Food Allergies Impact Siblings Too
Parents are not the only ones who must adjust to a child's food allergies, it affects siblings as well.
Natasha and her brother Alex were born 2 years apart. She was older and had asthma and food allergies and he didn’t. Both children grew up in the knowledge that Natasha’s food allergies were dangerous, her asthma unpredictable and that as a family we needed to be careful to keep her safe. Hospitalisations when they happened, affected the whole family, as we were pulled between hospital and home.
Alex always took his role as younger brother looking out for his big sister’s food allergies seriously.
When Natasha was unwell, Alex would be worried, watching and waiting as our lives were thrown off kilter until she was well again.
We would always talk to him afterwards; check how he was feeling, in case he needed to talk about what had happened or had internalised the stress he had witnessed.
We encouraged Natasha never to allow her food allergies to stop her from doing what she wanted to do and it was also important that Alex wouldn't be impacted by them either.
Natasha loved horses and she spent Saturday mornings riding and mucking out stables; she would come home with her hair all tangled, and you never saw a happier child.
Alex on the other hand loved cricket and karate and Saturday mornings were spent at either practice followed by lunch out with his dad, which was usually a cheeseburger or pizza - it was their special treat together, and Alex got to eat what he couldn't eat at home. Later that day as we came together for dinner, both children would share their day's stories, successes and sometimes failures, which were celebrated or commiserated, always ending in laughter.
Not to say that Natasha and Alex didn't argue or annoy and tease each other - they did often, they were siblings after all. But thankfully Alex never resented the attention that Natasha’s medical conditions demanded from us all. It was just part of our lives as a family - it demanded from us because it kept Natasha safe.
Empathy, love for his sister and confidence in his place within our family grounded him, rooted him and helped him when times got tough, and it still does today.