My daughter has only been diagnosed with Celiac Disease (CD) since late February of 2010. We decided as a family to go GF in our house. We decided this for a bunch of reasons:
1. I want my daughter to have one place in the world where she is completely included. She will spend most days aware she can not have foods that are being serving at school, at a friends house, at an after school activity or at a restaurant. We decided she needed an environment in which she could feel completely comfortable – isn’t that what home is supposed to be?
2. I did not want to worry about cross contamination in my own kitchen. What I find to be the hardest point to drive home to other parents, friends and family is how easily cross contamination can be. My daughter was at a friend’s house and although I had tried to explain CD I was shocked when the other parent cut a bagel and then an apple with the same knife and offered it to my daughter. Don’t get me wrong. Sweetest woman in the world, but she just didn’t understand CD or the implications of cross contamination.
3. I want my daughter to know she has the support of her whole family. That she is accepted, loved.
4. Lastly, I want her too see we can all do this – it is doable! I want to model by example for her as much as possible.
So far in our GF journey I have noticed that many websites, books, articles and resources address the meal planning and food changes in the diet. I have not found any resources yet which address a child’s psychology needs in their adjustment to the GF life style. This seems strange to me, because food is so highly correlated with culture, personal identity, celebrations and even emotions. I would assume having a natural exclusion from foods, specifically those served in social settings, can have a drastic affect on a person psychologically. I am interested in how my daughter will cope with this, how she will personally identify with it. I know for my own food intolerances this can be emotionally draining at times.
I hope to find books that give some guidance to parents on how to help their children cope and internalize their new life style in a healthy way. In the mean time we are just keep it positive.
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