FacebookChildhood and adolescence can be difficult enough without the struggle of dietary restrictions. When your children are young, you can make most of their food choices for them. As they get older, though, it’s important to teach them why those restrictions are necessary and help them learn how to make safe food choices on their own.
Being a child with dietary restrictions can be an isolating experience. As a parent, it’s your job to protect both your child’s mental and physical health. By turning the gluten-free diet into a fun family experience, you can help your child live a healthy, positive gluten-free life.
The Importance of Empowerment
In the journey of growing up, children often seek a sense of belonging and acceptance among their peers. For many, the desire to fit in is a fundamental aspect of their social and emotional development. Simple everyday activities like purchasing lunch in the school cafeteria or sharing birthday snacks with classmates can take on significant meaning for a child. When a child has dietary restrictions or follows a gluten-free lifestyle, these seemingly ordinary moments can become sources of stress and anxiety.
Being different can lead to feelings of vulnerability and isolation in a child. They may worry about being perceived as "weird" or "difficult" by their peers, and this concern can negatively impact their self-esteem and overall mental well-being. As parents or caregivers of a child with gluten intolerance or celiac disease, it becomes crucial to find ways to empower and support them in embracing their gluten-free lifestyle.
Here are three ways to empower your child in their gluten-free lifestyle:
1. Involve your child in the conversation. Rather than simply telling them what they can and cannot eat, teach your child why. When your child understands the necessity of the gluten-free lifestyle, they’ll be less resistant to it.
2. Give them options. Food should be fun, even if it’s not the same as what other kids are eating. Make sure your child’s teachers and caregivers have plenty of gluten-free snacks so your child can make their own choices from safe options.
3. Encourage them to share. Whether it’s trading snacks at lunch or bringing in cookies for the class, your child will feel most empowered when they feel included. Encourage your child to explain to their friends why they’re eating differently instead of always doing it for them.
Make it a Family Experience
Though you have limited control over your child’s experience at school and out in the world, you can shape their experience at home. At home, gluten-free food can be the norm instead of the exception. It can be a place where your child doesn’t have to constantly be wary of potentially unsafe food.
Turn the gluten-free lifestyle into a family experience with these tips:
- Take the whole family on trips to the grocery store. Make an activity out of reading food labels and choosing gluten-free foods.
- Encourage your child to help prepare meals. Mealtimes will become a learning experience but also an opportunity for family bonding.
- Let your child choose at least one meal a week. Meal planning isn’t right for every family, but letting your child choose a meal every week will help them feel included.
- Consider becoming a gluten-free household. Even if some members of your family don’t require a gluten-free diet, it may be worth making your household gluten-free.
If you decide to transition into a fully gluten-free household, take it slowly. While it’s important to eliminate gluten from your child’s diet immediately after their celiac disease diagnosis is confirmed, other family members may need more time to get used to the change. During the transition, focus on education so everyone understands why you’re making the change.
Give Your Child the Skills to Take Control
Creating an atmosphere of empowerment and acceptance is only half the battle—it also falls on the parent’s shoulders to prepare their child for adulthood. In terms of the gluten-free lifestyle, this means helping your child develop the skills they’ll need to identify, choose, and prepare gluten-free foods throughout the rest of their life.
Here are 4 skills you can help your child develop:
1. Basic Cooking Techniques
Having even basic cooking skills enables your child to prepare safe foods on their own. Not only will it help reduce the risk of cross-contamination and accidental gluten ingestion, but it will add to your child’s sense of empowerment within their gluten-free lifestyle.
2. Identifying Sources of Gluten
You won’t always be able to make your child’s food choices for them. Teach them which grains contain gluten and what foods are most likely to be made with them. Spend as much time teaching your child what foods contain gluten as the foods that naturally do not.
3. Reading Food Labels
Teach your child how to interpret the information on food labels. While it may be safest to stick to certified gluten-free foods, it’s still important for your child to be able to identify unsafe foods.
4. Food Storage and Preparation
Being able to identify safe ingredients is one thing, but gluten-free food storage and preparation is another. Even if your whole family eats gluten-free, your child still needs to know how to prevent cross-contamination. They may someday live with others who don’t eat gluten-free, and they’ll need to know how to communicate about and prevent cross-contamination.
Being a parent is a difficult task at the best of times, but having a child with celiac disease adds another level to the challenge—especially if you don’t have celiac disease yourself. Be patient with yourself and your family as, together, you learn how to navigate the gluten-free lifestyle successfully.
