Parents’ practices, feelings, and support needs surrounding the development of food allergy literacy (FAL) in children before their transition to school

Children's knowledge of food allergy and risk prevention, coined as food allergy literacy (FAL), can bolster their safety in schools. Addressing research gaps on this topic, especially, parents' role, the aim of this study was to investigate Australian parents' practices, feelings, and support needs relating to building children's FAL before their transition to school. Questionnaire data from 159 parents were analysed statistically to characterise the sample and explore the association between children's FAL, parent anxiety, and parent confidence in their child's ability to stay safe at school. Results indicated that parents supported children's knowledge of food allergy and risk prevention using age and developmentally appropriate pedagogies. However, they focused less on building children's skills to read food labels, communicate symptoms, and seek help. Furthermore, the association between children's FAL and parents' feelings about children's safety in school was weak. However, the association between the child's FAL and parents' confidence in the child's ability to stay safe at school was moderate-to-strong. The implications of these findings for educators are discussed.