6 of the hardest things about having a kid with an allergy.

28% of Ireland's population have an allergy 

• Constant worry- How does a parent not worry about their child if something can cause their kiddie grievous bodily harm and put them in a life threatening position? Parents who have kids with allergies will constantly worry for their child, but try to be brave and not show their child their worries.
• Explaining to your child and to others- Children won’t necessarily understand why they are not allowed something or to be near a food stuff when all the kids in their class are ok. This is probably the hardest thing explaining to the nipper and been sure that they understand the seriousness of their condition should they have a reaction. Play dates, birthday parties and outings are a huge debacle for a child with an allergy, people need to be aware and they will need to be away from the trigger of their allergy. Some people will struggle to understand and this will cause stress for the parents of the kiddie with an allergy, but there is no way around it everyone who is near their child must be fully aware of the situation for the safety of the child.
• Keeping calm in an emergency- For all the preventions a parent will put in place, accidents do happen in life and there may be times a parent is placed in an emergency event when time is of the essence to ensure the health of their child. Of course parents are well equipped for these occurrences but nothing prepares you for these and any parent would be a nervous wreck when their child’s life is in danger.
• Accepting the allergy and doing the best you can for your nipper- Acceptance is key to dealing with a serious allergy, as there is nothing that can be done to change the diagnosis and the parents must be strong for their little one.
• Holding your kiddie back for their own safety- It isn’t easy when a parent must hold their child back from doing things they love as they can’t be guaranteed their safety. It may be little things like being unable to attend parties or take a trip with their classmates, or bigger things like holidays all of which a young child should be free to do.
• Guilt- A parent with a child who has an allergy will feel guilt, is it their fault? Did they do something wrong? Or why their child? The reality is some allergies just occur from nowhere and are no fault to anyone, all they can do is be the best parent for their child allergy or no allergy.