I don't have kids who have food allergies, but I do have step kids, and it's a challenge just to get them to eat healthy. My husband used to feed the kids ramen all the time for dinner because he was a single Dad and he felt overwhelmed by cooking. When I came on the scene, the boys were 8 and 10, and I said this has got to stop. The boys still talk about the "good old days" when they had ramen for dinner every night, but they also get the message about eating healthy too.

As for the alcohol analogy, I had a similar experience to Al in that my parents let us sip their wine and beer growing up. I think it's an Italian thing. We do the same thing with our sons. We let them drink a little beer or wine if we are having it with dinner to model for them how to drink responsibly. Of course that didn't stop me from partying like a wild banchee in high school, but I felt more mature than the kids who showed up in college and never drank.

The gluten thing is different if it's causing them problems. We try to model eating healthy in our house, and we hope someday, the boys will cook and eat vegetables for themselves. But there are times that we have to make them eat vegetables at dinner. My mom always cooked healthy balanced meals, and we always had a salad after dinner - again, an Italian thing. So somewhere it has stuck in my mind that vegetables are good for you because of what we ate for dinner. I think as they get older, they get the message you are giving them about eating healthy. Sure there will be peer pressure, but you just hope they are making healthy choices when they aren't with you.

Claire