Allergies and food intolerances

Children may be interested in allergies and food intolerances if they have a health condition themselves. They may also be curious if another child at their childcare centre has an allergy.

EYLF learning outcomes

Allergies and food intolerances aligns with the Early Years Learning Framework as it:

• support's children’s health and wellbeing (3.3)
• promotes wellbeing.

Learning experiences

Cook yummy allergy-safe treats

Cook a special treat for the people at your service who have food allergies or intolerances. Research recipes that don't include any of the ingredients they can't have.

While you arecookingwith your children, talk about suitable replacements for ingredients like wheat, eggs and milk.

Run a pretend allergy-safe restaurant

After talking to children about allergies, turn your home corner into a pretend restaurant. Children can pretend to be waiters and cooks, serving food to customers who have food allergies. They can also make menus and pretend to write orders in a notebook.

This experience will develop empathy, conversation, memory, handwriting and listening skills.

Read ingredient lists

Teach children about ingredient lists on common packaged foods, like cans of soup, biscuits, and dried fruit.

While children in early childhood are not expected to read the words, looking at the packaging will provoke questions and conversations. How can someone tell if they are allergic to this food?

Monitor pollen levels

Many people have asthma or hay fever that is triggered by seasonal changes. Children can monitor the pollen levels to learn more about technology and data. Search online for the pollen count in your state.