May is Food Allergy Awareness Month, and part of that is recognizing that even if you or a family member may not have a food allergy, someone you know may have food allergies. I welcome Ina Chung, a food allergy mom, educator, and author of A Kids Book about Food Allergies, who is passionate about food allergy inclusivity.

 

She joins me to discuss:

• Why food allergy inclusivity is important
• Top 3 misconceptions people who don’t have food allergies have about food allergies
•  A four-step framework to safely include children with allergies in events such as parties

 

Connect with Ina on Instagram @theasianallergymom. Remember to check out her book, and for more resources, visit her website!

 

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on the PedsDocTalk Podcast Sponsors page of the website.

00:00:01:01 – 00:00:30:12
Ina Chung
Because I think kids, and often many adults, don’t really understand that food allergies can potentially be very, very serious. I mean, there are mild reactions, but we’re learning that at any point a reaction can be anaphylactic, it can be life threatening. And not only nuts. I think this is a misconception for a lot of people. For some reason, the messaging about technologies for a long time has been peanuts and peanuts are the most dangerous.

00:00:30:13 – 00:00:42:10
Ina Chung
Watch out. Anything else? It’s not so serious when in reality, you know, people can be allergic to so many different things, and any of those things can cause a life threatening reaction.

00:00:42:12 – 00:01:08:01
Dr. Mona
Hello and welcome. I’m Doctor Mona, a board certified pediatrician and mom and host of this show, The PedsDocTalk Podcast, a top 50 parenting podcast in the United States. And thank you so much for being here. Before you go on with your day after this episode, make sure to leave a review or rating because it’s how podcasts continue to grow, and how we can continue bringing amazing guests and conversations to the show.

00:01:08:03 – 00:01:33:24
Dr. Mona
I can’t express it enough if you love the show. You have to show the show some love. But let’s get to it today. Today’s guest is Ina Chung. She’s a food allergy mom, educator, and author who is passionate about food allergy inclusivity and sharing about the allergy friendliness of Asian food. And we are talking about how to raise inclusive kids and why food allergies should matter to everyone.

00:01:33:27 – 00:01:39:12
Dr. Mona
Whether your family has food allergies or not. Thank you so much for joining me today, Ina.

00:01:39:15 – 00:01:41:29
Ina Chung
Thank you so much for having me, doctor. Mona.

00:01:42:01 – 00:01:59:23
Dr. Mona
Well, I’m so happy that we could connect. I had asked my followers on my Instagram channel, Pizza Talk, what are some great accounts, especially for, input on what foods and, you know, being in it, you know, not just from allergies but from parents. And so your name came up and I saw your account. I was like, this is wonderful.

00:02:00:00 – 00:02:23:09
Dr. Mona
And so I’m really glad that we can have this conversation today. Not on just like a medical aspect of like what are food allergies, but more the ability of it, you know, that food allergies affects so many families. How can we be more inclusive? And so thank you for joining me today. And before we get started, please introduce yourself for anyone who’s not familiar with who you are and why this topic is so important to you.

00:02:23:12 – 00:02:55:03
Ina Chung
Sure. So my name is Inner Chang and I am a Korean-American mom of two. I live in Colorado. I’m a former teacher, and my daughter was diagnosed with food allergies when she was six months old. She’s allergic to peanuts and dairy and egg. And I started an Instagram account just to share the food that we eat. And doing that work kind of exposed me to this world of parents who are really struggling not only just to feed their kids, but also to advocate for their kids.

00:02:55:06 – 00:03:20:29
Ina Chung
And it’s such a challenge, especially for people like me who are people pleasers. We don’t want to rock the boat. And so spreading allergy awareness, I think, is so important, especially for people who don’t manage food allergies. And it will just make them more inclusive world for all of our kids. And so I’ve been really trying to encourage people to advocate for their kids, as well as spreading allergy awareness to make the world a safer place for our kids.

00:03:21:01 – 00:03:40:27
Dr. Mona
Yeah. I mean, this is not just a one thing that we’re talking about. In diversity, obviously, this is there’s so many ways we talk about diversity, right? We talk about ethnic diversity. We talk about socioeconomic and neurodiversity. But this is so important also for me because it can be life threatening for many of those suffering from food allergies.

00:03:40:27 – 00:03:57:16
Dr. Mona
You know, it’s not just like, oh, well, it’s okay if there’s a little peanut. And yes, there’s a spectrum there, but this is life saving information because we want to be inclusive. And so I think it’s such a great thing. And so thank you for the work that you do. And then tell us more about the book that you, contribute to or actually wrote.

