The comments that made me cry....
I came across this article the other day on Twitter. As a food allergy mom, it sparked my interest.
Basically, there is a mom in Canada is filing a human rights campaign against her daughter's school for not being accommodating enough to her severe allergy to milk and eggs. The mother would like to ban both of these items from the school. The school has already made a lot of accommodations for her daughter, but the mom doesn't feel like it's enough.
Now first off, I see both sides to this issue. I am the mom of a severe allergy child...one whose life is in danger if she ingests peanuts. I have also been a teacher and a camp counselor. It is hard to make exceptions for one child {or a few} when the majority of kids are able to eat a certain food. But in the cases of a deadly allergy, it always needs to get done. I feel for this mother, I really do. I also think that there is only so much a school can, and should have to do. There is a point where the parents is asking too much of a school.
But what really got me furious over this article, was the comments. Oh, the comments.
I read each and every one with tears literally streaming down my cheeks. How can people be so hateful, so ignorant towards a child. A child with a disability that is not their fault. A medical disability that could kill them. That is not an exaggeration, that is the truth. Here are some particularly awful examples:
"The needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many. NOT!!! Another example of the "Entitlement Generation".
"Why don't they have schools just for kids with allergies, then kids without can take what they want, and kids with can be together and protected??"
"There should be allergy lunch rooms and classrooms as the few really are imposing on the many. My daughter's milk program got canceled one year because of some kids milk allergy. Why not put all the special needs kids in one room or group? If I costs more, let the parents of the allergic kids pay. You talked about the child's self esteem being damaged if they were segregated. Come on! Little Suzie can't drink milk and needs to keep herself safe. This has nothing to do with self esteem and everything to do with being responsible and realistic."
"Maybe a lil over protective is the problem. When they are babies feed them."
"Maybe these allergic children's parents should just start supplying the entire classroom with appropriate lunches so other parents won't be burdened by your child's issues."
"You know what, it's absolutely stupid that everyone must suffer to accommodate the needs of a few. They're the ones with problems, they're the ones who should deal with it. Send them to school with gas masks and rubber gloves for all I care. Why are we messing with evolution?? If the weak can't figure out a way to deal with it and live with it, then too bad. It's called nature."
I am sick to my stomach reading each of these statements. So according to these people, I need to either home school my kid, just let her eat peanut butter anyways {even though she will die} or send her to a special "allergen free school".
Would any of these people say this about a child who had autism? What about any child with a physical disability? A learning disability that requires an IEP?
From what I have seen in schools, they would not. Children with disabilities of any kind are given accommodations to help them succeed in a mainstream school with all children, as it should be.
But what's different about allergy kids? And I'm not talking about kids that possibly get a little rash or have an intolerance to food. I'm talking about LIFE THREATENING ALLERGIES. This is something the child has NO CONTROL OVER.
When we advocate for our children with severe allergies, we are not doing it to be annoying, to single out our kid, to make life tougher for the teachers. Trust me. We are doing it to save their lives.
And yes, as allergy parents we have a responsibility to educate our own kids not to share lunches or any food with other kids. I send in a special snack for Emmy when kids in her class have a birthday and make sure she wears her "peanut allergy" bracelet. Skip and I agreed with the school that one of us will go on all field trips to handle her epi pen and watch her, or she will not be allowed to go. Having a child with a severe allergy is, and should be a two way street where both the parents and school work together.
But at the end of the day, we're talking about a kid's life. We're talking about one meal a day at school. Isn't it worth not sending your kid with a particular kind of food for that ONE MEAL to make sure you don't endanger the life of a child?
I don't know why so many more kids have food allergies these days. But what I do know, is that my kid does and I will fight for her and her rights every single day if I have to {though like I said, her school has actually been really wonderful}. Apparently, we still have a long road to go for food allergies to be accepted as a real disability.
Basically, there is a mom in Canada is filing a human rights campaign against her daughter's school for not being accommodating enough to her severe allergy to milk and eggs. The mother would like to ban both of these items from the school. The school has already made a lot of accommodations for her daughter, but the mom doesn't feel like it's enough.
