Please don’t let your children eat common allergens while playing on public playground equipment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a NP. I see both sides of this. Parents should be mindful that other kids and wipe their children’s hands of snot, peanut butter, whatever and should try not to bring that to the playground. But, kids are kids. They are going to have gross hands. And a parent of a child with allergies or who is immunocrompeomised or whatever needs to approach the world like it is always going to be contaminated. There’s no in between

That...is exactly what the OP is already doing, PP.

She's frustrated with the fact she sees kids eating ON equipment while playing. One way to approach the world, as a person with a serious vulnerability, is to ask others, who are less vulnerable, to have some common courtesy and consideration for those unlike them, so that the vulnerable can get some use out of public spaces intended for everyone.

I don't think you really understand serious allergies if you think this is a good idea and asking this automatically makes public spaces safe. You are very naive.

Yes, I understand serious allergies. Sorry if it wasn't clear but at the end there I am talking about a much bigger picture than just allergens on the playground. It's why I said vulnerabilites, not allergies.

The post never said or impliled that "this will make public spaces safe."

Nothing is perfectly safe.

But the people who are not vulnerable--to allergies, to viruses, to whatever-- can at least attempt to alter behaviors that cost them little or nothing to alter temporarily, in the name of care for others, including strangers. No, it won't magically eliminate every danger. But it might make those who are less vulnerable into better people who at least consider others. Many, many parents on this thread could not care less about teaching their kids to consider others as they move through the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here, and I have not read much of the thread. But as the parent of a kid in kindergarten, this is something I've thought a lot about.

I understand OP's request and why she would make it. If my child had a serious allergy, I'd of course worry about this too, and do whatever I could to protect my kid. That's what good parents do. I get it, I really do.

But here is the problem. I have a kid with ARFID who relies on nut butters and nuts to get enough protein. I expend a ton of energy worrying about my kid's diet. And what you are asking me to do is worry that some of the very few foods my kids will eat might leave a residue on her fingers that could be transferred to a piece of playground equipment and then harm your child.

I'm sorry, that's too much. It's too much! I have to worry about my own kid. Is the risk from a peanut residue actually that dangerous to your kid? If so, I think that like me, you need to take the responsibility for your child's unique situation on yourself -- wipe down equipment if you are concerned, have your kid wear gloves, even be ready to let other families at the playground know the situation so that they can make reasonable choices in the moment.

But to ask me to simply refrain from allowing my kid to eat one of a very small number of foods she will eat at the playground, especially when these foods are already not allowed at her school, is too much. I can't. I'd like to help you, but I can't. Just like you can't help me.

Good luck to you.

NP. Of course you child should eat what she needs to eat.

And then, if you're on or going to a playground, you can wash or wipe down her hands.

There! Your child gets the nutrition she needs and does not spread substances that potentially can make someone else's child ill. But nowhere in your otherwise supposedly reasonable post did you ever mention YOUR "taking the responsibility for your child's unique situation on YOURself" by wiping her hands.

You do realize, PP, it is easier for a parent to wipe or wash ONE child's two little hands than for the OP to have to go all over a playground wiping down every rung on every ladder, every slide, every pole--? Oh, you cannot take a few moments to wipe your child's hands but OP should "wipe down equipment if you are concerned," as if that is an effort equivalent to your just wiping your kid's hands. I'm betting you'll come back to huff and puff and say of course you wash or wipe your kid's hands. Eh, if you do, why bother to post at length about how this is really all on OP, then?

There have been nasty knee-jerk name-calling posts on here by trollish little creeps. Yet somehow your rational, reasonable, "I've got a kid with seriousl issues too, it's so hard!" post is even worse to me. You do not possess the empathy you might think you do, PP.

But here's the thing - at the end of the day, you want other people to have empathy for your kid with allergies. I sincerely hope, I do, that you also remember to have empathy for the struggles other parents are facing, and have some compassion and maybe even a helping hand for them. So many spoiled people, and it's all about me, me, me. My kid with allergies! Yeah well look around you and realize your self centered focus on your child's allergies is not the only problem in the world.

Your kid throwing a fit because they demand a snack 24/7 isn’t an “issue you are facing”. You are just a shitty larent.

A lot of you don’t seem to understand children DIE of food allergies. They die. They don’t come back.

