All rights reserved.
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
For Parents
Throughout this website, you will find the most important things I can think of to tell parents whose children were
just diagnosed with CD. There are many other websites out there that will give you listings of safe foods, technical
information about CD and more. This website is mainly advice from a parent of a Celiac (who is also a Celiac
herself) as well as our favorite recipes and other resources. I hope it assists you, your family and friends, as you
begin your new venture...
A Parent's Role
The ability of a child to cope with celiac disease is directly affected by their parent's attitude and approach to life
after diagnosis. And of course by family and friends as well. Get everybody on board as supporters. In many ways
CD is what the medical industry refers to as “the Cadillac of diseases.” In reality, there are much worse things
than being a Celiac. Celiac children do not need needles, surgery, chemotherapy, transfusions or even medicine,
to live a long and healthy life. The toughest challenge is learning how to adjust to the gluten-free diet, so be patient
with yourself. The G-F diet can be done and it gets easier every day. Begin by putting CD in its proper perspective
and you will start this whole process feeling fortunate. There are many resources to help you help your child lead a
full and enjoyable gluten-free life.
Remember that you're not alone, even if you feel isolated at the moment. As hard as it may be to believe, within a
few weeks or months you will be well on your way to a new and gluten free lifestyle for your child and not long after
that you will wonder why you panicked about it to begin with.
You can do this! You will become an expert! It is a demanding diet that will require the dedication of your free time
to understand the disease and to learn how to manage it, but you will get there. The number, quality and variety of
gluten-free foods and baking products continues to grow. So do the number of resources available to you for help.
How to Explain Celiac Disease to your child
How I wish I had a book like “Mommy, What is Celiac Disease?” when my daughter was first diagnosed almost 3
years ago. At the time, I wanted to find the best possible way to explain CD to her. That is what lead me to create
this book. I knew I wanted to keep it positive, first and foremost. Secondly, I wanted her to fully understand what CD
was doing to her body and how important the gluten-free diet is. And I wanted to do it all with a positive twist, and
in a fun atmosphere, which is what lead to the conversation in this book taking place in a park. Kids love
analogies. Kids love nature. Kids love the park. Kids love one-on-one time with a parent. There is a lot of back &
forth Q&A’s between the 2 people in this book, which is what a real conversation with a kid is like.....tons of
questions being asked. A parent needs to be ready with good answers that leaves the child feeling confident and
assured, and puts the whole thing into perspective. Your child will feel good about life with CD after he or she
reads this book with you. And it’s something you and your child will want to share with others, which is where
awareness begins.
Get involved
Contact one of the national celiac disease organizations (links on this website) or check the internet for a support
group in your area. Go out of your way to meet other parents and children who share your experience, which will
help you and your child feel more comfortable and successful. Be sure to become part of the celiac community
where information is shared about gluten-free food. Get involved and you won’t feel so isolated.
Continue to seek information from other people and from the internet, including about restaurants and travel
destinations. There is a plethora of information on the web alone and new information comes out every day. There
are tons of discussion groups, mailing lists, forums and websites about celiac disease on the internet that will
keep you up to date.
Treatment of the Celiac Child
Make sure that, as with any special need, you as a parent don’t make your child feel different or not good enough.
Parenting skills and attitude from parents and extended family will play a big part in making your Celiac child feel
normal. At first parents might feel overextended and/or overprotective of the child with Celiac, so be sure to seek
out support while you're learning the new skills involved in maintaining a G-F diet for your child. Teach and
represent these attitudes and skills to grandparents, friends, and extended family. Having big feet, needing
glasses, having allergies, diabetes, being left-handed, getting a bad grade, protruding ears, bad hair days, and
having celiac disease are all a part of life and reality. Keep them all in their place. Do not make the Celiac
condition seem like such a huge thing to a child and don’t let your child feel damaged. You cannot control the way
genes are passed on throughout a family, and genes are what gives a person all kinds of characteristics, one of
which just may be Celiac. Try to make it seem like Celiac is something to be embraced, and that your child is lucky
to have found out he has it, because so many people really are left to wonder what they have and suffer the
consequences of undiagnosed Celiac disease for many years. If things like bad attitudes, pity, resentment and
guilt are intermingled from various angles, you’re setting yourself and your child up for a much worse experience
than the celiac condition is in and of itself.
