Thursday, March 12, 2009

My fellow writer and blogger (and writing class bud) Tiffani Hill-Patterson wrote this article about the sibs of special needs kids for Birmingham Parent Magazine.

Often, we need to make accomodations for our food-allergic kids that may negatively affect their non-allergic sibs (like skipping the ice cream parlor or what have you). We need to make sure that our non-allergic children get extra attention now and then, or get to visit an off-limits place without their sibling once in a while.

For example, my youngest daughter is extremely supportive of her sister and is always on "nut patrol" for her, but she really wants to eat at IHOP. At 6 years old, the "big, fluffy pancakes" seem like the ultimate treat to her. We normally avoid breakfast places like this--too many tree nuts. So my husband or I are planning to take our younger daughter to IHOP on her own this weekend.

Since I have one allergic child and one who is not, the "What About Me?" story hit home for me and I imagine it will for many of you. The balancing act isn't easy--but it's very important to make sure we keep things as "fair" as possible.

In her article, Tiffani explores a lot of the same stuff we go through as FA parents. Check it out!

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