00:03:57:17 – 00:03:58:13
Dr. Mona
Right.

00:03:58:15 – 00:04:19:09
Ina Chung
Yeah, right. So I worked with a kids co, which I just love the company even before I worked with them. The books that they publish are so important for our kids. And so, there was a call for authors, like last summer, and I thought, oh, I wonder if they already have a book about charges. And I looked through their catalog and they didn’t.

00:04:19:12 – 00:04:44:10
Ina Chung
I was so surprised until I applied. And so I wrote this book called A Kids Book about food allergies. And it reads very much like a social story. And it educates kids without food allergies about what food allergies are. But it also addresses our kids who do, have food allergies about how they deserve to be safe. They deserve to be included.

00:04:44:12 – 00:04:58:20
Ina Chung
And so it’s all about safety and inclusion. It’s about, educating all people about what allergies are and how our kids with food allergies are safer when more people understand what food allergies are.

00:04:58:20 – 00:05:14:06
Dr. Mona
And I love this, and I know we’re going to be talking a lot about how we can communicate with families who may not have food allergies, right? Like how to explain to children who peers may have it and they don’t. But I’m curious, how did you explain it to your daughter and how old is your daughter now?

00:05:14:08 – 00:05:15:14
Ina Chung
So my daughter is six years old.

00:05:15:14 – 00:05:16:13
Dr. Mona
So she actually.

00:05:16:14 – 00:05:17:21
Ina Chung
Oh, awesome. Well, yeah.

00:05:17:21 – 00:05:20:04
Dr. Mona
Really, thanks for recording on that.

00:05:20:06 – 00:05:20:23
Ina Chung
Because.

00:05:20:23 – 00:05:26:05
Dr. Mona
Yeah. Like, how have you explained it to her as a, you know, a mother, of a child with food allergies?

00:05:26:07 – 00:05:50:03
Ina Chung
Yeah. So we got her diagnosis when she was six months old. And so what I did was, you know, we get advice from, you know, about child psychology when we narrate the world around us to our kids, it helps with their language development. And so I kind of used that advice, and I infused that allergy vocabulary and awareness even from that very young age.

00:05:50:03 – 00:06:08:05
Ina Chung
So when we were grocery shopping, you know, I would look at something at the label and I would say, oh, this has, you know, dairy and eggs in it. It’s not safe for you. So let’s find something else. So we just infused that language all the time. And so we never really had to sit down and talk to her about it because she kind of always knew.

00:06:08:07 – 00:06:35:29
Ina Chung
And so that kind of turned her into this amazing self-advocate. So at school she’s advocating for herself and it’s amazing. But the way I would describe it to someone for whom the whole concept is very new. So what I would say and what I have told kids is. So I start by explaining the immune system. I’ll say the immune system is a really great thing, and it helps fight against germs and sicknesses.

00:06:36:01 – 00:07:03:20
Ina Chung
But for some people, something different has happened with the immune system, and it identifies foods as dangerous. And so what happens when someone is allergic to, fish when they eat that fish, the immune system thinks that it’s really dangerous and the body will react with, you know, itchy bumps or swelling, vomiting, diarrhea, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing.

00:07:03:22 – 00:07:10:06
Ina Chung
And that’s called an allergic reaction. And so that’s how I would explain it to someone for whom the idea is new.

00:07:10:13 – 00:07:30:24
Dr. Mona
I love that. I mean, it’s so and again, you’re bringing it down to just basic nonchalant putting words, right? I think sometimes, like you said, as parents were like, well, can we explain these things? Do they understand? But you did it so beautifully. Not only for your child, but those who may not, you know, have food allergies. Is there any other ways that you explain food allergies to kids who may not have them?

00:07:30:24 – 00:07:41:16
Dr. Mona
And I understand there may be some differences in, developmental age, but how else would you kind of, for example, a parent that may not have that, child who has food allergies.

00:07:41:19 – 00:08:06:12
Ina Chung
Right. So one thing that I always want to emphasize is, the possible severity of allergic reactions, because I think kids and often many adults don’t really understand that food allergies can potentially be very, very serious. I mean, there are mild reactions, but we’re learning that at any point and reaction can be anaphylactic, it can be life threatening.

00:08:06:15 – 00:08:29:02
Ina Chung
And not only nuts. I think this is a misconception for a lot of people. For some reason, the messaging about food allergies for a long time has been peanuts. And peanuts are the most dangerous. Watch out. Anything else? And it’s not so serious when in reality, you know, people can be allergic to so many different things, and any of those things can cause a life threatening reaction.

