Start the hype -- the 2013 Gluten & Allergen Free Expos kick off next month! Thousands of attendees, vendors, presenters, bloggers and more will be joining together to share the latest in gluten-free and allergy-free products in the following cities:

• Des Moines (April 6-7)
• Chicago (April 20-21)
• New Jersey (Sept 7-8)
• Dallas (Oct 26-27)

I'm honored to be participating in the Chicago event's "author" portion of the show, signing and selling BugaBees books on Sunday, April 21st! Please join me and other great writers like Collette Martin (Learning to Bake Allergen Free) and many, many more.

Avoid long lines and buy your tickets in advance at gfafexpo.com.  Plus, see up-to-date schedules, class offerings, presentations and more on Facebook and Twitter. (Use the official hashtag #GFAFEXPO)

You won't want to miss out on this great opportunity....Hope to see you there!

March 1st is National Read Across America Day!

The National Education Association is building a nation of readers through its signature program, NEA’s Read Across America. Now in its 16th year, this year-round program focuses on motivating children and teens to read through events, partnerships, and reading resources.

Today is the day to grab your kiddos and a good book or two! Here are some of my all time favorites (in no particular order):

1) Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaiman
2) All in a Day by Cynthia Rylant
3) The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
4) A Good Day by Kevin Henkes
5) Is There Really a Human Race? by Jamie Lee Curtis

And for teens and adults, I must recommend the book I just finished... An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff is the true story of an 11-year-old panhandler, a busy sales executive, and an unlikely meeting with destiny. It is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, and provides clear-cut proof that kindness and generosity can do miraculous things. It will just make you want to be a better person!

Happy reading!

Hangin' with Kevin Henkes

If you have young children, odds are you have at least one Kevin Henkes book in your home. This Wisconsin native has written and illustrated over 30 books and been recognized with some of the most prestigious awards in children’s literature, including a Newbery and a Caldecott Medal.

I have been lucky enough to meet Mr. Henkes on several occasions -- the first, at a Literacy Network of Dane County fundraiser where he shared with me (among other things) that he grew up with a sibling who has food allergies! Sadly for us, this has not yet been a topic of inspiration for his writing, but so many other wonderful things have. Imagination, forgiveness, and optimism are just a few themes that all seem to have a common thread throughout many of his books.

The second time I saw Mr. Henkes was at the recent AEYC Chicago conference where he spoke a lot about perspective. He shared many humorous stories about the perspective of children, and their literal translations of various books, versus the figurative intentions of their authors. He also spoke about individual perspectives, and read two very opposing letters he received about his book, Julius Baby of the World.

The first letter was a glowing review, highly revered and lovingly written. The second letter, well…. Let’s just say it was the exact opposite. It was an interesting comparison, considering the fact they both were in regards to the same exact book!

I found his presentation to be a thoughtful and gentle reminder that, as we all know, not everyone shares the same perspective. This is a hard pill to swallow sometimes when you are a food allergy parent, and what seem so obvious to us (about the health and safety of our children), isn’t always clear to others.

Sometimes all it takes is a little kindness and understanding of each other's points of view. Sometimes, that’s not enough. Either way, I’m thankful to Kevin Henkes for reminding me that everyone’s opinion has validity, even though we may not always agree.

Check out Kevin's new book Penny and Her Marble just released this month!

Food Allergies & Bullying

Last month, the American Academy of Pediatrics published a study on the prevalence of bullying towards children with food allergies. I'm sure most of us would agree, it's not hard to see how they are easy targets. Parents of food allergy kids are all too well aware of the stigma, and I'm sad to say until recently, I was one of those parents who didn't realize that my child was a direct victim among so many others. This study reveals that more than 50% of parents are in the dark about this type of bullying as well – a deeply concerning statistic that desperately needs to change.

 

The Boston Globe and CNN report bullying incidents where food allergic students have had harmful foods thrown at them and/or have been verbally ostracized for trying to eat safely. In my personal situation, the latter has been the case in my daughter's 4th grade class.... all year long apparently. It wasn't until over winter break she decided to share this with me.

 

I was heartbroken to hear that her classmates regularly express their disappointment in not being able to bring their favorite snacks or homemade birthday treats into the classroom. (All other classes allow it, as none of them are required to be allergy-free.) From eye rolls and whispers behind her back, to more direct accusations (and even an argument between a parent and teacher in front of the entire class about a cake that was not approved), my daughter has shouldered the blame and guilt about this for months.

 

So what’s a parent to do (aside from feeling devastated)? For me, I quickly realized how important it is to ask direct questions of your children. My daughter and I talk often about issues related to her food allergies, but never once have I asked her if she felt as though she was being bullied. If I had done so, I have to believe she wouldn’t have suffered in silence about it for so long.

 

We all know how important it is to talk to our kids. And even more so, how important it is to get them talking to us. The silver lining to this story is now that we know the situation, we can deal with it head on. We've engaged my daughter's teacher and school guidance counselor, and I'm happy to report they have been a huge help in making her feel like she doesn't have to manage this alone.

 

If you're a parent to a food allergic child, I hope you will join me in changing these statistics for the better. Until we can eliminate bullying, I know we have the power to minimize the impact it has on our kids. For more related info on how you can help empower your children, be sure to check out this free webinar sponsored by KFA. On Tuesday, January 15, Linda Coss will be talking about "Raising a Child Who Takes Life-Threatening Food Allergies in Stride". Archived presentations will be available for those can't make the live discussion, so please, don't miss out!

