A first grade girl with a deadly peanut allergy in Florida has caused protests. Evidently her allergy is so severe no one in the school can bring in any peanut product, but these children are also going to have to rinse their mouths out twice a day during school. Protests have been going on. Some parents believe this girl should be home schooled. That it is unreasonable to ask all of the other children to accomodate this child. On the other hand, parents say we need to be compassionate and we always help the needy. I say this, her mother is an ass! If my daughter had such a serious allergy that the smell of a peanut, or a crumb of a peanut in a classmates mouth from the m&m he had the night before could kill my child, I would not be trying to send her to public school. I woud be terrified every single minute that a child would come to school with a peanut stuck to his sneaker. I would home school my child. That mother should home school her daughter. And this is not inconsiderate to say. It is inconsiderate to expect the masses to change for one person. No way. And I would not want my little girl living with the guilt the rest of her life that her breath killed her little friend. Now, is that fair? Do we then force this child in a bubble? Maybe. And that is just the way it is. There are people crippled, blind, deaf, and unfortunately children have cancer and many problems. I am very sad for that. Why does anyone have to suffer? And maybe this mom wants her daughter to be ‘normal’ and live the American public school dream. But, she can’t. It is dangerous. She needs to be watched. She needs to be home. And really, how will this girl go to the mall? How will she go to the park? She can’t. If her allergy is so severe, she does have to live in a bubble I suppose. But she can have a happy bubble. Her mother can set up play dates with children who have brushed, gargled, cleaned their sneakers, and been peanut free for 24 hours. She can control it. In her home. The public school should not have to conform to this child. I am sorry for her. But, she should go home.
They do the same thing at my baby sister’s school, she is 11 years old. The children do not have to rinse, but there is a list of foods not allowed on the property. No one at the school has a problem with it and its one of the best Seattle Public Schools.
You’re a cunt. Needless to say, I will not be following your blog and am taking your book off my to-buy list. I hope your kid chokes on a peanut.
I agree with you completely.
What if the mom can’t homeschool for one reason or another?
I’m conflicted on this one. Sometimes, it’s good for other children to learn to accommodate others’ problems. On the other hand, I hope like heck that the child will grow out of the alergies…
I have to agree. She needs to be sent home. I am all for accommodating allergies, but this is beyond anything I’ve ever heard of. This is putting that child’s life in danger and, as a parent, I would feel horrible if it were my child who, unintentionally, hurt this child.
Darla, I agree with you. How does this mother sleep at night and even more so get through her day without paralyzing worry? My hats off to her bravado for throwing her daughter out there in such a cavaliere manner: “Now don’t be so whimpy, Dear, I informed the school of what things to require the other children to do. I know they will be responsible. Have fun!” What is up with that? I am 56. I raised four children to adulthood. My children didn’t go out to play by themselves until middle school ( to hear them talk they were by themselves because I was invisable to them as they played, I wasn’t involved with their play I was just there because of the threat of abduction…they weren’t going to get stolen on my watch.) The night my baby turned eighteen I gave them the speech: My job has been to keep you safe from any harm that I was capable of keeping you from. I stayed at this task for eighteen years minimum for each one of you. Now it’s your turn, all of you, keep yourselves safe. No risky behavior. Now I am going to bed and I’ll see you in the morning. This little Mama needs a reality check. She thinks the ‘Village’ is going to do it for her.
Wow, the c-word. I am going to leave that up. It just goes to show you how ignorant some people are.
Well, you lose one, you gain one.
I agree that the person responsible for their children with unusual allergies are the parents.
Pushing parental responsibility off on everyone else has resulted in an obese, lazy, irresponsible society that is bleeding us dry financially in a wide variety of ways and removing our choices and liberties.
Instead of banning peanut butter from the U.S., the parents of bubble children need to get a second job and pay for the bubble.