Diane McMonagle wrote:
>
>         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
Diane:
        Can you find another parent who has children with either physical
problems or allergys , and get togther with them and their child.
By showing our children that they are not the only one who is sick, or
not as pretty as the "norm" should help a little.  My daughter has
multiple allergies, though not life threatening she gets pretty sick if
she eats the wrong foods. School is the number one problem right now.  I
try to talk with as many parents as I can in her classroom so when they
have parties my daughter isn't left out or picked on.  Or if I'm not
there for parties other parents will know her and can support my child
and counter any problems that arise.  I definetly dont rely on the
teacher. Half the time she forgets or is trying to deal with 30 other
problems that arise in 3rd grade! Once our child moves out of the safety
of our home and goes to school we need other people to be there because
your right peer pressure makes a big difference. Sandy in Seattle