When a sibling has food allergies

We had our youngest munchkin tested for food allergies particularly egg and peanuts when he was 6 months old. It is fortunate that he did not have any allergic reactions to either or anything that he was tested on.

So much extra attention goes towards our older little munchkin who is allergic to eggs and nuts. I am so used to preparing meals and snacks appropriate for him that I automatically give the little non-allergic munchkin the same things. Now that our younger child is one year old I figured I should introduce egg into his diet. My husband started by giving him some biscuits that contained a little egg. There was no reaction, which was what we had expected although being his first time and due to past experience we were still a little anxious. A few days later I had given him more biscuits but these ones were homemade and contain more egg. Again, no reaction. After he finished his biscuit I gave him his breakfast cereal and continued my day.

The usual routine is the younger sibling has his breakfast first as he wakes up earlier. I try to give him breakfast before his older brother wakes up. Usually older brother wakes up as his just finished up. This day was different; I was about to sit him into the high chair when I realized that there were chunks of the egg biscuits all over the chair, table and floor. I went into panic mode and ensured he was distracted by the television and quickly vacuumed, sprayed, disinfect and wiped down all the surfaces.

It made me think is his non-allergic sibling going to resent him once hey are old enough to understand what they can and cannot eat. Is he going to complain about the unfairness of meals or foods that cannot be prepared due to his sibling’s food allergies? Would my husband and I have to try and make arrangements for him to have these foods when his with another family member or on an outing without his sibling in order to experience different foods.

At the moment the non-allergic sibling is still young enough to make a mess all over him, the table and the chair and surrounding areas of where he is eating. I need to take all necessary precautions to ensure that the areas are cleaned well before his older allergic sibling uses these areas. I need to avoid contaminating common areas with these allergens.

It is my job to listen and educate my non-allergic child about the situation once he is old enough. He will need to understand that it will not be acceptable behavior to complain about his situation. It will also not be acceptable for him to tease his food allergic sibling. Hopefully they will love and understand each other and accept they way they are.