Food Allergy "Education" in Schools

Hi all! So...tomorrow I will be meeting with school officials for the third time this year to review my daughter's 504 Plan. We are meeting for the third time in one month (more than we typically meet over the course of a year) to discuss something I'm sad to say I have never questioned before: the specific "education" that is being provided to teachers regarding food allergies.

To make a long story short, I realized this year that the "education of teachers" as outlined in my daughter's 504 essentially involves a 10-minute lesson on how to administer an Epi-Pen. That's it. That's all. And that's sooooo clearly not enough.

Even though my daughter is in 4th grade now, it seems like each year I think of something new I should have asked about, or been more diligent about. I'm so sorry I never thought to be specific about the actual content of the educational tools being used (or not used as it seems.)  It's so hard to anticipate every possible scenario that could be dangerous, and quite frankly, that's a scary place for most food allergy parents to go.

The National School Board Association makes it a little easier, with this great Food Allergy Resource Guide I recently found on their web site. The checklist in the back is one of the best I've ever seen. l love how it not only outlines items that should be "included" in the plan, but also distinguishes as to whether they are actually "implemented" or not. I know of many schools that have great food allergy guidelines on paper, but less-than-great follow through in adhering to the policies.

For schools that could still use a little help, Mylan has launched a new campaign that runs through November 9, 2012. "Get Schooled in Anaphylaxis" is a nationwide college scholarship opportunity aimed to help schools become more aware of and better prepared to support students with life-threatening allergies. By gathering great ideas from students, they hope to make our schools a safer environment for everyone! Kids grades 1 thru 12 have a chance to win one of several $2,000 college scholarships and best of all, promote greater awareness of food allergies in our schools.

Do you know of a school that does a great job of educating their teachers and the community at large about food allergies? If so, I would love to hear about it. What types of resources, curriculum, and training procedures are they using? With any luck, my school district will be implementing something similar in the days and years to come. Fingers crossed ...

Ebook Awesomeness

Two years ago my husband bought me a Nook Color for Christmas. I must admit, it took me awhile to figure out all of its bells and whistles. I downloaded a few novels and children’s books at first, but still resorted to my standby paperbacks, especially during beach and bathtime reading. (E-reader + water and/or sand = bad idea.)

Then one year ago, my Dad bought my kids each a Kindle Fire for Christmas. Let’s just say, it did not take them awhile to figure out all of its bells and whistles. They LOVE their Kindles and not just for games and movies, but for (who knew?) READING BOOKS. Narrated and/or interactive ebooks & apps are especially great for my 6-year-old, who enjoys a good story, but is not yet a strong, fluent reader.

Forbes magazine recently published an article that supports the consumer activity occurring in our home as of late, reporting that ebook purchases continue to outnumber traditional print. And while I will personally always prefer hard cover picture books to their electronic counterparts, I strongly believe there is a place for both. (Especially on vacation, where I recently downloaded five lengthy novels that required a miniscule amount of space in my suitcase.)

In light of this growing new trend, I am extremely excited to be bringing The BugaBees to the eUniverse very soon! We have been working hard to bring Cricket and the gang to life for both iPad and Android users alike. Traditional ebook and interactive apps based on the book are now in production which means a downloadable version of The BugaBees is in your near future. My kids love the beta (and not just because their cute little voices are part of the narration!) I hope yours will love the app too. Stay tuned for when it becomes available!

Food Allergy Awareness Week Book Giveaway

What better way to spread a little awareness than to read a copy of the new "BugyBops: Friends for All Time" this week ?!? I've already shared this story with my son's Kindergarten class, as well as a group of families (not all of them familiar with food allergies) at our big book launch on May 12th. I love it when I can see the wheels turning in their heads or when they say to me "I never knew that!"

Now it's your turn to share some know-how. Join in on our Book-A-Day-Giveaway for food allergy awareness by simply answering the following question:

What are you doing to help promote food allergy awareness this week?

Please comment to win a free copy of “The BugyBops: Friends for All Time”. Double or triple your chances by sharing on Facebook or tweeting on Twitter the following statement:

Win a copy of “The BugaBees” #book sequel “The BugyBops: Friends for All Time” by @AmyRecob #FAAW #foodallergies 

Winners selected daily!

Sunday's Winner: Jeanette - Mom to Allergy Kid
Monday's Winner:  Linda Trinklein
Tuesday's Winner: hsw
Wednesday's Winner: Paulette M.L. Ricardo
Thursday's Winner: Alicia
Friday's Winner: Jacque Kunin 
Saturday's Winner: ERIKAANN

If you see your name posted, please contact me at amyrecob@gmail.com to redeem your prize!

Important note to this week’s past participants: We love our social media partners for promoting this contest, but have run into a little snafu with posting links! Instead of linking new entries to the current “Question of the Day” it seems that many people are coming to this first kick-off post only.

To make things easy, we are modifying the contest to simply include this one post. You may continue to make comments daily and earn extra entries for posting on FaceBook and Twitter. Many apologies for the confusion! Please know that even though your Monday and Tuesday posts don’t appear here, they have been duly noted and entered in the drawing at www.random.org!