I can't wrap my head around people rolling the dice by taking these kids to the park when we all know full well how awful and selfish everyone else is. Are they trying to prove some sick point by jeopardizing their kids' lives? You're going to have to explain the thought process and why a parent would do this.

I can't wrap my head around people blithely raising their children to give zero consideration to sharing the world kindly with others by taking the most basic, simple steps, which aren't even real sacrifices, to keep strangers a little safer. Are those parents trying to prove some sick point by raising children who have no empathy and never think of NOT doing exactly as they please, when they please, where they please?

The crime of eating almonds!

You choose to miss the point. The "crime" is not the almonds or the eating. The crime is children growing up never having learned to think about someone else but only about doing whatever they want in that moment.

But little trolly troll, I think you're the one posting repeatedly on this thread and probably will come back with another snappy little nothing to try to keep this all going.

Not PP but I teach my children to think about others, as I also allow them to eat healthful snacks and meals at snack time and meal time. And sometimes it includes nuts, or dairy, or eggs, or (less commonly) shellfish. If someone speaks up and discloses a bad allergy to an item my child is eating of course I will put it away. But I am not going to assume that those around me have life threatening allergies to common foods unless they tell me they do. Just like I wouldn’t walk my dog past someone who has panic attacks around dogs, but, I’m going to walk my dog, and there will be people nearby sometimes and the onus is on them to tell me they can’t be around dogs so I can react appropriately. The onus isn’t on me to only walk my dog in abandoned alleyways.

But the issue here is that you walking your dog past someone who is scared won't kill them. And walking your dog is an important part of the dog's health.

Here, we know that peanuts can be deadly to some kids (which is not always the case with other allergens - dairy, eggs, eg). That is the a million times worse than whatever could happen if you walked your dog past a scared person. And to avoid death, you just have to avoid the peanuts. That is SO EASY to do. I don't understand why PPs protest this so much. I do this every day - literally EVERY day with my kids. We don't take nut products to school, soccer practice, or kids events. If we have kids over, I ask parents about potential allergies. It doesn't bother me one bit to do this.

It's mind blowing how triggering it is to some people to ask them to be cognizant of where they take nut products. That was literally it. Crazy world we live in.

What you're not understanding, because you're incredibly thick, is that everyone is not going to get this message or comply. No matter how much you think they should. Then what are you going to do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here, and I have not read much of the thread. But as the parent of a kid in kindergarten, this is something I've thought a lot about.

I understand OP's request and why she would make it. If my child had a serious allergy, I'd of course worry about this too, and do whatever I could to protect my kid. That's what good parents do. I get it, I really do.

But here is the problem. I have a kid with ARFID who relies on nut butters and nuts to get enough protein. I expend a ton of energy worrying about my kid's diet. And what you are asking me to do is worry that some of the very few foods my kids will eat might leave a residue on her fingers that could be transferred to a piece of playground equipment and then harm your child.

I'm sorry, that's too much. It's too much! I have to worry about my own kid. Is the risk from a peanut residue actually that dangerous to your kid? If so, I think that like me, you need to take the responsibility for your child's unique situation on yourself -- wipe down equipment if you are concerned, have your kid wear gloves, even be ready to let other families at the playground know the situation so that they can make reasonable choices in the moment.

But to ask me to simply refrain from allowing my kid to eat one of a very small number of foods she will eat at the playground, especially when these foods are already not allowed at her school, is too much. I can't. I'd like to help you, but I can't. Just like you can't help me.

Good luck to you.

NP. Of course you child should eat what she needs to eat.

And then, if you're on or going to a playground, you can wash or wipe down her hands.

There! Your child gets the nutrition she needs and does not spread substances that potentially can make someone else's child ill. But nowhere in your otherwise supposedly reasonable post did you ever mention YOUR "taking the responsibility for your child's unique situation on YOURself" by wiping her hands.

You do realize, PP, it is easier for a parent to wipe or wash ONE child's two little hands than for the OP to have to go all over a playground wiping down every rung on every ladder, every slide, every pole--? Oh, you cannot take a few moments to wipe your child's hands but OP should "wipe down equipment if you are concerned," as if that is an effort equivalent to your just wiping your kid's hands. I'm betting you'll come back to huff and puff and say of course you wash or wipe your kid's hands. Eh, if you do, why bother to post at length about how this is really all on OP, then?

