Back to School with Food Allergies

Keeping up with the Back-to-School series I wanted to share with you what else we have to do to get ready besides the school supplies and clothes. If your a mom like me your probably trying to get all the doctor appointments in before the school year starts. And for us that  means making sure our first doctor we see is our Allergist. If you do not know
my oldest son has had multiple food allergies since the age of 3. I have a couple of other Food Allergies post that you can check out HERE. 

 I like to get my appointments in about the third week of August so that I can have all the forms filled out and ready to pick up the last week which is right before school starts here in NJ. Having all our forms filled out and getting new prescriptions filled for home and school are super important. Having everything done this way makes it so much easier for the first day back. I normally will bring in all the forms and medications to the school nurse the day before school starts so that everything and everyone is on the same page. I will then schedule my appointment to sign our revised 504 Plans for the upcoming school year. If anything needs to be changed or added this will be changed prior to signing. We have had our 504 Plan since Kindergarten. Some people don't think its necessary but in my opinion I do think its a big help. Especially when there are class parties or school activities that may offer snack or foods. It really just makes everyone that comes in contact with my son to be on their toes and they usually will call me or message me if it is OK for my son to have something in class. Having that extra paper just makes everyone more aware so  they will not forget. Which also gives me peace of mind while my son is in school. 

Here's Our Check List!

• Make appointment with Allergist before school starts.
• Get all school forms filled out ahead of time.
• New prescriptions filled out for school and home.
• Take all forms and medications to the school nurse the day before school starts. 
• 504 Plans signed and ready for the 2017-2018 school year.
• Pep talk with child on not sharing foods and to always ask a teacher if your not sure if its something you can or can not have.

My son always takes his own lunch to school but the kids like to share their snacks or trade snacks during lunch time and so making sure we have the talk about not sharing  and why is very important. 

What are some of the things you do for your kids on getting them ready for back to school whether they have food allergies or any medical issues?