If you don't know what a crunchy parent is this is the closest I've come across to a description
http://www.littlecrunchy.com/2012/08/what-is-crunchy-parenting.html I think everyone is a little bit of this but sometimes people mistake it for the hippy, vegan, alternative parents that eat placenta, wear weird merino clothing and breastfeed their 5 year olds or something and you'd be partly right! But there are so many different things that define crunchies. For us this health/food aware life style was forced upon us and we'll never look back. I love being the parents that people always think are crazy, overprotective and overbearing. It makes me smile because in a way, I'm actually kind of proud of it- its hard work and we work hard to keep Noah safe (Its hard work trying to be calm as well!). When we tried to enrol Noah in to childcare we visited 5 different places before we stumbled across Mcleod Kids. At each one of the centres there was something wrong. One had explained to me that they were experienced with food allergies but didn't know the difference between an intolerance and an allergy. The next had set a visiting time for us to come when there would be no food around, yet we showed up to a huge table with bowls of cereal and milk everywhere! Children sharing drink bottles and un supervised cups of milk splashed all over the show. I left that one as fast as I could. I try to be calm about Noah's food allergies when I talk about it because nobody likes a moaning Myrtle and we don't want to be the parents that people dread dealing with. I like to think I'm more of a relaxed helicopter parent. I hover slightly but not as much as I've experienced before. Noah is a typical two year old boy- Wild, free and unstoppable. There is no changing his personality and that is perfect for us! He is a handful and we have an added 'stress' to our lives but really, he isn't any different to your kid. He just can't eat certain foods. He will tell you this. His favourite new phrase is "is it safe for Noah mummy?" which is music to my ears! You might think its sad he wont ever eat ice cream or a cheesy omelette but he hasn't ever tried those things and he wont miss them. To be honest, we've cut out so much shit food anyway he is the poster boy for food health I reckon (No eggs, dairy, limited sugar intake, limited additives/preservatives, sulphates and heaps of other things that make his skin worse ect). My mother always said "everything in moderation" so he does enjoy a lolly or safe cupcake sometimes. We aren't monsters. Food allergies happen when your immune system makes an oopsie. Normally, your immune system protects you from germs and disease. It does this by making antibodies that help you fight off bacteria, viruses, and other tiny organisms that can make you sick. But if you have a food allergy, your immune system mistakenly treats something in a certain food as if it's really dangerous to you. The same sort of thing happens with any allergy, whether it's a medicine (penicillin), pollen in the air (from flowers and trees), or a food, like eggs or milk. So the thing itself isn't harmful, but the way your body reacts to it is. People die from these reactions all the time. These are the 3 most common things people say to me when I talk about Noah's allergies: 1. "Most kids grow out of allergies, Noah will too." Well, thanks for that brilliant insight Dr insert name here. I didn't know you had a degree in Medicine or that you specialise in immunology. If he does that will be amazing and if he doesn't we will just continue what we are doing. Your comment is unwanted, untrue and it doesn't make me feel better. 2. "Oh I can't have milk either, it gives me diarrhoea/a sore tummy" This is not an allergy. This is an intolerance. There is a big difference between the two. Please don't compare your intolerance to a life threatening allergy, you can't die from drinking a cup of milk. You might just shit like a waterfall for a bit and thats cool - because you're still alive. 3. "So he can't eat this cake/cracker/chips/lolly?" *Disappointed face* No he can't! This isn't even an allergy mum concern. This is a "I don't want my child to eat the food and there isn't anything else to be said" concern. I don't appreciate being undermined in front of my kid so please, no means no. I think the biggest thing Tonga and I have learned from Noah's situation is attitude. It is all about attitude. We are positive. Some people say that being over bearing can be damaging to your child later but its not something we will regret. We are keeping him safe (as much as you can with a two year old). There are still incidents and if you have ever parented a two year old, you will know that trying to keep an eye on them 100% of the time is mission impossible. They are super fast and super sneaky. He is like a little assassin. He might accidentally inject himself with adrenaline, have an egg smashing/sugar stealing party at Granny's house, slash his eyebrow open on the bricks outside, break a few things at home, ride his bike into a bush x10 , steal Aunty Moomoo's MAC lipstick and smear it all over her new car, visit the hospital numerous times... But he is still the most loving, precious boy in our world and he is livin'.
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About me
Sarah. Mother. Wife. Daughter. Adrenaline auto injectors are not funded in New Zealand, Please sign the petition to change this. Our family is affected by anaphylaxis as are so many others. You can make a difference!
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August 2016
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