00:08:29:02 – 00:08:53:11
Ina Chung
And so the way I explain the severity of allergic reactions is, and this is what I tell my daughter, and I would say this to a child who doesn’t have food allergies, that an allergic reaction can be just uncomfortable. That’s possible. But it can also be a big, big emergency. And someone would need help at a hospital right away.

00:08:53:18 – 00:09:15:27
Ina Chung
And so I feel like those words like emergent, the hospital, kind of signal to our kids that it’s like really a big deal. And only recently did I share with my daughter that an allergic reaction can result in death. But in the same breath, I also tell her that that’s the reason why we always carry her a connection with us, that, you know, we’re going to protect her.

00:09:15:27 – 00:09:21:21
Ina Chung
We have everything we need to keep her safe. And so that’s what I would tell other kids as well.

00:09:21:23 – 00:09:34:06
Dr. Mona
And it seems that your approach, especially with your daughter, has been to me, sound. It sounds wonderful. Has she ever created any sort of fear around her diagnosis? And how did you manage that?

00:09:34:08 – 00:09:54:15
Ina Chung
That’s a great question. So, I think she absorbed my hear. Yeah, when she was a lot younger because I was still learning. And so when we don’t know, that can come with a lot of fear. Right. And so, one day we were outside in the lawn and she was playing, I was pulling some weeds, and she saw a peanut shell on the ground.

00:09:54:21 – 00:10:14:25
Ina Chung
And that was the first time that she had even really seen a peanut shell. And so I told her, I kind of gasped and I said, that’s, that’s a peanut show. And she screamed. She was so scared. And I was like, wait a minute, this is not this is my friend. I don’t want her to be afraid. I want her to be cautious but not afraid.

00:10:14:25 – 00:10:37:28
Ina Chung
You know what I mean? And so, that’s when I kind of started learning a lot more about allergies and, realizing that when we take the right precautions, we don’t need to be afraid. And so I started to change my messaging with her, continually telling her, like, oh, your allergens are over there. I see someone eating like an ice cream bar with peanuts in it.

00:10:38:01 – 00:10:51:06
Ina Chung
We don’t have to be afraid, but we’re going to be cautious. We’re going to ask that kid to wash their hands. We’re going to wash your hands. And so I always tell her what our plan is so that we can keep her safe.

00:10:51:09 – 00:11:10:06
Dr. Mona
Now let’s take a break to hear from our sponsors. Oh, well, this is a parenting show. And so when I hear parents share their stories like that, it really helps me, and helps so many people because you just brought up two really great points that you recognized how your reaction impacted her, which I think a lot of parents sometimes forget.

00:11:10:06 – 00:11:27:15
Dr. Mona
And you have that insight into remembering that. And I’m a big believer in that. I do that. I think every parent is I don’t want to say guilty of that, but should be aware of that. And two, you changed your ways. And I think that’s such an awesome thing that you recognize maybe how I react is not ideal in this situation.

00:11:27:20 – 00:11:47:03
Dr. Mona
And how can I better be there as an advocate, but also that conference, even when I know it’s not always common side for us. You know, as parents, we often are more brave for our children than we are actually feeling inside. And so like, you know, kudos to you because I know. Yeah, that’s that’s scary because you’re still learning about it.

00:11:47:03 – 00:12:08:26
Dr. Mona
You want the best for your child and you want them to be safe. And then I think any parent would want that, whether they have food allergies or not. And then the next thing is you talked about the misconception, you know, about people often think that, oh, it’s just peanut allergies or nut allergies. What are some other misconceptions about allergies that you hear from, especially from parents of children who may not have food allergies?

00:12:08:29 – 00:12:28:06
Ina Chung
Yes. So I actually did a poll on my Instagram to ask people about the common misconceptions and people were on fire. There are so many misconceptions that people want to clear up, and we don’t have time for all of them. But I will be doing a series on my Instagram, kind of unpacking some of these misconceptions, but I’ll leave you with the top three.

00:12:28:10 – 00:12:29:07
Dr. Mona
Love it.

00:12:29:10 – 00:12:49:10
Ina Chung
Yes. So the first misconception, which is so common, is that a little bit won’t hurt, and giving your child a little bit at a time will actually help them outgrow the allergy. And so I wanted to unpack that a little bit. So for some people, it is true that a tiny little bit like an invisible amount won’t actually hurt.

00:12:49:17 – 00:13:11:20
Ina Chung
So I think about 50% of people, but the other 30% and invisible or trace amount can do some damage, can really cause an allergic reaction, which can be very traumatic for the family. And so a lot of parents don’t know whether they fall in which 50%. Yeah. And so they’re going to take as many precautions as possible naturally.

