Due to the severe consequences that can come from food allergies, it is incredibly important to be able to detect food allergies in children. This will allow you to take the steps to keep them protected and healthy. When you are aware of food allergies, you will be able to take care to avoid your children from consuming foods that they are allergic to. It is important to note that food allergies can range in severity and symptoms. Understanding the right signs can go a long way toward eliminating problems and ensuring that you can care for your children as needed.

What are Food Allergies?

The first step to detecting food allergies is understanding what they are. Food allergies occur when the immune system reacts negatively to a foreign particle in the body. The symptoms that can arise from this range from mild symptoms to particularly severe varieties. It is important to note that food allergies are not the same thing as food intolerance. Food intolerance may exhibit some of the same systems as food allergies, but it doesn’t impact the immune system. In most food intolerances, the body is incapable of breaking down or metabolizing the substance.

Symptoms of Food Allergies

It is important to note the symptoms of food allergies so that you can detect them when your children experience them. There are generally multiple categories where you may see symptoms from food allergies. One category involves the way in which skin is impacted by allergies. The skin may develop hives, itchy rashes, or the signs of swelling. The lungs and respiratory system may also exhibit signs from food allergies. These signs generally include wheezing, sneezing, and tightness of the throat. The stomach may also be impacted by consuming allergens, which often results in nausea, diarrhea, or vomiting. Food allergies can also impact the circulation of an individual. This can cause pale skin, light headedness, or even a loss of consciousness.

Common Allergens

Understanding the common allergens will help to ensure that you pay attention to what your children are exposed to. The vast majority of food allergies occur as a result of these foods. However, it is still important to note that rarer food allergies may still be caused by foods that are outside of these categories. The most common allergens include eggs, peanuts, cow milk, wheat, soy, fish, nuts from trees, and shellfish. If your child is exhibiting allergic symptoms, you may want to check if they have consumed any of these products recently.

Food Allergies in Children

When a child has a food allergy, it is possible that they will outgrow it after time. It can be beneficial to work closely with their pediatrician or allergist to determine what their allergies are and if they are growing out of their allergies. This is also an incredibly important step if your child experiences particularly severe symptoms. They will likely be able to provide an epinephrine pen to help protect your child when they have severe allergic reactions to various foods.

Anaphylaxis

Anaphylaxis is the term used to describe a particularly severe reaction to food allergies. This reaction can often be life-threatening, so it is critical to be aware of this when it occurs. Common signs of anaphylaxis include fainting, chest pain, confusion, wheezing, shortness of breath, and trouble swallowing. It may also result in swelling of the lips, tongue, or throat. In severe cases it may result in an individual turning blue or exhibiting a particularly weak pulse. Anaphylaxis is an emergency, so it is crucial to seek help immediately when your child exhibits the signs of anaphylaxis.

Understanding the signs of food allergies in children is an incredibly important component of protecting your children. This is also important to be aware of before your child goes to preschool, so that you can ensure that you inform them of any allergies that your child may have. If you are concerned that your child may be experiencing food allergies, it will be especially beneficial to ensure that you work with your pediatrician to develop a plan for your situation. Contacting our experts at Corner Canyon Academy can help to provide a safe environment for your child during their preschool hours.

Healthy eating can feel like a constant battle with your children. However, when you install healthy habits in the early stages, they will be much better equipped for a lifetime of healthy eating habits. At Corner Canyon Academy, we are dedicated to providing children with the building blocks they need for healthy development. Here are a few tips for helping kids eat healthily.

Make Breakfast a Habit

You’ve probably heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This is for good reason. Eating breakfast helps to start up your body for the day. It provides lasting energy to make it through the day, which can be important for children attending preschool. When you start allowing your children to skip breakfast, they will likely get into the habit of foregoing breakfast. Alternatively, if they are in the habit of eating breakfast, they will be likely to continue that habit. This is an important step in encouraging a healthy lifestyle.

Keep Healthier Snacks Around

What you keep in your house is what will be eaten. Snacking is incredibly common for children and adults alike, even if it is out of boredom rather than hunger. By providing healthier snacking options, you can limit the impact that regular snacking will have on the health of your children. Rather than keeping chips and cookies around the house, stock your kitchen with unsalted nuts, air-popped popcorn, fruit, and other healthy options. This will go a long way toward reducing the impact that snacking can have. It will also enable your children to get in the habit of opting for healthier snacks.

Prioritize Water

There are many beverages that are generally marketed toward children. It is extremely important to ensure that you prioritize the drinking of water to ensure that your children remain hydrated and healthy. Make juice and other sugary beverages a treat, rather than a staple. Drinking sugary beverages is often one of the largest ways in which children consume sugar. Provide water as the main beverage at mealtimes and encourage your children to drink water throughout the day. Drinking water is an incredibly healthy and beneficial habit to instill in your children.

Eat Meals at the Table

When you have a busy schedule, it can be tempting to unwind in front of the TV at mealtimes. However, this tends to discourage the practice of mindful eating. When you ensure that mealtimes are held at the table, you can encourage your children to eat more mindfully. In addition to this, family mealtimes can provide valuable bonding opportunities. This can also provide you with more opportunities to lead by example regarding your eating habits. When you eat meals at the table, you will often be in a better position to encourage your children to make healthier eating choices.