There have been nasty knee-jerk name-calling posts on here by trollish little creeps. Yet somehow your rational, reasonable, "I've got a kid with seriousl issues too, it's so hard!" post is even worse to me. You do not possess the empathy you might think you do, PP.

But here's the thing - at the end of the day, you want other people to have empathy for your kid with allergies. I sincerely hope, I do, that you also remember to have empathy for the struggles other parents are facing, and have some compassion and maybe even a helping hand for them. So many spoiled people, and it's all about me, me, me. My kid with allergies! Yeah well look around you and realize your self centered focus on your child's allergies is not the only problem in the world.

Your kid throwing a fit because they demand a snack 24/7 isn’t an “issue you are facing”. You are just a shitty larent.

A lot of you don’t seem to understand children DIE of food allergies. They die. They don’t come back.

I can't wrap my head around people rolling the dice by taking these kids to the park when we all know full well how awful and selfish everyone else is. Are they trying to prove some sick point by jeopardizing their kids' lives? You're going to have to explain the thought process and why a parent would do this.

I can't wrap my head around people blithely raising their children to give zero consideration to sharing the world kindly with others by taking the most basic, simple steps, which aren't even real sacrifices, to keep strangers a little safer. Are those parents trying to prove some sick point by raising children who have no empathy and never think of NOT doing exactly as they please, when they please, where they please?

The crime of eating almonds!

You choose to miss the point. The "crime" is not the almonds or the eating. The crime is children growing up never having learned to think about someone else but only about doing whatever they want in that moment.

But little trolly troll, I think you're the one posting repeatedly on this thread and probably will come back with another snappy little nothing to try to keep this all going.

Not PP but I teach my children to think about others, as I also allow them to eat healthful snacks and meals at snack time and meal time. And sometimes it includes nuts, or dairy, or eggs, or (less commonly) shellfish. If someone speaks up and discloses a bad allergy to an item my child is eating of course I will put it away. But I am not going to assume that those around me have life threatening allergies to common foods unless they tell me they do. Just like I wouldn’t walk my dog past someone who has panic attacks around dogs, but, I’m going to walk my dog, and there will be people nearby sometimes and the onus is on them to tell me they can’t be around dogs so I can react appropriately. The onus isn’t on me to only walk my dog in abandoned alleyways.

But the issue here is that you walking your dog past someone who is scared won't kill them. And walking your dog is an important part of the dog's health.

Here, we know that peanuts can be deadly to some kids (which is not always the case with other allergens - dairy, eggs, eg). That is the a million times worse than whatever could happen if you walked your dog past a scared person. And to avoid death, you just have to avoid the peanuts. That is SO EASY to do. I don't understand why PPs protest this so much. I do this every day - literally EVERY day with my kids. We don't take nut products to school, soccer practice, or kids events. If we have kids over, I ask parents about potential allergies. It doesn't bother me one bit to do this.

It's mind blowing how triggering it is to some people to ask them to be cognizant of where they take nut products. That was literally it. Crazy world we live in.

Youre telling the entire world to never have peanut products in public. That's not realistic, or feasible. It's not. You cannot assume that if you take your child to, say, a sporting event, that the venue will be peanut free. You cannot take your child to an indoor play place that sells candy, including peanut MMs and Snickers bars, and assume that there will be zero peanut residue in the venue. You cannot take your kid ANYWHERE and assume that there is not some peanut reside because peanuts are a very common food, especially in snack foods. If OP's child truly has an allergy that is SO severe that, despite washing hands frequently and avoiding those who are actively eating peanut product, they will DIE if someone has recently eaten a peanut product nearby and OPs child touches the surface and then later touches her face without washing hands- that is a severe disability that just cannot be expected in day to day life by 99.9999% of people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a death sentence for my NK. There is already so much she has to miss out on in life due to a severe anaphylactic allergy to peanuts.

I’m not saying your kid can’t go to the park and eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for a picnic. Wash their hands, etc. But having your kid run around on the equipment with a bag of Bamba’s leaving peanut oil residue on every surface means we can no longer play.