00:13:11:22 – 00:13:29:17
Ina Chung
Right. And then as far as giving them a little bit to help them outgrow the allergy. So there are treatments where we take that concept to help kids, grow a tolerance to their allergen. But that’s going to be done with the guidance of an allergist. It’s not going to be done at the advice of someone at a birthday party.

00:13:29:18 – 00:13:31:15
Ina Chung
Once that kid’s a taste of.

00:13:31:15 – 00:13:36:28
Dr. Mona
Coffee here, I’ll do drug exposure training. You’re not trained to do that, lady. Come on. Yes. Yeah.

00:13:37:00 – 00:14:03:23
Ina Chung
Exactly. So that’s going to be done with the allergen. So, so that’s the first misconception. The second one is a really big one that, it’s a big learning curve that allergy parents need to learn, which is the concept of cross contact. So cross contact is the transfer of food proteins from one thing to another. So for example, someone eating like an ice cream bar, it’s going to get all over.

00:14:03:23 – 00:14:22:10
Ina Chung
And for like young kids especially, it’s just going to get all over the place. And if my daughter is sitting next to that kid, or even if my daughter comes to that area and like draws a picture at that table, you know, she can get some of that residue on her hands. It can end up in her mouth causing an allergic reaction.

00:14:22:13 – 00:14:44:16
Ina Chung
And there are, you know, some cases where you may just contact it can cause an allergic reaction. It’s not universal, but it does happen. And so cross contact is an issue. And so when people say, oh, you can just, you know, round it or just take the cheese off the pizza like it doesn’t really work that way. And so people need to really be careful about, cross contact.

00:14:44:16 – 00:15:07:10
Ina Chung
And it takes a lot more vigilance than just not eating the food because allergens are everywhere. Yeah. So, so that’s a big concept that I would love for people to have a better understanding of. The third one is just, this really surprised me. It’s a misunderstanding of the categories of foods. So I don’t know how many times I have told someone.

00:15:07:17 – 00:15:29:12
Ina Chung
So my daughter’s allergic to peanuts and dairy and egg. They’ll hand me a gluten free muffin. I said this should be safe for her. And. Right. And so I feel like somehow now the term gluten free has become synonymous with allergies. Allergies. Right. Exactly. But I want everyone to know and probably many of your listeners already know that.

00:15:29:12 – 00:15:56:00
Ina Chung
But for those who don’t, gluten free items can have peanut nuts, soy, dairy, all kinds of other allergens. It just means that it would be safe for those with celiac disease. And so I hope that people will, come to a better understanding of what gluten free is and isn’t. I’m also learning that a lot of people don’t know what makes up the dairy category of food.

00:15:56:03 – 00:16:17:23
Ina Chung
Some people don’t know that butter or cheese are also dairy. So like, someone will offer my daughter goldfish, which is like it’s cheese, and they’ll be surprised that she can’t eat it because it’s dairy. And another thing about dairy is that a lot of people think that eggs is in the dairy category. I think because like at the grocery store, are all these others.

00:16:17:25 – 00:16:30:09
Ina Chung
Yeah. Yeah. Right. And so, so that’s a big one. So someone who is allergic to dairy and not eggs can eat eggs safely. So I just wanted to clear up some of those misconceptions.

00:16:30:11 – 00:16:48:07
Dr. Mona
Yeah. And I think it really comes down to also from what you’re describing maybe communicating with the allergy family, what is that is possible. And I think we’re going to get into that. Right? I mean, I think you’re describing this beautifully, like the first thing you mentioned about a little won’t hurt, right? Maybe for some families, there’s certain ways you can prepare the egg, right?

00:16:48:08 – 00:17:14:10
Dr. Mona
Whether it’s baked or unbaked or whatever it is. Or maybe another family. Yes. They’re in process of doing exposure therapy with an allergist, so maybe there is some leeway, but you don’t know that until you talk to the family. And I think that brings me to the next question, which is what are some specific ways that we can be inclusive to children with food allergies and namely events, you know, like birthday parties, schools, etc.?

00:17:14:16 – 00:17:35:06
Dr. Mona
Because I can imagine as an allergy mom, you’re already dealing with trying to keep your kids safe in the house and the foods that you’re eating, and now you’re taking them out into the world where not everyone is understanding of food allergies. So what would you wish everyone without food allergies would do a better job of when it comes to children’s events or just being in the world?

00:17:35:08 – 00:17:56:18
Ina Chung
Yes, this is my favorite question in the world, and I’m going to dive a little bit deep on this one, because I want to get your listeners some actionable scripts to use. Because I feel like a lot of times we don’t really know what to ask. So we’re going to start with the magic question, which is, how can we safely include your child in this environment?

