Deborah Garner wrote:
>
>  We really try to build up our daughter's self
> esteem especially about being different.

This is an issue for us too. Here's how we deal with it...

Avigayil knows all too well that she is different and, when it comes to
food issues, it's something we take care to stress. She recently started
to ask the *why me?* questions.

Our answer was simply that *everyone* is different. Some kids wear
glasses, some have trouble learning things, others have physical
problems, or simply teeth that stick out, freckles, can't stop sucking
their thumbs, support a loser football team or whatever (no offense
meant to anyone in these or other catagories of being different).
Everyone has different abilities, likes, dislikes and restrictions.
Being allergic is just one of many, many ways of being different, and
(pleaaase forgive me for quoting Barney here) we are all special in our
own way. (Sorry about the Barney quote - guess who's got a sick
two-year-old at home today!).

Still, the point is a serious one. In almost everything, Avigayil is no
more *different* than any other kid her age. In one area she is very
different, but she's still a regular kid and gets treated as such as far
as her allergies will allow. When her allergies mean that she gets
treated differently, she is learning to deal with it as a fact of life -
no more and no less. She does get sympathy when something happens which
isn't fair (like the food-filled goodie bag from her friend's party who
forgot she couldn't eat any of the goodies) but most of the time she
just gets a "this is the way it is" from us. Just don't let me hear a
"you poor thing - how hard it must be for you"! I'm not saying it's easy
(it's not!) but there are a lot worse things!

Rant mode off. I hope I don't sound harsh...it's just my own opinion. As
usual, I'd like to hear others.

Debbie
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