And I do understand we live in a “I, me and mine” society where it’s ok if not encouraged to get yours and do what you want because how your actions effect others isn’t your problem. I understand. I’m sad, that’s not how I’m raising my kids but I get that’s a key American value especially in dog eat dog D.C. but can we just try to have a little concern for others?

You’re the one who doesn’t care that some kids are severely sensitive eaters and that peanut foods might be all they’ll eat.

Nope, you don't get to act like you care about "severely sensitive eaters". I have a child with ARFID and know several families with children with ARFID. It's an incredibly, kind, supportive community that is very sensitive to food allergies because it's entirely possible to have ARFID and food allergies.

Also, as this thread exemplifies, parents of kids without disabilities can be such selfish idiots. In my experience, parents of kids with disabilities can be much more open minded and caring about the challenges others are facing.

So much ugliness in this thread. What ugly hearts some of you have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here, and I have not read much of the thread. But as the parent of a kid in kindergarten, this is something I've thought a lot about.

I understand OP's request and why she would make it. If my child had a serious allergy, I'd of course worry about this too, and do whatever I could to protect my kid. That's what good parents do. I get it, I really do.

But here is the problem. I have a kid with ARFID who relies on nut butters and nuts to get enough protein. I expend a ton of energy worrying about my kid's diet. And what you are asking me to do is worry that some of the very few foods my kids will eat might leave a residue on her fingers that could be transferred to a piece of playground equipment and then harm your child.

I'm sorry, that's too much. It's too much! I have to worry about my own kid. Is the risk from a peanut residue actually that dangerous to your kid? If so, I think that like me, you need to take the responsibility for your child's unique situation on yourself -- wipe down equipment if you are concerned, have your kid wear gloves, even be ready to let other families at the playground know the situation so that they can make reasonable choices in the moment.

But to ask me to simply refrain from allowing my kid to eat one of a very small number of foods she will eat at the playground, especially when these foods are already not allowed at her school, is too much. I can't. I'd like to help you, but I can't. Just like you can't help me.

Good luck to you.

NP. Of course you child should eat what she needs to eat.

And then, if you're on or going to a playground, you can wash or wipe down her hands.

There! Your child gets the nutrition she needs and does not spread substances that potentially can make someone else's child ill. But nowhere in your otherwise supposedly reasonable post did you ever mention YOUR "taking the responsibility for your child's unique situation on YOURself" by wiping her hands.

You do realize, PP, it is easier for a parent to wipe or wash ONE child's two little hands than for the OP to have to go all over a playground wiping down every rung on every ladder, every slide, every pole--? Oh, you cannot take a few moments to wipe your child's hands but OP should "wipe down equipment if you are concerned," as if that is an effort equivalent to your just wiping your kid's hands. I'm betting you'll come back to huff and puff and say of course you wash or wipe your kid's hands. Eh, if you do, why bother to post at length about how this is really all on OP, then?

There have been nasty knee-jerk name-calling posts on here by trollish little creeps. Yet somehow your rational, reasonable, "I've got a kid with seriousl issues too, it's so hard!" post is even worse to me. You do not possess the empathy you might think you do, PP.

But here's the thing - at the end of the day, you want other people to have empathy for your kid with allergies. I sincerely hope, I do, that you also remember to have empathy for the struggles other parents are facing, and have some compassion and maybe even a helping hand for them. So many spoiled people, and it's all about me, me, me. My kid with allergies! Yeah well look around you and realize your self centered focus on your child's allergies is not the only problem in the world.

Your kid throwing a fit because they demand a snack 24/7 isn’t an “issue you are facing”. You are just a shitty larent.

A lot of you don’t seem to understand children DIE of food allergies. They die. They don’t come back.

I can't wrap my head around people rolling the dice by taking these kids to the park when we all know full well how awful and selfish everyone else is. Are they trying to prove some sick point by jeopardizing their kids' lives? You're going to have to explain the thought process and why a parent would do this.

I can't wrap my head around people blithely raising their children to give zero consideration to sharing the world kindly with others by taking the most basic, simple steps, which aren't even real sacrifices, to keep strangers a little safer. Are those parents trying to prove some sick point by raising children who have no empathy and never think of NOT doing exactly as they please, when they please, where they please?

The crime of eating almonds!

