 Food allergies in children have increased dramatically in recent years. And even though children can have allergies to a wide variety of foods, there are eight foods that account for about 90% of all food allergic reactions in the United States. And these are those foods. Peanuts, tree nuts, and these are nuts like walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios and cashews. Milk, eggs, wheat or gluten, and gluten is a protein that's found in barley, rye and oats as well as wheat. Soy is another one. Fish, especially fish like tuna, salmon and halibut, and then shellfish like shrimp or lobster. Now, since 2004, companies are required to clearly label any of these big eight food allergens on their packaging. Today, around 8% of children in the U.S. have at least one food allergy. That's almost 6 million children. And often, the allergic reactions that these children have can be life-threatening ones. So you can imagine how scary this can be for the child, for parents and for teachers. Anyone who spends time with a child has to know how to respond in case of an emergency. And some children need to carry medication with them at all times. But socially, food allergies can also be tricky because a child who needs to bring her own food to a birthday party or who can't share in a school treat can feel pretty left out at these events. And sadly, there's also the possibility that children with food allergies could be bullied because their restrictions make them different. One way that parents of food allergic children can help is to provide enough safe food for the allergic child to share with non-allergic friends. For example, if you have a child with a gluten allergy, as I do, and if you have the resources to do this, you might consider sending the child to a birthday party with some extra gluten-free treats so that he can share. You can also sometimes do this for school events where treats will be handed out and you know about it in advance. If the gluten-free treats are good, and especially if they're homemade with love, your allergic child will feel more included in the fun. Now, in order to make home into a worry-free zone, some families with allergic children try to keep the kitchen free of their child's allergen. It's always important, of course, to read labels carefully at the supermarket, and if someone brings a gift to your home that isn't safe for your allergic child, you might want to store it in a special place outside of the kitchen where it won't be eaten by accident. Every family will find a different way to accommodate their child with a food allergy. The key is to keep meals as stress-free as possible. Like all children, our food allergic children need to know that food is a wonderful part of life, and they just need to be a little bit more careful about the things that they're eating.