Mommy and Me Monday: Raising an Advocate and Pumpkin Carving

It’s been a while since I’ve participated in Krystyn’s Mommy and Me Monday linkup, but don’t worry I’ve still been taking lots of pictures with my little one. We’re becoming really good at selfies well ussies. Last week we took our yearly family pictures for our holiday card and instead of doing two different structured photos I decided we should do one structured and one laid back one. When I first planned it a few months ago, I wanted to do mommy and daddy separate activity shots because let’s face it each parent usually has different activities that they do with the little ones. I knew I wanted to a craft type photo as the “mommy” activity and at first daddy was going to do some sort of outside thing. Well after we went to the pumpkin patch earlier this month, I told my husband he should do pumpkin carving as his activity with him, since they always carve a pumpkin together. This still left me trying to figure out an activity for the two of us.

Shortly after that pumpkin patch visit, my aunt tagged me in a photo about the Teal Pumpkin Project.You see my eight year old cousin has severe food allergies and eczema. Even though I don’t see them often due to the distance, I always think of him when parents talk about food allergies. I didn’t have food allergies growing up, but I do have eczema and while it has gotten better with age and diet, it is still something that made me feel very isolated and left out as a kid. On top of children asking me questions about my dry itchy flaky skin, I also had a long list of foods I wasn’t supposed to eat because they can cause flare ups. At one point, I couldn’t eat pizza or spaghetti because the tomato sauce is considered a potential cause. Oh and chocolate yea I had to sneak and eat chocolate. While I can empathize with my cousin because we both have eczema, I can’t really understand the full picture because none of my allergies were a life or death situation.  I never considered what Halloween might be like for children who suffer from food allergies until I became a parent and heard other parent’s experiences. The academic in me always wants to know more, so I can educate others accurately which meant checking out their website.  According to the their website, “The Teal Pumpkin Project is designed to promote safety, inclusion and respect of individuals managing food allergies – and to keep Halloween a fun, positive experience for all.”

After reading it, I realized that this fit in perfectly with my goal to raise Sesame as an advocate and that we would paint a  pumpkin teal during our portion of the photo shoot. At first I only planned to paint mine teal and then let him use lots of colors on his because that’s how he likes to paint, but he wanted to do what I was doing, so our front porch ended up with two teal pumpkins. I know I owe you a new Raising an Advocate post, but I thought it was important to remember that being an advocate isn’t always about “-isms.” Sometimes it’s a simple as teaching our children to show compassion to the kid in their class whose peanut allergy means the class is now a peanut-free zone. Instead of allowing them to whine and complain that they can’t have their favorite PB&J for lunch, sit down and talk to them about the very real dangers that someone else will experience if the sandwich comes to class. Yes, it may be a hassle for those of us who are the parents of allergy-free children, but it is also a chance for what could be the first lesson in raising an advocate. A lesson that doesn’t involve trying to explain all the “-isms” we’re still struggling to understand ourselves. A lesson in expressing empathy and remembering that it isn’t always about them. As Sesame gets older and prepares for starting school, this will become an ongoing discussion. We don’t get trick or treaters in our area, but I still purchased some glow in the dark bracelets just in case we had some late night ones once we got home.

Oh and of course I have to share the daddy son pumpkin carving pictures…

 

 

 

As we head into the holiday season, which means tons of holiday parties at school. Remember to consider the students/teachers who have food allergies. Be sure to talk to your son/daughter and ask them if they’re aware of anyone who has food allergies in their classroom (follow up with the teacher of course), so that you can use this moment to teach them not only about empathy, but about advocating for others who are different.

 

P.S. Have you taken any pictures with your little ones lately? Be sure to link up with Krystyn from Really, Are You Serious?