My Child's Grandparents Do Not Believe That Their Grandchild Has Food Allergies. How Can I Convince Them?

— -- Question: My child's grandparents do not believe that their grandchild has food allergies. What can I do to prove to them that the food(s) is not safe?

Answer: Well, this is a great question because this is not an uncommon situation. And one of the most common causes of reactions in allergic children is, unfortunately, related to food being provided by the grandparents -- who never really either understood or believed the notion that their grandchild had this severe food allergy.

And the ways that we try to get around it are: number one, to provide them with educational materials, and there's some fantastic resources to provide education about food allergy; number two, to bring them, if they're willing, to a visit with your child's doctor so they can just hear the discussion and learn more about the food allergy; and number three, in the unfortunate event that an allergic reactions happen, we have seen families take a picture of that reaction and use that picture to bring the message home to other family members who didn't believe it before.

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