A Kippah to Keep Kids With Allergies Safe

Chanie Apfelbaum’s son Peretz is allergic to peanuts, cashews, pistachios, flax seeds, mustard seeds, coconut, peas, eggs and beef. Some of the foods give him hives, but the nuts can send Peretz into anaphylactic shock.

Managing severe food allergies is stressful and can cause a lot of anxiety, but this 36 year old mother of five and kosher food blogger behind Busy in Brooklyn, decided to take action. Chanie came up with a simple, clever idea to notify others that her son has severe allergies with an “allergy alert” kippah.

Chanie helped design the skullcap with a Brooklyn-based company iKippah, an online retailer of colorful and bright kippahs. The skullcap is navy blue with a red circle on the front that contains the words “Allergy Alert.” It also says “flip for info” and allows users to write down the child’s allergies on the underside. The “Allergy Alert” kippah is available in denim as well.

Every mom of children with life threatening food allergies knows how scary regular day to day life can be. Sending your child to day camp, going to the playground or eating out at a restaurant are a cause for worry and concern. I was especially nervous spending the summer upstate, with the kids outdoors most of the day, running from one bungalow to another. I wanted a sign, something obvious and in your face that would remind the people around me to take notice before offering food to my 3-year-old, so I decided to put an alert on his yalkmulkah. I approached @ikippah with the idea and they ran with it! You can even customize the underside of the kippah to list allergies, contact info and what to do in case of an emergency. I truly hope the kippah will save lives and help keep our children safe! Contact @ikippah to order! (And check out your local news outlets for this story!) #allergies #foodallergies #kids #kippah #jewish #boy #custom #tradition #yiddishemame #jewishmom #allergyalert #kidsafety #yalmulkah #todaynews #breakingnews #momlife

A post shared by Chanie Apfelbaum (@busyinbrooklyn) on Jul 16, 2017 at 7:04am PDT

Her son Peretz used to wear an allergy bracelet, but Chanie feared it wasn’t prominent enough for others to see. The kippah is an excellent way to inform anyone serving food to an allergic child that they need to be careful.

Chanie explains “I wanted a sign, something obvious and in your face that would remind the people around me to take notice before offering food to my 3-year-old, so I decided to put an alert on his yalkmulkah.” She hopes to keep her son and all Jewish children with food allergies safe. “I truly hope the kippah will save lives and help keep our children safe!”