00:17:56:18 – 00:18:21:01
Ina Chung
So whether it’s a play date, birthday party, PTA event at the school, this question is a wonderful starting point to start to think about inclusion and safety. But I would encourage our listeners not just to stop there, because what happens when someone asks me this question first? I’m like, oh, how great. But then my mind starts turning and I’m like, what can I ask for?

00:18:21:03 – 00:18:48:22
Ina Chung
I can think of an ideal situation that I would love that would be very safe for my daughter. But is this person willing to make the accommodations? Like, I don’t want to make them uncomfortable if they’re not willing to make those accommodations? So there’s that mental load of trying to just answer this question. And so what I would suggest is, I’m going to offer four different levels of accommodations that your listeners can consider and whatever you’re willing to do.

00:18:48:25 – 00:19:17:01
Ina Chung
After you ask this question, go ahead and offer the list of accommodations that you are willing to make so that the parent can just pick and choose. So level one is the easiest, which is just providing information, meaning, telling the parent what food will be served at this event and maybe what restaurant is going to be ordered from, or if it’s a prepackaged food, like what company it’s from.

00:19:17:03 – 00:19:37:07
Ina Chung
And a photo of the ingredient label is really helpful. And what happens here is that the parent can then assess whether this food is going to be safe for their child. And, you know, if you just say chicken nuggets, there’s like so many different brands of chicken nuggets, all the different kinds of allergens. Yeah. And so the company name and the photo is really helpful here.

00:19:37:09 – 00:20:03:10
Ina Chung
And if the parent determines that it’s not going to be safe and they can provide a safe substitute, that kind of looks like what everyone else is eating, if that’s important to the child. So level one is just providing information. Level two is about containing the allergen. So we’re trying to prevent fast contact. So two ways to do that is to dedicate a time and a space for the food.

00:20:03:11 – 00:20:26:12
Ina Chung
So for example if you’re at like a bouncy house place, then the kids will play. Then the food will be served at a in a room, right, with all the food there. And then the food time will be over. And then the kids will go play again. And what happens here is that if, the food is contained, then the allergy parent only needs to be vigilant during that time.

00:20:26:14 – 00:20:52:22
Ina Chung
Whereas if food is just, you know, constantly available all over the place, then that’s going to be a lot of work for the parents to constantly be vigilant, constantly watching. Another way to contain the allergen is to have kids wash their hands and clean surfaces after eating, and that is a method of prevention, cross contact. And it’s going to be soap and water, not hand sanitizer, because that just moves the proteins around.

00:20:52:24 – 00:21:22:19
Ina Chung
So washing hands with soap and water is the best way. So that’s level two containing the allergens. I have two more I love this, level three. Thank you. Yeah. Level three is, working with the parent to make one or more of the food items safe for the child with food allergies. And I say working with the parent because that parent, just like you mentioned earlier, they know what it takes to manage their kids food allergies.

00:21:22:22 – 00:21:44:05
Ina Chung
Everyone’s allergies are different. Yeah. And I think that when we work with the parent, we’re honoring the differences that people experience with the food allergies. And so you know one again, chicken nuggets, one chicken nugget who for a kid who is allergic to dairy might work for that family, but for another kid who is also allergic to dairy, it might not work.

00:21:44:05 – 00:22:10:23
Ina Chung
Right. And so, you really want to work with the parent to make something safe for that child? Level four is making the entire event safe. And there are two ways to do that. Number one is to work with that parent again to make all the food, safe for that child. And again, if you ask that parent to help you, I don’t want parents to think like I don’t want to bother them.

00:22:10:23 – 00:22:34:26
Ina Chung
Like, trust me. Like it’s not a bother. You are going to get an enthusiastic like, yes, I will help you. And so getting the parent to help you to make the entire party safe is a wonderful act of hospitality. Another way is to make the event food free. And I understand that, you know, at a birthday party, this doesn’t really make sense.

00:22:34:28 – 00:22:55:10
Ina Chung
And no one is telling you you have to make something for free. But in a case where it makes sense, like a school PTA event, like a literacy night kind of thing, you know, like we don’t have to have food. And so if we can do that and make the event completely safe and accessible to our kids with food allergies.

00:22:55:10 – 00:23:12:15
Ina Chung
So again, like starting with the question, how can we safely include your child in this environment and then proactively offering the accommodations that you are willing to make so that the parent can just easily pick and choose what they would like at this event.

