For an allergy parent, a new school year means a brand new set of teachers, students, and parents to educate on what your kid can and cannot eat, how reactions can happen, and the best practices for keeping everyone safe.
To help communicate some of this information to the masses, I created a handout for Gene’s new Mother’s Day Out class.
In my experience, no one likes change, and no one likes to be told what to do. So the thought of telling this new group of people that they have to change what they’ve been doing for their entire lives or careers is a very intimidating obligation.
I’ve found that food always eases transitions. For centuries, food has brought people together. Food gathers us at weddings, funerals, birthday parties, showers, and potlucks. So, why shouldn’t food be used to bring us together, even when food allergies are the main event?
I attached the handouts I created to some of our go-to allerGene-friendly snacks and Gene handed them out to his new friends at school.
I will gladly go above and beyond for my boy, but spending hours on preparing treats for his classmates was not something I saw as an efficient use of what little time I have. It took me about 20 minutes to create the handout on Googledocs. From there, I printed two per page on cardstock, cut them, folded them, and then used a single-hole punch on the handouts and the snacks. Lastly, I used a handy twist-tie to attach them together. No string cutting, no bow tying, no complications. It was easy and effective!
The kids loved having a snack after their “Meet the Teacher” event and Gene felt like a rockstar passing them out. I also sent a photo of the handout to all of the parents as extra exposure since some left early and some weren’t able to make the event.
Communicating this essential information to new people doesn’t have to be intimidating after all. Attach it to a snack and let the food do the talking!
This is so awesome! It makes this Nonny happy to see her precious grandson hand out treats to his friends that they both can eat. He looks so proud. Good job, momma! You rock!