Going Dairy-Free

Catherine Morgan finds out what to consider whentriallinga dairy-free diet for just one child.

- Catherine Morgan

We are doing a trial elimination of dairy for my eldest — under professional supervision and for health reasons, not because I am antidairy. It’s relatively easy at home; there are lots of dairy-free options available, and most of the time my swaps go unnoticed (although on the rare occasion he has breakfast cereal, he now prefers it dry!). But it is somewhat harder when we’re out and about, mainly because Child 1 can’t make the same food choices as Child 2, who is a bit of a cheese-fiend.

But credit to our four-year-old, who takes it all in his stride (most of the time), who doesn’t have tantrums when he can’t have what he wants (most of the time), and who learnt, very quickly, to question the suitability of unfamiliar foods (again, most of the time).

Although many places now cater for people with food restrictions, some menus can still be a bit tricky to navigate, and choices can sometimes be a bit limited, especially in smaller outlets. But in the grand scheme of things, he really doesn’t miss out. It just takes a bit of extra planning on my part and a bit (sometimes a lot) of understanding on his.