00:23:12:18 – 00:23:34:25
Dr. Mona
Very helpful. You know, one of the things that I was curious about was sometimes, I’ve been to events and they would have just designated sort of areas of where more allergenic foods, like, I’m assuming that the family asked, you know, their guests, like, hey, who has food allergies? And so they had designated like tables, meaning this is for whoever or labels.

00:23:34:25 – 00:23:50:01
Dr. Mona
Do you think that those labels help, for the family, or do you think that that can be a concern and maybe it might depend on the age of the child, right. Because if it’s a younger child, they may not understand labels, but maybe a 7 or 8 year old may say, oh yeah, I can’t have this or this is that, or is that something that’s more risky?

00:23:50:05 – 00:23:51:24
Dr. Mona
It depends on the family. Yeah.

00:23:51:27 – 00:24:09:11
Ina Chung
I think it depends on the family. But I also think if you’re working with the parent. Yeah. To, you know, organize things in a way that is safe for the child, then I think that the parent will help you to figure out, what is the format like? How can we, you know, divide the food and different tables that utensils and labels and things like that.

00:24:09:13 – 00:24:11:16
Ina Chung
Then I think that you’re you’re good to go.

00:24:11:16 – 00:24:37:15
Dr. Mona
Yeah. Well, this is so great. And I love that the way you kind of tiered it in a way. Like here it is again, very actionable and super helpful. And also when it comes to like just sending things to schools, you know, I know with lunchboxes, like if you have to pack a lunch for a child or snacks, you know, or even going to the park as a food allergy mom, in an ideal world, what would you love to see in terms of those moments?

00:24:37:15 – 00:24:54:23
Dr. Mona
Right? Like public spaces, like not just a invited party, but I’m talking like airplanes and public parks. And again, like something like a school where people are just bringing things, whatever they want peanut butter, jelly sandwiches or, you know, other things. What would be your ideal situation here?

00:24:54:26 – 00:25:17:27
Ina Chung
Oh, goodness. So I think that at a playground, for example, we understand that kids use snack. Yeah. So keeping food, off the playground, in a picnic area, out on the grass, just having kids start and finish their snack. Wiping has baby wipes are a great way to clean hands after playing when there’s no sink available.

00:25:18:00 – 00:25:42:09
Ina Chung
And just keeping them again contained so that they’re not smearing, you know, their proteins. Yeah, but they’re not exactly all over the place structure. For some kids that is okay. But for many kids it is not. Yeah. And in airplane, you know, cleaning up after yourself, I mean, my daughter is not allergic to peanuts, and so I will bring, like, a nut butter sandwich for her.

00:25:42:11 – 00:26:02:25
Ina Chung
I try to check around with me to see if there’s anyone around me who’s allergic. And so then I’ll feed it to her and I’ll clean her hands right away. So just kind of being aware of what’s around you and, like, not leaving, like, a goldfish dust, all. Yeah. Things like that. Just cleaning up after yourself is a really big help.

00:26:02:28 – 00:26:21:25
Dr. Mona
Now, let’s take a break to hear from our sponsors. Well, let’s be honest, I think more of us need to do that. I have a lot of etiquette. I mean, maybe I’m a little more social etiquette than the average parent, but I do believe that we should be cleaning up after ourselves, whether we are an allergy family, whether or not just because it’s just being a good steward of our our neighbors, our environment.

00:26:22:02 – 00:26:47:00
Dr. Mona
But I love what you said about the playgrounds, because that also is just very useful practice. Whether you have food allergies or not or whether your peers do, because just eat to sit and then go back to play, like from a even from just a safety perspective, being a pediatrician, I when I’m at the playground and the kids are chewing and running around regardless if it’s an allergenic food or not, I’m like, yo, can we just like, sit, enjoy our snack?

00:26:47:07 – 00:27:05:16
Dr. Mona
Let’s have a moment. And I kind of think about how we do, right? We don’t run around while we eat. I get it that they’re children, but we can teach them those boundaries, right? We’re going to eat our snack at this picnic site or at this chair. And then after we’re done, we’re going to wash our hands, whether it’s at a wash station or, like you said, with a wipe, and then you can go back to play.

00:27:05:16 – 00:27:38:11
Dr. Mona
And I think I agree with you. Like I think regardless of the food allergies, that’s so helpful for everyone. But when you have people in your community that you just don’t know what they have, and just also from an infection standpoint like that is so useful for everyone. So thank you. I’ve always wanted, you know, I’ve always just been curious about I know you don’t speak for every food allergy parent out there, but hearing your perspective really is helpful, I think for myself and then also for our listeners as well, so that we can hopefully be better in terms of being accepting again of those children and families with food allergies, whether we know it

00:27:38:11 – 00:27:57:02
Dr. Mona
or not, if they’re strangers or people we know at a party, what would you say would be other things that we can how we can advocate for children in our communities with food allergies. I know we went over so many different things in terms of the parties in the public spaces, but how can we advocate better for children?

