How to Manage Your Child's Life-Threatening Food Allergies: Practical Tips for Everyday Life [Paperback]

Linda Marienhoff Coss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2004

"How To Manage Your Child's Life-Threatening Food Allergies: Practical Tips For Everyday Life" provides the step-by-step information you need to create a safe and enjoyable home, school and social life for your food-allergic child. The book includes hundreds of easy-to-read tips and numerous real-life examples, checklists and sample forms.

You’ll learn the nitty-gritty details of how to handle common situations, and be warned of potential dangers you may not have considered. The book answers all of your questions, including: How do you determine which foods are "safe" for your child and which are not? How do you teach others about your child’s allergies? How do you turn your home into a "safe haven"? What do you need to know to create a safe school and day care environment? How do you handle children’s birthday parties, family get-togethers, guests in your home, etc.? How do you safely travel? Or go to a restaurant? What potential hazards are lurking at the playground, the movie theater or your child’s best friend’s living room? What about sports, camp, Scouts and other extracurricular activities?

For those who live outside the U.S. – or are planning to travel outside the U.S. – the book also includes information particular to food allergy management in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Easily identifiable "International Perspective" tables with country-specific information are found throughout the book.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An extremely thorough and helpful handbook that belongs on the shelf of every parent of a child with food allergies. -- Asthma & Allergy Bulletin

Essential reading for anyone dealing with a child with a food allergy, including parents, relatives, teachers, neighbors and caregivers. -- Large Print Reviews, July 2004

Every parent of a severely food-allergic child should have this book! -- Safe Haven Children’s Institute

Filled with information about how to keep [food allergic] children safe and alive. -- Bookviews.com, July 2004

Invaluable resource for parents of children with life-threatening food allergies. -- MedicAlert Magazine, 2006

Seasoned parents and those with newly diagnosed children will find plenty of value here. -- Anaphylaxis Canada

This book prepares you to bypass all the food allergy minefields in a detailed and doable fashion. -- Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics Newsletter, June/July 2004

This book provides practical tips for staying safe while still participating in everyday events. -- Support for Families of Children with Disabilities Newsletter, Winter 2005

Well thought out and comprehensive. I have been recommending it to all our members. -- Mimi Akaba, RN, MS, ANP, FEAST (Food Education Allergy Support Team) support group leader

About the Author

Linda Coss is an author and freelance write who has over ten years of experience leading a support group for parents of children with severe food allergies. The mother of a teenage son with multiple potentially fatal food allergies, she is deeply involved in the world of food allergy management.

In addition to "How to Manage Your Child’s Life-Threatening Food Allergies: Practical Tips for Everyday Life," Ms. Coss is also the author of the popular "What’s to Eat? The Milk-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free Food Allergy Cookbook."

Linda Coss received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California’s Irvine campus. She lives in Southern California with her two sons.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Plumtree Pr (May 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970278519
• ISBN-13: 978-0970278517
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #239,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #91 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Disorders & Diseases > Allergies

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent - even for moms experienced with food allergies, September 19, 2007

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Learning All The Time "It's Never Too Late to... (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How to Manage Your Child's Life-Threatening Food Allergies: Practical Tips for Everyday Life (Paperback)

I've been living with a severely food allergic child (milk, eggs, nuts, soy) for eight years, and have subscribed to the FAN newsletter all that time, so I am hardly a newbie when it comes to food allergies. And I just LOVE this book. I was pleasantly surprised by the wealth of completely practical information it contained. She has excellent ideas for traveling with a food allergic child. Her recommendations about making your home a safe zone and letting your child play at other homes are spot on. Her comments about school and outings are great. She doesn't miss a thing. And I gained lots of ideas, like having a separate section of the freezer for "Becca-safe" foods, that are making my life easier.

I love her tone, too. She is clear and easy to understand. She is so realistic, and so calm, "Don't expect too much from other people" is so true, because even well-intentioned people just make mistakes. Unfortunately, you always have to be on guard.

One option she did NOT mention regarding school lunches is for your child to sit at a tray table placed at the end of the cafeteria table. This is what my child is doing, plus they do not let children drinking milk or eating yougurt or "spillable" dairy products sit near her. So far, this has worked well for our daughter.

My daughter is now eight, and she is starting to seem depressed about her food allergies, and I would have loved more information about how to help her deal with the emotional aspects of food allergies. And perhaps more information about what to expect when she reaches puberty, the age when some kids start to be rebellious and to take risks. Although, the author was writing from personal experience and her son outgrew his dairy allergy at age 11.5 (so there is hope yet, dear Becca), so perhaps that is why the book ends where it does.

Anyway, this is the number one book I will recommend to parents of children who are newly diagnosed with food allergies - and even those who have been dealing with it for a while but want some new ideas or advice about specific problems.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Everything You Need To Know To Sleep Soundly at Night, July 25, 2004

By 

L. Schoneck "AllergyMom" (Orlando, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Manage Your Child's Life-Threatening Food Allergies: Practical Tips for Everyday Life (Paperback)

I'm a mother of a severely allergic child. My son has no less than 8 food allergies. As you can imagine, life has been quite a challenge for us. He was diagnosed at 2 months of age, he just turned 2 years old a few months ago. The first book I bought authored by Linda Coss was her--What's to Eat-- cookbook. Our son now enjoys a variety of food, not just cheerios, chips and grape juice. :-) I liked that book so much, I bought this one, --How to Manage Your Child's Life-Threatening...-- It has everything you'll need to know so you can finally sleep peacefully at night. The prospect of a child with food allergies is VERY FRIGHTENING, but Linda's words, her advice, hers and others experiences, all were calming to read. I know I'm not alone, and that --Miracles Do Happen--. The advice ranges from recognizing anaphalaxis to what to tell the school when your child starts school. Her knowledge is extensive in this book, and she speaks from experience--she has allergic children of her own.
I really like that I feel more empowered to help, maybe even save my son now that I've read her book. My pediatrician is great, but has no --practical-- experience, and I don't really know the right questions to ask. Linda has covered EVERYTHING, I may even buy this book for my pediatrician!!! My babysitter, all the grandparents and all aunts and uncles who HOPE to care for Alek someday all have a copy. :-)
I can't say enough about the impact Linda Coss's books have had on me and my family. THANK YOU LINDA!!!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST HAVE for parents of children with anaphylaxis., June 15, 2005

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S Dayday (Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Manage Your Child's Life-Threatening Food Allergies: Practical Tips for Everyday Life (Paperback)

This is the best book I have read about daily management of life-threatening allergies.
A truly amazing source of information, including tips to make life easier for the parents of children with anaphylaxis. It was very affirming, and great to hear confirmation of the precautions that need to be taken.
I reccommend this book with the highest praise that I can give..it is a must read for all the caregivers of my child.
It really helped me teach myself and my son about his allergies, there were several ideas for teaching him in a way he could understand. I can't thank Linda enough for gathering all this information through her years of experience as a mom of a child with anaphylaxis. Her book is a continious source of refference for our family.