Starting School with Food Allergy: Listening to Parents' and Children's Voices!

Starting school is an important event in the lives of young children and their families. It can be complicated by an allergy towards food, depending on the severity of the allergy and the issues that surround the child’s safety outside the home. For instance, the increased risks of food allergy outside the home environment, combined with decreased parental supervision in child safety, can make families and children vulnerable to many psychosocial adjustments at the time of starting school. Also, parents may feel anxious about sending their children as young as four-and-a-half years old (starting age for schools in NSW) who may not fully understand what an allergic reaction is and therefore, may not alert their teacher if they experience one. Another issue of concern is about child inclusion and safe participation in various school activities and a young child’s inability to withstand peer pressure to accept unsafe foods in an attempt to conform and be like everyone else. Thus, starting school can be an emotionally challenging experience for families and children affected by food allergy (Sanagavarapu, 2012). However, there is no research to date that explored the feelings and perspectives of parents and children when beginning school with food allergy. Schools and educators need to understand the concerns of families and children and offer support to ease their smooth transition to school. Similarly, parents need to have confidence in the school’s capacity to deal with food allergy, knowing that there are State guidelines to prevent and manage food allergy in Australian schools. However, it is not clear whether parents are aware of these guidelines, what their views might be on the efficacy of them, and what support needed by children and their families when children start school with food allergy. In this context, this innovative pilot study aimed to: 1. Investigate the concerns, feelings, experiences and support needs of parents and children affected by food allergy when beginning school in Sydney, New South Wales (NSW) and 2. Explore parents’ awareness of and views on Anaphylaxis Procedures for Schools in NSW.