FoodAllergyMama.com

It’s spring break season in most parts of the country. Our school’s spring break is this week and it seems that my little village 14 miles north of Chicago is abandoned. Most families around here escape the lingering chill and head to warmer climates like Arizona, Cancun, Florida and Hawaii. We have yet to take that week long, get away from everything type of vacation. We tried booking our first ever Disney vacation (with all those amazing tips from all of you I was really excited) but it was apparent that I was a slow in getting the flights booked and driving would take too long given how much time we had off. So Disney will have to wait until summer. But I hear that is the off season and I should get an even better deal then.

We also pondered Arizona since I used to live there and still have so many wonderful friends and family there.  But the tab for six flights was too much to stomach, at least for this year. Besides, I have to admit that I have yet to take my food allergic son John on a flight…it’s a hurdle I will have to cross at some point but it still concerns me nonetheless.

So we decided make the the majority of our spring break a Staycation. Our children of course complained, that all their friends were going somewhere warm and sunny. That got us thinking…aren’t water parks warm and sunny too? We can wander around in our shorts and flip flops there too, right? When we proposed a weekend away to the self proclaimed “Water Park Capital of the World” in the Wisconsin Dells our children were all for it (especially my 2 and 3 year old because they like to yell “yeah” at just about anything).

Our plan was to stay for the weekend in a condo like room with a fully equipped kitchen so we could prepare meals in the room. For the sake of cost and sanity I would do this even if we weren’t dealing with food allergies. I can’t imagine getting them all ready to eat breakfast out every morning, or even lunch. Eating out with very young children was never my idea of relaxing fun. I brought food from home (including bread because so many brands have milk in them) and it was great to let the kids snack and eat their meals in our room. We dined out for dinner twice, but not without the checking, and double checking of ingredients, cross contamination practices, etc. We ended up eating at the same restaurant two nights in a row, because we had a great experience and trusted the manager understood the seriousness of John’s allergies.

That got me thinking to the report released last week at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, saying that food allergies can alter a family’s vacation plans. More than 400 food allergic families filled out a questionnaire about travelling with food allergies. Researchers found that 68 percent of respondents limited where they vacationed and a third avoided specific types of transportation (such as ships and planes). The report also pointed out the concern about quality medical care and appropriate facilities nearby. Finally, nearly all the respondents said they would not consider vacationing in a remote location such as China, Japan, India and other foreign countries.

I fall right in line with those people. I wish I could get past my fear of travelling abroad as a family and show John the world. Maybe some day I will, and maybe some day we’ll find a cure for food allergies all these issues will just go away. But in the meantime I look forward to vacationing in allergy aware destinations as well as vacationing the old fashioned way; long, adventurous and memorable road trips with our children. No, it’s not Hawaii or the Bahamas but it is still wonderful in its own right. I hope you all have a great time with your own families this spring…whether its a vacation or a staycation.