It’s also important that parents don’t become obsessed with symptoms and talk about food too much. Try to not
be a constant stool checker or ask 20 questions every time your child comes home from school or party or play
date. Try not to blame every minor illness and infection on Celiac. All children get sick sometimes; treat minor
illnesses as matter-of-factly as possible.
Ownership of the diet
Begin to think about how you can teach your child to negotiate his own way in a gluteny world as he grows up.
Eventually, you will want to make sure you “help the child to help himself,” which will help him move toward self-
care, self-management, and independence. Make sure no one ever treats or labels your child as a “sick child”—
especially within the family and in how you introduce your child to the school and community. Do not act like you
are trying to form a protective bubble around your child, but instead try to form a circle of help around your child so
he knows he is fully supported. A wise parent will not emphasize differences, problems, what their child can’t
have, etc.— especially when they are within earshot.
Siblings
Please remember your child’s siblings during the early phases of your family’s new lifestyle, and how this
transition might be affecting them. Oftentimes the Celiac child can seem to get all of your focus and attention. The
sibling may hear others talking about the newly diagnosed child and think that he is getting all of the family’s
attention. This may lead to a number of feelings and reactions that may arise from the Celiac’s siblings. Here is a
wonderful link that discusses at length the subject of “Sibling Considerations”, from Children’s Hospital Boston.
just diagnosed with CD. There are many other websites out there that will give you listings of safe foods, technical
information about CD and more. This website is mainly advice from a parent of a Celiac (who is also a Celiac
herself) as well as our favorite recipes and other resources. I hope it assists you, your family and friends, as you
begin your new venture...
A Parent's Role
The ability of a child to cope with celiac disease is directly affected by their parent's attitude and approach to life
after diagnosis. And of course by family and friends as well. Get everybody on board as supporters. In many ways
CD is what the medical industry refers to as “the Cadillac of diseases.” In reality, there are much worse things
than being a Celiac. Celiac children do not need needles, surgery, chemotherapy, transfusions or even medicine,
to live a long and healthy life. The toughest challenge is learning how to adjust to the gluten-free diet, so be patient
with yourself. The G-F diet can be done and it gets easier every day. Begin by putting CD in its proper perspective
and you will start this whole process feeling fortunate. There are many resources to help you help your child lead a
full and enjoyable gluten-free life.
Remember that you're not alone, even if you feel isolated at the moment. As hard as it may be to believe, within a
few weeks or months you will be well on your way to a new and gluten free lifestyle for your child and not long after
that you will wonder why you panicked about it to begin with.
You can do this! You will become an expert! It is a demanding diet that will require the dedication of your free time
to understand the disease and to learn how to manage it, but you will get there. The number, quality and variety of
gluten-free foods and baking products continues to grow. So do the number of resources available to you for help.
How to Explain Celiac Disease to your child
How I wish I had a book like “Mommy, What is Celiac Disease?” when my daughter was first diagnosed almost 3
years ago. At the time, I wanted to find the best possible way to explain CD to her. That is what lead me to create
this book. I knew I wanted to keep it positive, first and foremost. Secondly, I wanted her to fully understand what CD
was doing to her body and how important the gluten-free diet is. And I wanted to do it all with a positive twist, and
in a fun atmosphere, which is what lead to the conversation in this book taking place in a park. Kids love
analogies. Kids love nature. Kids love the park. Kids love one-on-one time with a parent. There is a lot of back &
forth Q&A’s between the 2 people in this book, which is what a real conversation with a kid is like.....tons of
questions being asked. A parent needs to be ready with good answers that leaves the child feeling confident and
assured, and puts the whole thing into perspective. Your child will feel good about life with CD after he or she
reads this book with you. And it’s something you and your child will want to share with others, which is where
awareness begins.
Get involved
Contact one of the national celiac disease organizations (links on this website) or check the internet for a support
group in your area. Go out of your way to meet other parents and children who share your experience, which will
help you and your child feel more comfortable and successful. Be sure to become part of the celiac community
where information is shared about gluten-free food. Get involved and you won’t feel so isolated.
