Food Allergies in Kids: Common Allergies, Symptoms, and How to Make a School Safety Plan
Key takeaways:
Sending your child to school when they have a severe food allergy can feel terrifying. But there are steps you can take to make sure they stay safe.
Communication with your child’s school and teachers is an important first step. You can teach them how to decrease the risk of an allergic reaction, how to recognize food allergy symptoms in kids, and what to do if an allergic reaction happens.
You can teach your child simple tips to help avoid an exposure and what to do in the event of a reaction. Kids can be very in tune with their bodies and can often help adults know when to take action.
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Table of contents
When your child has a food allergy, it usually requires a lot of lifestyle changes to keep them safe. But these changes are much easier to implement inside the home. Sending your child to school for the first time with a new food allergy can feel particularly scary. But there are steps you can take to make sure their school environment is safe for them. And you can help your child learn how to advocate for themselves and recognize food allergy symptoms if they happen while they’re at school.
Here, we’ll review what you can do to make sure your child can have a safe and happy school transition. These steps will also protect your child in other social situations, like sporting events and birthday parties.
What are food allergies?
Food allergies happen when your body’s immune system reacts to usually harmless food proteins. Your body’s immune system attacks these proteins like an invader, causing an allergic reaction.
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Researchers estimate that between 5% to 10% of young children worldwide have a food allergy.
Food allergies are sometimes confused with food intolerance or food sensitivities. Kids with food intolerances and sensitivities can have trouble digesting specific sugars or proteins in foods. Lactose intolerance is an example of a common food intolerance. Food intolerances and sensitivities cause uncomfortable symptoms. But they don’t usually cause anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening condition that can develop in children with food allergies.
That’s why it’s so important to know whether your child has a food allergy, intolerance, or sensitivity. Your child’s healthcare team can recommend the right allergy testing to help you find the answer.
Common food allergies in kids
The most common food allergies in children include:
Milk
Peanuts
Wheat
Soy
Shellfish
Tree nuts (like walnuts and cashews)
Sesame
Eggs
Fish
Recent research has shown that introducing these foods to children when they’re still infants and toddlers helps prevent future food allergies.
Thinking about taking an at-home food allergy test? Learn how well these tests work before you commit.
Sensitivity vs. allergy: Our experts review the difference between food sensitivities and food allergies and what they mean for your health.
New to food allergies? Here’s what to know about food allergy symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.
Symptoms of food allergies in kids
Food allergy symptoms can involve the:
Skin
Gut
Lungs
Heart
Food allergy symptoms can vary in intensity from mild to life-threatening. Most symptoms will develop within a few minutes of being exposed to the trigger food.
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Mild food allergy symptoms can include:
Hives
Itchy, swollen eyes
Stomachache
Vomiting or diarrhea
Coughing
Severe food allergy symptoms include:
Wheezing
Shortness of breath
Trouble breathing
Throat tightness
Dizziness
Tongue swelling
The most serious type of allergic reaction is anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis will produce symptoms in at least two body systems, like the skin and the lungs. Anaphylaxis symptoms may be mild at first, but they get serious very quickly. Anaphylaxis can lead to severely low blood pressure, inability to breath, and even death. Anaphylaxis needs immediate treatment with injectable epinephrine.
Food allergy symptoms can be unpredictable. A previously mild allergy may be life-threatening in the future and vice-versa. Tiny amounts of a trigger food — or, in rare cases, even inhaling small particles of the food — can sometimes cause serious allergic reactions. So, it’s important to keep injectable epinephrine on hand at all times and act quickly if your child develops allergy symptoms.
What to share with your school about your child’s food allergies
School is often the first place your child will spend a large portion of their time away from the home. And a new school can create a lot of unknowns. But you can eliminate uncertainty by communicating with the school and understanding your child’s day-to-day schedule.
Start by reaching out to the school nurse. They’re often in charge of coordinating the team of people responsible for your child’s safety.
Once you get in touch with the right people, together you can develop an action plan in the event your child has an allergic reaction, as well as strategies to help reduce the risk of an exposure.
We’ll go over in detail what to communicate to the school, nurse, and teachers.
Allergy action plan
Your child should have an individualized plan, also called a 504, that you and the school develop together to allow your child to attend school safely. It’s a good place to write down your child’s food allergy and anaphylaxis emergency care plan. Your child’s allergist usually gives you this document, which provides specific instructions on how to take care of your child if they have a reaction. Use it as a blueprint to talk to school personnel about your child’s allergy, what a reaction looks like, and what to do.
It’s best to review this individual plan with your school every year. Remember to replace any expired medications you keep at school.
