Allergic Living Responds to Chatelaine's article

Gwen Smith, editor of Allergic Living wrote an article in response to Chatelaine's now much-discussed article "It's just Nuts."

The article is well informed; of course, it should be since it's written by someone with an in-depth knowledge of the subject matter, unlike Patricia Pearson's.

What really blows me away though, are the comments to the articles. I'm saddened by how uncaring and self-centred some people seem to be.

Really, I get that not being able to send your kid to lunch with a peanut butter sandwich may be a pain in the ass.

I'm well aware the over-riding majority of the responsibility to keep him safe falls squarely on myself and my husband and of course, DJ himself. Based on this belief, we do everything we can to educate our boy about his allergy in the hopes that the lessons will stick: that he won't ever share food with friends, take food from others that hasn't been approved by mom and dad, eat something without reading a label, by-pass food without labels altogether...you get the idea. Education about his condition is what is going to save him - not a peanut ban at school.

Still, wouldn't a little compassion from other parents be nice? The comments on the board are so derisive and extreme, from suggestions to segregate kids with PA to different schools to comments about natural selection and how these kids wouldn't have survived in a different era.

WTF? Yes, WTF? WTF is wrong with people that they believe a peanut butter sandwich is more important than my child's life. Because that's what they're essentially saying. And, while I'm not sure I even believe a peanut ban will guarantee my own son's safety once he is old enough to go to school, that some people consider peanut bans such an assault and affront to their personal freedom at the sake of my son's safety galls me.

Again, I get it. Some kids are picky eaters and they miss their PBJ at lunchtime. That's unfortunate. Too bad some parents don't use it to instill a little compassion in their kids and teach them what some would consider a valuable life lesson; you can't always get what you want. Especially if it means potentially endangering someone elses life. '