Confessions of a Floor Eater

No allergic children were harmed during this shoot, as this photo is staged with a clean floor and safe food. :)

We all know how appetizing toddlers seem to find food that has fallen to the floor (and sometimes it's not even food!)  Throw into your dining experience two siblings whose food can't possibly make it from their plate to their mouth without some casualties and you have an allergy recipe for disaster.

Food Allergens in your house?
Yes, I allow food into my house that my Monk is allergic to.  I also allow Jag to have tiny little Legos that are a chocking hazard and I keep poisonous chemicals under my sink. The point here is that there are hundreds of things sitting in every house across America that could pose as a viable threat to our carpet dwelling ankle biters, and it is our job to always be vigilant while they scour our floors for anything seemingly edible. 

Do I allow foods in our home for which Monk has contact and/or inhaled allergies? No.  We don't eat eggs or peanut butter and my hubby now cooks his famous Sunday Morning Waffles on the back porch once in a blue moon. But with a list of 15+ food allergies, it is difficult to eliminate all from our family diet and household.

The Down Side
So the Con in this scenario of keeping allergens in the house is that one day, with a two foot view of the hardwoods, my Monk will find a piece of food that I didn't.

I can't really say that this exact situation happened, as the found treasure wasn't something on his list. We have been warned not to feed Monk black beans. Beans are legumes, and as such related to peanuts.  I am sure that you see where I am going with this.

My sweet four year-old tells me, in a oh-so-nonchalant way, "Mom, Monk just ate a black bean."

Roll out the allergy carpet! Vomiting, hives, coughing.

More New Rules
While there is a chance that this was a cross-dairy reaction (cheese on the bean nachos) and I can't be 100% sure that we have a bean allergy until we see our allergist, we will certainly be avoiding black beans on Monk's food tray for the foreseeable future.

Will we still eat them? Yep. But vigilance will be kicked up another notch, and to my other children's dismay, they now have a role in keeping their brother safe.  Punkin wipes down all food surfaces after meals and Jag comes behind her with the vacuum! The best part? Under the guise of safety and brotherly love, I've been able to add two more chores to the list with any back talk!