00:27:57:04 – 00:28:18:03
Ina Chung
So I think there’s a few ways. I think number one is just to educate yourselves about what food allergies are and like dispelling some of the myths. I think just turning any assumption you have about food allergies into a question and just plugging it into Google and seeing what comes out, it’s really that easy to dispel some of these myths.

00:28:18:03 – 00:28:43:24
Ina Chung
And so I think educating yourselves, Food allergy.org is a great website that has so much research and information that’s very easily accessible and digestible. So another way is just promoting understanding and inclusion because we are doing a lot of work. I have a son who’s autistic as well, and my daughter who’s has food allergies. So I’m constantly advocating for that.

00:28:43:25 – 00:29:19:14
Ina Chung
And it is exhausting. It is awesome work, but it is a lot. And so any time that a parent advocates on my behalf, it is like it’ll bring tears to my eyes, like it is amazing. And so, you know, if you’re at the library storytime and you see kids running around with food everywhere, you know, you can talk to somebody and say, hey, like, this might not be an inclusive environment for kids with food allergies or like, you know, if you’re a part of the PTO or PTA, you can talk to people about, you know, maybe we can make this event safe for our allergy kids by reaching out to someone and trying to get

00:29:19:14 – 00:29:44:24
Ina Chung
some guidance about how to adjust some things so that it’s safe. So, promoting understanding and inclusion can be really helpful. Also, I think the term is being an upstander. So I have heard so many really painful stories about parents who have been the target of other parents saying like, why do we have to make all these adjustments for one kid, you know?

00:29:44:28 – 00:30:13:04
Ina Chung
Yeah, like we’re ruining the party by giving like a dairy free ice cream or, you know, and I think people don’t understand that it is a small inconvenience. Sure. But the cost is that, you know, this event is unsafe and inaccessible to this kid, to being accessible and safe. Yeah. And when we think about the stakes that there are for allergy parents, a lot of the time it feels like lives are on the line.

00:30:13:06 – 00:30:36:12
Ina Chung
And so I feel like when other parents can understand the stakes that are involved, it can really be helpful. And so, I want to ask our listeners, if you hear this kind of language, you know, kind of just like say something and, you know, be like, you know, we’re we’re a community that values inclusion. And we can make some small adjustments to help this child feeling like that’s important to us.

00:30:36:15 – 00:30:40:00
Ina Chung
And so I think being an upstander can be really, really helpful.

00:30:40:02 – 00:31:00:15
Dr. Mona
I agree. It’s I do hear that frustration. You know, I hear in my, my own son’s school, I hear it from parties even. This is also before I became a mom, but I had friends who had children with food allergies or, you know, in the community. And it’s like I said at the beginning, this isn’t I think we should be really having communication about all different aspects of this.

00:31:00:15 – 00:31:19:03
Dr. Mona
You know, we talk about diversity, but with this, I mean, we said it already. This could be life threatening issue. And so this isn’t like like you said. Oh, just it’s fine. Just a little a little is fine. And you know, I, I’ve heard these stories as a pediatrician. I’ve had them come into my office where they went to an event or let’s say a college student.

00:31:19:09 – 00:31:38:05
Dr. Mona
Right. Didn’t know. And so it’s something that’s really lifesaving, like we said, I know you as a parent and thank you so much for bringing this up. Or do you have to do so much more? You’re already doing all the parenting stuff, and then you have to add on a diagnosis. And so, you know, I really want to thank you for sharing that.

00:31:38:05 – 00:31:56:25
Dr. Mona
What you mentioned about having your, you know, your son with autism, but also your daughter with food allergies and how that does add a lo that sometimes people don’t understand. You know, to kind of finish off, what would you say is something that you carry. And again, I know every parent has a different experience. We all deal with various things in our life.

00:31:56:25 – 00:32:10:07
Dr. Mona
But as a food allergy mom, what would you say is the hardest thing for you every day? I’m just curious, you know, what you feel is that pain point or that thing that really gets you, and you wish that more people would understand about being a food allergy? Mom.

00:32:10:09 – 00:32:32:28
Ina Chung
Yeah. I mean, so I’ll be honest, we have come to a pretty good equilibrium about managing my daughter’s food allergies. And contrary to what a lot of people might think like, we live a great life. Like my daughter is happy. Yeah, happy. It’s wonderful. We have lots of delicious food to eat. I know that that’s not the experience of many allergy families.