Continue to seek information from other people and from the internet, including about restaurants and travel
destinations. There is a plethora of information on the web alone and new information comes out every day. There
are tons of discussion groups, mailing lists, forums and websites about celiac disease on the internet that will
keep you up to date.
Treatment of the Celiac Child
Make sure that, as with any special need, you as a parent don’t make your child feel different or not good enough.
Parenting skills and attitude from parents and extended family will play a big part in making your Celiac child feel
normal. At first parents might feel overextended and/or overprotective of the child with Celiac, so be sure to seek
out support while you're learning the new skills involved in maintaining a G-F diet for your child. Teach and
represent these attitudes and skills to grandparents, friends, and extended family. Having big feet, needing
glasses, having allergies, diabetes, being left-handed, getting a bad grade, protruding ears, bad hair days, and
having celiac disease are all a part of life and reality. Keep them all in their place. Do not make the Celiac
condition seem like such a huge thing to a child and don’t let your child feel damaged. You cannot control the way
genes are passed on throughout a family, and genes are what gives a person all kinds of characteristics, one of
which just may be Celiac. Try to make it seem like Celiac is something to be embraced, and that your child is lucky
to have found out he has it, because so many people really are left to wonder what they have and suffer the
consequences of undiagnosed Celiac disease for many years. If things like bad attitudes, pity, resentment and
guilt are intermingled from various angles, you’re setting yourself and your child up for a much worse experience
than the celiac condition is in and of itself.
It’s also important that parents don’t become obsessed with symptoms and talk about food too much. Try to not
be a constant stool checker or ask 20 questions every time your child comes home from school or party or play
date. Try not to blame every minor illness and infection on Celiac. All children get sick sometimes; treat minor
illnesses as matter-of-factly as possible.
Ownership of the diet
Begin to think about how you can teach your child to negotiate his own way in a gluteny world as he grows up.
Eventually, you will want to make sure you “help the child to help himself,” which will help him move toward self-
care, self-management, and independence. Make sure no one ever treats or labels your child as a “sick child”—
especially within the family and in how you introduce your child to the school and community. Do not act like you
are trying to form a protective bubble around your child, but instead try to form a circle of help around your child so
he knows he is fully supported. A wise parent will not emphasize differences, problems, what their child can’t
have, etc.— especially when they are within earshot.
Siblings
Please remember your child’s siblings during the early phases of your family’s new lifestyle, and how this
transition might be affecting them. Oftentimes the Celiac child can seem to get all of your focus and attention. The
sibling may hear others talking about the newly diagnosed child and think that he is getting all of the family’s
attention. This may lead to a number of feelings and reactions that may arise from the Celiac’s siblings. Here is a
wonderful link that discusses at length the subject of “Sibling Considerations”, from Children’s Hospital Boston.
A
s a fellow parent of a Celiac child, I understand how overwhelming the gluten-free diet
can be at first. I have been there myself. The purpose of my book is to help you teach
your child all about Celiac disease in a positive manner, and also give you our favorite
gluten-free foods, so you have a place to start with products that taste great. On this
website, I also wanted to give parents plenty of helpful tips and advice about raising a
Celiac, with a positive attitude being priority #1. I encourage you to refer your friends
and relatives to the “Supporters” page of this website as well, as there is a lot of
information about how they can help support your child, help with the diet and use
positive talk in front of your child. I always wished I had a place like this to refer people
to when my daughter was first diagnosed, so hopefully this will be helpful for you and
your child.
can be at first. I have been there myself. The purpose of my book is to help you teach
your child all about Celiac disease in a positive manner, and also give you our favorite
gluten-free foods, so you have a place to start with products that taste great. On this
website, I also wanted to give parents plenty of helpful tips and advice about raising a
Celiac, with a positive attitude being priority #1. I encourage you to refer your friends
and relatives to the “Supporters” page of this website as well, as there is a lot of
information about how they can help support your child, help with the diet and use
positive talk in front of your child. I always wished I had a place like this to refer people
to when my daughter was first diagnosed, so hopefully this will be helpful for you and
your child.
Parents of
newly
diagnosed
Celiacs need
to make sure
that positive
attitudes are
a top priority.
newly
diagnosed
Celiacs need
to make sure
that positive
attitudes are
a top priority.