If you have a child diagnosed with celiac disease, you may need to help them understand on their level what that means. Unfortunately, we have to be pretty honest with our kids about how seriously they need to follow a gluten free diet. Teaching them in an honest way without scaring them is important.
We received no help from our doctors. Not a single doctor taught my kids what celiac disease is or how to care for their body. Their advice was simply…eat a gluten free diet, if you need help call a dietitian. In the moment, that sounded easy. After all, I have a bachelor’s degree in dietetics, although I never became a dietitian. How hard can it be to cook gluten free? It was harder than I thought. Gluten free flour does NOT behave like wheat flour. Another thing that makes it difficult is living in a household where you still allow gluten, like I do. I will share some tips in a future post about how I navigate this second issue.
When we were first diagnosed in August 2021, I immediately looked for videos to help teach my kids. Here are a few helpful videos, some that I showed my kids, after they were first diagnosed to help them and to help their siblings who didn’t have celiac disease know how to manage their gluten crumbs.
This first video is a bit longer and more in-depth. I had my whole family watch most of this video. I felt like my 12 and 18 year olds really needed to understand what was going on(and also because my 18 year old was in denial-a totally normal reaction). My 3 year old couldn’t understand this in-depth video, but it still kept her attention because it was cartoon-like. Overall, I really love this video because it explains really well what is happening inside your body.
This second video is great for kids to see other kids talking about how hard eating gluten free can be…because it is! And in the end of the video, the kids talk about how after time it becomes easier, their friends support them, and they can still enjoy lots of different foods.
This third video is a little funny, and explains things in a little different way. I just recently discovered it. It doesn’t explain as in-depth as the first video, but I feel like sometimes you need to laugh just a little bit with this diagnosis.:)
This last video is one that I showed my kids too. It is short and simple. And depending on the age of my kids, I could explain more in-depth knowledge from the other videos.
As parents, we have a lot of tools in our hands to help our kids understand their diagnosis. I think showing them videos can help them see that they are not alone. There are many other people around the world that have celiac disease. There are many facebook support groups for parents too. I love how I can usually find great info on restaurants, new products that people see at the store, and a place to feel love when you’re having a hard day.
Remember that going through the grief cycle is a normal process when you receive this diagnosis. Some phases take a long time, and you can revert back to a phase too. Be patient with your child and with yourself. In the beginning you may accidentally contaminate your kids food. It happens. Move on and try again. One of the beautiful things about celiac disease is your body can repair itself. Your child can begin to gain weight, have increased energy, and for my kids begin to have normal bowel movements.
I hope that you will find these videos helpful. There are many people who are putting out so much good information. It just takes time to do your research. I hope that I can simplify and save you some time with what I shared today.
Hugs!
Emma
PS You can also check out my segment on Good Things Utah where I share tips for eating gluten free at school.
