocolate
smeared on her dress.  At first she denied it, but finally confessed.  She
said that she forgot what chocolate tasted like, and just wanted  to try
it.  She said that she knew that she couldn't eat it, but she thought that
she could suck on it to get the flavor. Fortunately she did spit most of it
back out when it started to melt.  I pumped her full of Benadryl, and we
narrowly missed an ER visit.  How do I explain to a 6 year old what "dead"
is?  She just doesn't realize the seriousness of the situation.  Like I
said before, if I hadn't noticed  the chocolate on her dress, we would have
know nothing until she hit the floor.  I know she wants to be like her
brothers and friends, but that can't be helped.  She has her substitute
foods, but it seems that she would rather get sick on the regular foods.
How has anyone else dealt with  this situation?
 
Diane McMonagle