Now first off, I see both sides to this issue. I am the mom of a severe allergy child...one whose life is in danger if she ingests peanuts. I have also been a teacher and a camp counselor. It is hard to make exceptions for one child {or a few} when the majority of kids are able to eat a certain food. But in the cases of a deadly allergy, it always needs to get done. I feel for this mother, I really do. I also think that there is only so much a school can, and should have to do. There is a point where the parents is asking too much of a school.
But what really got me furious over this article, was the comments. Oh, the comments.
I read each and every one with tears literally streaming down my cheeks. How can people be so hateful, so ignorant towards a child. A child with a disability that is not their fault. A medical disability that could kill them. That is not an exaggeration, that is the truth. Here are some particularly awful examples:
"The needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many. NOT!!! Another example of the "Entitlement Generation".
"Why don't they have schools just for kids with allergies, then kids without can take what they want, and kids with can be together and protected??"
"There should be allergy lunch rooms and classrooms as the few really are imposing on the many. My daughter's milk program got canceled one year because of some kids milk allergy. Why not put all the special needs kids in one room or group? If I costs more, let the parents of the allergic kids pay. You talked about the child's self esteem being damaged if they were segregated. Come on! Little Suzie can't drink milk and needs to keep herself safe. This has nothing to do with self esteem and everything to do with being responsible and realistic."
"Maybe a lil over protective is the problem. When they are babies feed them."
"Maybe these allergic children's parents should just start supplying the entire classroom with appropriate lunches so other parents won't be burdened by your child's issues."
"You know what, it's absolutely stupid that everyone must suffer to accommodate the needs of a few. They're the ones with problems, they're the ones who should deal with it. Send them to school with gas masks and rubber gloves for all I care. Why are we messing with evolution?? If the weak can't figure out a way to deal with it and live with it, then too bad. It's called nature."
I am sick to my stomach reading each of these statements. So according to these people, I need to either home school my kid, just let her eat peanut butter anyways {even though she will die} or send her to a special "allergen free school".
Would any of these people say this about a child who had autism? What about any child with a physical disability? A learning disability that requires an IEP?
From what I have seen in schools, they would not. Children with disabilities of any kind are given accommodations to help them succeed in a mainstream school with all children, as it should be.
But what's different about allergy kids? And I'm not talking about kids that possibly get a little rash or have an intolerance to food. I'm talking about LIFE THREATENING ALLERGIES. This is something the child has NO CONTROL OVER.
When we advocate for our children with severe allergies, we are not doing it to be annoying, to single out our kid, to make life tougher for the teachers. Trust me. We are doing it to save their lives.
And yes, as allergy parents we have a responsibility to educate our own kids not to share lunches or any food with other kids. I send in a special snack for Emmy when kids in her class have a birthday and make sure she wears her "peanut allergy" bracelet. Skip and I agreed with the school that one of us will go on all field trips to handle her epi pen and watch her, or she will not be allowed to go. Having a child with a severe allergy is, and should be a two way street where both the parents and school work together.
But at the end of the day, we're talking about a kid's life. We're talking about one meal a day at school. Isn't it worth not sending your kid with a particular kind of food for that ONE MEAL to make sure you don't endanger the life of a child?
I don't know why so many more kids have food allergies these days. But what I do know, is that my kid does and I will fight for her and her rights every single day if I have to {though like I said, her school has actually been really wonderful}. Apparently, we still have a long road to go for food allergies to be accepted as a real disability.
See, I don't see both sides. If a child in my care (teacher) had an allergy and could NOT eat/smell certain foods, I would do everything I can do make sure those foods do not come into the school (as school boards should enforce.) Especially knowing the parents could sue if the child came in contact at school (i.e milk given to them at snack time not because some one brought it outside for recess.)
ReplyDeleteYesterday at school, one mom packed an O Henry bar in her daughters bag. What does she do? Eats it during snack time and you bet the the teacher spoke to the mom at home time.
My nephew is deathly allergic to several things and landed in the er 3 times from day care because Of things like a kid had eaten yogurt then thrown up one nephew who is allergic to dairy. The vomit on his clothes caused a reaction that shut down his poor system. It's not the kids faults that have the allergies and more needs to be done to protect them without making them feeling like outsiders.
ReplyDelete