00:32:33:00 – 00:32:53:06
Ina Chung
But I think the hardest thing is just the constant advocacy. There’s so much food, school. Why is there so much food at school? Yeah. And just, you know, constantly having those conversations. And as a people pleaser myself, like, it’s really hard to say, like, oh, at this food event, he can like, can you tell me the beginnings of this spaghetti?

00:32:53:06 – 00:33:09:21
Ina Chung
Or like, you know, can I provide this food? And so it’s just a lot of having to, disrupt, like what’s going on to add a little bit of advocacy for my daughter and it’s just, it drains you after a while. So it’s a lot.

00:33:09:22 – 00:33:25:08
Dr. Mona
Yeah. No, I think I really appreciate you being very transparent about that. And that’s kind of why I wanted you on the show, not only to give some actionable tips, which I think are going to help so many and hopefully help allergy families, but it’s really important for me to hear what our food allergy families are dealing with.

00:33:25:08 – 00:33:52:15
Dr. Mona
Right. I know from being a pediatrician because I talk to these families on a regular basis, but on a show like this that reaches people internationally and hopefully people that will be listening to this that don’t have food allergies, I really hope they understand that. And, like I said, I think even if you are not a food allergy family and you’re listening to this, we all can relate to what I think, you know, saying about the load of having to want to keep your child safe and wanting the best for them.

00:33:52:15 – 00:34:11:21
Dr. Mona
And now when you add this sort of health threat, you know, like this sort of, well, they can’t have these foods. And do people understand what we’re doing and how? I’m not trying to be difficult. I’m really just trying to keep my kids safe. And I agree with that. So thank you so much. What would be your final message for everyone listening today?

00:34:11:23 – 00:34:38:20
Ina Chung
Oh, goodness. I would say that, you know, our kids with food allergies didn’t do anything to deserve this condition. And they’ve been dealt a really difficult hand, honestly. And so for anyone who has that doubt in their mind, like accommodating for our kids with food allergies, for our autistic kids, for our disabled kids, like it’s not going to make them entitled.

00:34:38:20 – 00:35:03:03
Ina Chung
Yeah. And I feel like that’s an argument I hear a lot. And it’s not going to make them think that the world revolves around them, because trust me, they know painfully well that the world does not revolve around them. And so we can you will demonstrate with accommodations, with understanding and empathy that our kids deserve to be safe and they deserve to be included.

00:35:03:06 – 00:35:06:16
Ina Chung
Yeah. And so that’s my yeah. My final message to your listeners.

00:35:06:16 – 00:35:17:24
Dr. Mona
What a beautiful message and really embodies the entire conversation. Thank you so much for joining us. Joining us today. Where can people go to stay connected with your resources? Find the book that you wrote, all of that information.

00:35:17:27 – 00:35:43:14
Ina Chung
Yeah. So I am on Instagram at the Asian Allergy Mom, and I share a lot of stuff about inclusion, about things like that and accommodations and just sharing about our daily life as a food allergy family. I really recommend people taking a look at the Food Allergy Research and Education website, Food Allergy Board, and my book, a kid’s Book about food Allergies, is available on Amazon.

00:35:43:16 – 00:36:00:29
Dr. Mona
Yes, and I’m going to be linking that to her Instagram handle. The kids book about as well as the resource for food allergy.org, which, by the way is amazing resources for myself as well. As they stay up to date on all the latest and greatest that we’re trying to learn about more about food allergies. Thank you so much for joining me today.

00:36:00:29 – 00:36:11:16
Dr. Mona
This is such a pleasure. And yeah, I really appreciate you taking the time to really educate and hopefully make people understand more about food allergies and how we can be more inclusive. So thank you.

00:36:11:19 – 00:36:19:22
Ina Chung
Doctor Mona, I really appreciate the time and space on your giant platform to spread allergy awareness. So thank you so, so much.

00:36:19:29 – 00:36:40:05
Dr. Mona
Absolutely. And for everyone listening, make sure you leave a review or a rating if you found this helpful. And more importantly, share this to your stories or share it with a friend. Like we said, we’re trying to promote inclusivity here. Awareness year, especially releasing this episode in Food Allergy Awareness Week and Month. It’s so important that we are more inclusive to our food allergy families.

00:36:40:05 – 00:36:51:17
Dr. Mona
So please do us a favor. Share it on stories. Tag the Asian allergy mom tag feedstock talks so we know that you love this conversation, and I cannot wait to chat with another guest next time on the show.