True Story: "Celiac's been in our family forever"

 Elizabeth Kramer and her oldest child, Ricky, were both diagnosed when he was 18 months old and had chronic diarrhea. When his pediatrician suggested testing for celiac disease, Kramer, who lives in Santa Monica, California, asked to be tested also. She'd been having diarrhea, too, and knew the disease ran in the family -- her grandmother, mother, and sister had all been recently diagnosed.

Ricky's initial test was negative, but hers was positive. Since false negatives are common in toddlers, they both switched to a gluten-free diet, which eliminated their symptoms and confirmed the diagnosis. "It made an amazing difference," says Kramer, whose husband, James, and middle child, Brianna, now 2, both tested positive for celiac genes but don't have any symptoms. Her 9-month-old, Chelsie, is too young for testing but may have benefited from her mom's new diet. At birth, she weighed a pound more than her siblings, and she's been less fussy.

Her top tips:
Take gluten-free cupcakes to school and ask the teacher to keep them in the freezer for classmates' birthdays.
Make homemade Play-Doh with rice flour.

True Story: "Our daughter ate dirt."

 At Kensley Crabtree's 3-year checkup, her mom, Linda, told the pediatrician that she was worried about two things: Kensley (in chair, left) didn't seem to be growing, and she was fascinated with soil -- not just playing with it, but eating it. A blood test showed that Kensley was anemic, but she seemed otherwise healthy. After seeing an endocrinologist about Kensley's growth, the family was referred to a pediatric gastroenterologist, who finally diagnosed celiac disease. Doctors later explained that the illness had caused Kensley's anemia, which in turn may have led her to want to eat dirt: Pica -- the frequent urge to eat nonfood items -- is sometimes associated with nutritional deficiencies.

"At first it was overwhelming, but I realized that I just needed to take it one meal at a time," says Crabtree. As soon as Kensley stopped eating gluten, she also stopped eating dirt and started growing. Both parents and all three of the other kids in the family have now been tested, and Kensley, now 6, is the only one who has the disease. "I don't think Kensley feels like she's missing out. Whenever she says, 'I wish I could eat that,' we find a gluten-free recipe or product so that she can," says Crabtree.

Her top tips:
For the sake of simplicity, try to make one gluten-free dinner for everyone as often as possible.
Label all of your child's food in the refrigerator and pantry with her name. Don't forget to include peanut butter, jelly, and other types of staples that could easily get cross-contaminated (with wheat crumbs from a sibling's toast, for instance).

True Story: "Our son started losing weight."

 As an internist in New Haven, Connecticut, Dana Ranani, MD, treats adults with celiac disease, but it took her a while to realize her toddler might have it. Jack's symptoms -- gas and occasional vomiting -- didn't seem unusual. But soon after he turned 2, she and her husband noticed that their once chunky son was losing weight. Their pediatrician ordered a blood test for celiac, which came back positive, and then Jack had a biopsy that confirmed the diagnosis. "We went straight from the biopsy to a store that sold gluten-free food," Dr. Ranani says.

Within three months, Jack gained 10 pounds. "Sure, his diet is restrictive, but he's going to be healthy," says Dr. Ranani. "He's now 5 and loves his gluten-free pizza -- to him, that's just what pizza tastes like."

Her top tips:
 Seek out support: Other families who have children with celiac disease will give you the scoop about the best-tasting products to try.
Explain to your child that lots of people have things they can't eat -- Jack's father, Scott, is allergic to fish, for example -- so he doesn't feel so different.

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