When were your kids old enough to make their own decisions

[YouKnowWho]

DS1 (age 9) eyed Brachs Candy Corn today.  His eyes lit up when he saw they were egg free (which is why Sunrise Candy Corn has never worked for us).  But the warning underneath was clear - made in a facility where wheat, egg, peanuts and tree nut are used.  I am seeing mixed reviews in regards to Brach's gluten free status.

He is not necessarily a huge sugar eater (and often complains when things are too sweet - the reality is that he probably won't even like candy corn as a result) so my feeling is that he is not necessarily overlooking clear signs just for the sake of eating them. 

DS1's allergens are wheat, rye, barley and egg.  He is very responsible when it comes to allergies - has been so since he was very young.  It's the only reason I am considering turning this decision over to him.

I would be less likely to turn over this kind of decision making to DS2 at this age who thinks with his stomach before his brain.

Thoughts?

(The reality is that I knows he eats several products that are in shared facilities with gluten but we have had issues with Whole Foods 365 brand products which say they are made in shared facilities but good segregation practices used, blah blah but WF products are consistently in violation of GF standards via independent testing).

[CMdeux]

Boy.....



I dunno.  I'm reluctant to ever encourage DD to ignore may contain warnings for an anaphylaxis trigger.     I just feel like until her judgment is fully mature (in her 20's) that she isn't likely to be able to take a nuanced-ENOUGH approach there. 

KWIM?

[YouKnowWho]

But do you consider made in a facility notes to be the same as shared lines?

Like I said, we probably purchase several products that are made in the facility but fail to note it on their products.  I rarely call anymore but I also pass on products that are too good to be true (ie store brand candies when I have seen numerous warnings on other name brand candies).

[GoingNuts]

I can't remember which study this was from, but x contam was more likely in items marked "shared facility" than shared lines - totally counter intuitive.   

[Macabre]

I'm not sure at that age the difference matters.

When you have a precocious child it is harder to tell these kinds if things becAuse you know the are things they just get. It's tough not to let that fool you as a parent.

I have a kid who is older than his age as well, but really, nine is still quite young looking back.

I've been more comfortable with DS making his own decisions about things in high school. And we've intentuonally out him in places the last few years where he's had to do that.

[GoingNuts]

And here it is:

http://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(07)00761-0/fulltext

[CMdeux]

Yeah-- what Mac said.

I've only recently (as in, in the past 18 mo) let DD15 really make this kind of call, and usually she defers to my judgment there, or is MORE conservative than I would be.

For a seasonal candy-- I get the appeal, and why it's tempting, but I probably wouldn't open that door at this age.

[YouKnowWho]

So I am not crazy 

DS1 acted like I grew another head (his argument was the one above about not knowing, calling, etc).

[becca]

Just easing dd into this as well, as a HS freshman.  Well, she does make decisions on her won, as she is sometimes not with me, and sometimes, i think she has been a bit careless.  Overall, she chooses wisely.  Her other friends with allrgies sometimes remark to her that they eat thing she says she cannot.  At 9, I made all th edecisions, other than her choosing known products we used or had before, after checking a label. 

[lakeswimr]

But do you consider made in a facility notes to be the same as shared lines?

Like I said, we probably purchase several products that are made in the facility but fail to note it on their products.  I rarely call anymore but I also pass on products that are too good to be true (ie store brand candies when I have seen numerous warnings on other name brand candies).

Many people think that 'shared facility' is safer than 'shared lines' but this isn't necessarily the case.  The FDA study on xcontam found more xcontam in shared facility products.  There is no standardization on what these terms mean.  For one company 'shared facility' would be listed as 'shared lines' in another.  Without calling companies we don't know what any warnings means.  I would not ignore any warning at all. 

Also, shared facility but not shared lines could be something much more likely to xcontam than shared lines such as *powdered forms* of allergens.  If powdered eggs, say, were used in the facility, then the egg powder could easily xcontam everything, even other lines, because it can get airborne. 

[ajasfolks2]

But do you consider made in a facility notes to be the same as shared lines?

Like I said, we probably purchase several products that are made in the facility but fail to note it on their products.  I rarely call anymore but I also pass on products that are too good to be true (ie store brand candies when I have seen numerous warnings on other name brand candies).

Many people think that 'shared facility' is safer than 'shared lines' but this isn't necessarily the case.  The FDA study on xcontam found more xcontam in shared facility products.  There is no standardization on what these terms mean.  For one company 'shared facility' would be listed as 'shared lines' in another.  Without calling companies we don't know what any warnings means.  I would not ignore any warning at all. 

Also, shared facility but not shared lines could be something much more likely to xcontam than shared lines such as *powdered forms* of allergens.  If powdered eggs, say, were used in the facility, then the egg powder could easily xcontam everything, even other lines, because it can get airborne.

Excellent points, lakeswimr!

There is true misunderstanding as to what the labeling means -- or really does NOT mean -- and not just in the newbie LTFA families . . . it's everywhere, so far as my experiences.

In our home, once upon a time, I had a large binder I kept up-to-date with product info.  I couldn't keep up with it through all the moves and chaos of our military and family life . . .

Most of the info is just in my head now.  (Need to off load that, TYVM!)

Time to start over with that and have my kids involved in all ways.

Need to have our personal lists at fingertips in a digital form.

To the point of the question as to when our kids were old enough to make decisions -- I would say son was old enough to make sound decisions (based on the info I'd taught him out of my brain and what the label caveats do NOT mean) -- about age 13.  DD is just now 13 and while she's old enough to understand and discern, she's not got the best impulse control.

Also, for our 2 kids, it is DS with the life-long history of ana reax (including to contact and from SPTs in office) . . . and it is DD who is likely going to be the one who challenges out of her LTFA diagnosis.