Offer Choices

You may find that children are particularly resistant to making healthy eating choices when they feel as though they are being forced to. However, there are simple tricks that can also be used to ensure that they feel more in control over making healthier eating choices. For example, offer them multiple choices of healthy options. You may also wish to allow them to put their own dinner plate together. This often helps to ensure that they make much healthier choices with less fuss than you otherwise might expect. By an act as simple as offering choices, you may be able to avoid any contention regarding the better eating habits.

Lead By Example

Children are often inclined to mimic the behaviors of their parents. For this reason, healthy eating habits are particularly important to engage in when you are trying to convince your children to make healthier eating choices. Without this, it is possible that your children will be more resistant to the dietary changes that you are making.

Get Them Involved

Get your children involved in the process of making healthy eating choices! Take them grocery shopping with you, teach them how to pick out fruits and vegetables, and allow them to help you when you are cooking dinner. By getting your children involved in the process, they will likely be more enthusiastic regarding eating healthier foods. You may even consider spending a day at the farmer’s market to help them get a more complete picture of how these foods can be obtained.

Introduce New Foods Slowly

Introducing a large selection of new foods at one time can be overwhelming for a child. When you introduce new foods slowly, they will likely be more receptive. It is also important to note that you often need to introduce them to these new foods multiple times before they will learn to like them. Be patient when you try to introduce healthier eating options to your children.

It doesn’t have to be a large argument when you try to help your kids eat healthily. By following these tips, you can often ensure that your kids are far more enthusiastic about the prospect of healthy eating. Our team at Corner Canyon Academy is passionate about providing the information that will aid in your children’s health and development. Preschool can be exceptionally beneficial to aid in their development. To learn more about the benefits of preschool, contact us at Corner Canyon Academy today!

It is highly possible that you’re having difficulty coping with your child’s impending first day of preschool. However, taking the steps to prepare them for their first day can go a long way toward preventing issues and ensuring the most positive experience for both you and your child. The right preparation is key in ensuring that your child gets the best head start for their preschool education. Here are a few of the best tips for preparing your child for their first day of preschool.

Sort through your Own Emotions

Mixed feelings are incredibly common in parents when their children get to the age where they are preparing for preschool. It is common for you to feel sad, excited, proud, and any other mix of emotions. Children pick up on your emotions. If you are anxious about your child attending preschool on their first day, they will pick up on this and will start their day with anxiety. When you take the time to sort through your own emotions regarding their attendance at preschool, you will be able to provide a calm front on their first day. This will ensure that they start the day being similarly calm. By sorting through your own emotions, you reduce the chances of causing your child to be anxious on their first day of preschool.

Visit the Preschool Together

Before their first day of preschool, you will likely want to visit the preschool together. This helps to ensure that they are able to become familiar with the environment with your comforting presence. When they are more familiar with the environment, it will be more comfortable for them after you leave on their first day of preschool. By visiting the preschool together, you can help to ease them into the idea of being there without you. This may also help them to get to know the teachers or other students before they attend preschool, which can also help to ensure a much more comfortable environment.

Start the Day Early

The last thing you want is to be rushing through the morning routine on their first day of preschool. This can cause them to easily become overwhelmed and anxious. You should also attempt to be there early on their first day. This helps to ensure that you can spend ample time on a goodbye, without hovering. You don’t want to rush the goodbye on the first day, because this can simply exacerbate your child’s anxiety about their first day at preschool. Starting the day early can help to get them off on the right foot on that day.

Send a Comfort Object

Comfort objects can include anything familiar that reminds them of home. This will help them to comfort themselves when they start to miss being at home. Family photos are often fairly easy to send along with them to help remind them of home. Other options include familiar blankets, clothes that smell like you, or other potentially comforting objects. These can go a long way toward improving their first day at preschool.

Start a Morning Routine

Routine is incredibly important for children. It is crucial to ensure that you get them on a routine before their first day at preschool. You likely want to start working on the routine approximately a week prior to their first day. Implement regular bedtimes and waking up times. Follow the same steps every morning to get them ready for the day. You will want to use this exact same morning routine on their first day of preschool. This will help to start them on a familiar path before their routine is changed by preschool, which should reduce their overall anxiety at the school.

Give them some Control

Provide your children with as much control as possible regarding the situation to help reduce stress and increase their excitement. Allow them to pick out their own school supplies, such as a backpack or lunchbox. They will likely feel like they have little control over the situation when they begin to attend preschool. By allowing them to choose out these small things, they will be more excited and less stressed out about school.

Mimic Preschool’s Rules and Routines

When you start to regulate your child’s regular routine, you will want to try and get them on a schedule as close to the preschool’s as possible. Consult with the preschool and learn about their routine. This will help you to add these rules and routines into your child’s daily life. For example, if the preschool has their normal naptime at noon, but you have your naptime around 2, you will want to start easing the naptime closer to that of the preschool. The same thing should apply to their meal or snack times, various activities, and more. This will help to ease them into their new routine at preschool.

Don’t Sneak Out

Many parents are tempted to sneak out on the first day in order to avoid the possibility of hysterics. However, this can actually be detrimental to your child’s well-being. When you sneak out, the child doesn’t know what to expect about when you’ll be back or anything else. This often exacerbates any separation anxiety that they may have. However, you also shouldn’t hover excessively during your goodbyes. Keep the goodbye short and sweet but be sure that you don’t sneak out and that your child knows when you will be back.

Taking the steps to prepare your child for preschool will go a long way toward ensuring a far more positive experience. When you take these steps, your child will be better equipped to have a positive initial experience at preschool. To learn more about what to expect on the first day of preschool or how to help your child prepare for preschool, contact our team at Corner Canyon Academy today!