Safety during meal and snack times
Learn about your child's day-to-day schedule, so you can identify activities that put them at risk and take steps to decrease that risk. You can advocate for your child in a number of ways:
Ask that students always eat food outside the classroom — including at snack time.
Pack your child’s snacks and lunch at home, so you can be sure of the ingredients. Even with an allergen-free menu, there’s a risk of cross-contamination in the cafeteria. It’s also a good idea to coach your child not to trade or share food.
Ask that everyone wash their hands after snack and lunch time.
Make sure that surfaces used during snack and mealtimes are wiped down.
Ask what supplies and materials are used during play or craft time. Sometimes these materials can include allergy triggers.
Ask for an opportunity for you or the teacher to teach classmates about foods that are safe for your child. Help them understand what a reaction looks like and what to do. Children often pick up these things quickly.
Help your child safely participate in social activities involving food
School isn’t the only environment that poses a challenge. It’s also important to find a way for your child to safely attend social functions. Here are a few situations that arise frequently:
Holiday parties: Holidays celebrations at school can be particularly scary for the parent of a child with food allergies. Candy and treats are often doled out for Halloween, Valentine’s Day, and winter holidays. Your child can feel left out when avoiding unsafe treats. Steering the parties away from a focus on food can help. Fun alternatives include beading necklaces, making masks, or decorating cards.
Birthday parties: These gatherings are usually outside of school, and parent hosts may ask about food allergies or sensitivities in their invitations. You can ask what food will be served and find out if it’ll be safe for your child. You can also bring a safe alternative for your kid.
Sports: Snacks are often a part of practice and games. If families are asked to take turns bringing snacks, sign up early. This gives you an opportunity to ask others if they have food allergies. By accommodating others, you can often bring awareness to food allergies for the entire group.
What to teach your child about how to respond to a food-allergy reaction
Give your child the information and tools they need to take care of themselves. Your child may surprise you at how much ownership they’re able to take.
Here are some tips for talking with your child:
Talk to your child about their allergies. If kids know what they’re allergic to, they can speak up for themselves. Help them understand that their bodies react strongly to the allergen, and why it isn’t safe for them to eat those things.
Teach them to read food labels. As your child learns to read, it can be helpful to teach them to read food labels. There are often alternative names of the things your child is allergic to, so be sure to teach them all the terms to look out for.
After a reaction, talk to your child about what it felt like. This can help them recognize a future episode early. It may also help reinforce the need to be careful about what they eat. In older kids, it might help them avoid the temptation of eating something to fit in or not feel left out.
Educate them about their medications. If kids understand what their medications are for, they’ll know how to ask an adult to get the help they need it. When they’re old enough, teach them how to give themselves emergency epinephrine when needed. Talk with your child’s allergist or healthcare team to figure out when that’s best for your child.
Teach them to be responsible for carrying their own medications. Get your child in the habit of bringing their medications and their food action plan with them. Caretakers (like babysitters or grandparents) may forget to bring emergency medications. Even preschoolers can remember to carry a backpack or small purse. For young children, remind them that only an adult should open those medications.
Teach them how to advocate for themselves. This can mean speaking up and saying “I can’t have that. I can get really sick.” Or it can mean asking for help from the nearest adult. If they start coughing or itching, they should tell their teacher or caregiver. That may be all a bystander needs to take action.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, your child can outgrow a food allergy, but it depends on the type of food causing the allergy. Experts estimate that 80% to 90% of children will outgrow milk, egg, wheat, or soy allergies by the time they’re 5 years old. But only 1 in 5 children will outgrow a peanut allergy. And only about 1 in 10 children outgrow tree-nut allergies. Most people don’t outgrow shellfish allergies.
Contact your child’s primary care provider if you think your child may have a food allergy. Your child’s primary care provider may order blood tests and refer your child to an allergist for skin testing.
Benadryl (diphenhydramine) can help ease mild symptoms of food allergies, like hives and itching. But Benadryl can’t treat anaphylaxis or severe allergy symptoms. Give your child epinephrine right away if you think they’re having severe symptoms or anaphylaxis. This can save your child’s life.
The bottom line
It may seem like an overwhelming task to keep your child with a food allergy safe while they’re away from home. It’s wise to be cautious, and there are steps you can take to minimize your child’s risk of anaphylaxis. Communicating with the people in your child’s world can be very helpful. Raise awareness about your child’s allergy so others can recognize a reaction and know what steps to take next. And, when you teach your child how best to stay safe, you’ll be teaching your child life-long habits to help them live with their food allergy.
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References
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Nemours KidsHealth. (2024). What’s the difference between a food allergy and food intolerance?
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