You choose to miss the point. The "crime" is not the almonds or the eating. The crime is children growing up never having learned to think about someone else but only about doing whatever they want in that moment.

But little trolly troll, I think you're the one posting repeatedly on this thread and probably will come back with another snappy little nothing to try to keep this all going.

Not PP but I teach my children to think about others, as I also allow them to eat healthful snacks and meals at snack time and meal time. And sometimes it includes nuts, or dairy, or eggs, or (less commonly) shellfish. If someone speaks up and discloses a bad allergy to an item my child is eating of course I will put it away. But I am not going to assume that those around me have life threatening allergies to common foods unless they tell me they do. Just like I wouldn’t walk my dog past someone who has panic attacks around dogs, but, I’m going to walk my dog, and there will be people nearby sometimes and the onus is on them to tell me they can’t be around dogs so I can react appropriately. The onus isn’t on me to only walk my dog in abandoned alleyways.

But the issue here is that you walking your dog past someone who is scared won't kill them. And walking your dog is an important part of the dog's health.

Here, we know that peanuts can be deadly to some kids (which is not always the case with other allergens - dairy, eggs, eg). That is the a million times worse than whatever could happen if you walked your dog past a scared person. And to avoid death, you just have to avoid the peanuts. That is SO EASY to do. I don't understand why PPs protest this so much. I do this every day - literally EVERY day with my kids. We don't take nut products to school, soccer practice, or kids events. If we have kids over, I ask parents about potential allergies. It doesn't bother me one bit to do this.

It's mind blowing how triggering it is to some people to ask them to be cognizant of where they take nut products. That was literally it. Crazy world we live in.

What you're not understanding, because you're incredibly thick, is that everyone is not going to get this message or comply. No matter how much you think they should. Then what are you going to do?

And my comment stands, as evidenced by the PP. It's mind blowing how incredibly triggered some people get when asked to think about others. It's mind blowing. OP has stated that she already takes precautions but is putting out the PSA, while recognizing that it may not go anywhere. My point, which you missed, was what a shock this thread was because I've not seen such heinous and obnoxious responses like I've seen here. And your analogy was off and not applicable here.

You always this miserable? Or just when asked to think about your fellow man? Sheesh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a death sentence for my NK. There is already so much she has to miss out on in life due to a severe anaphylactic allergy to peanuts.

I’m not saying your kid can’t go to the park and eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for a picnic. Wash their hands, etc. But having your kid run around on the equipment with a bag of Bamba’s leaving peanut oil residue on every surface means we can no longer play.

And I do understand we live in a “I, me and mine” society where it’s ok if not encouraged to get yours and do what you want because how your actions effect others isn’t your problem. I understand. I’m sad, that’s not how I’m raising my kids but I get that’s a key American value especially in dog eat dog D.C. but can we just try to have a little concern for others?

You’re the one who doesn’t care that some kids are severely sensitive eaters and that peanut foods might be all they’ll eat.

Nope, you don't get to act like you care about "severely sensitive eaters". I have a child with ARFID and know several families with children with ARFID. It's an incredibly, kind, supportive community that is very sensitive to food allergies because it's entirely possible to have ARFID and food allergies.

Also, as this thread exemplifies, parents of kids without disabilities can be such selfish idiots. In my experience, parents of kids with disabilities can be much more open minded and caring about the challenges others are facing.

So much ugliness in this thread. What ugly hearts some of you have.

+1. Some of the ugliest collection of parents that I've ever seen.

[Anonymous]

This thread brings back memories of all the vitrol that was throw around about masking and social distancing your kids on playgrounds during the height of Covid.

Different topic, same theme...

[Anonymous]

I think the part where you equate not feeding children peanuts to raising better people is where you’re losing us PP. My kid probably won’t even notice if I stopped buying peanut butter granola bars for her to snack on, much less take a life lesson in consideration in that.

The other part that’s confusing is that the “no nuts or peanuts in public ever!” arguers have agreed that even if all of DCUM agreed with them they would still have to assume that there were nuts in public (because people whose child isn’t vulnerable will forget and lots of people aren’t even aware to start with). So why argue for extreme scenarios (much more extreme than OP was even asking for)?

It seems like there are a lot of extreme allergy parents on here (unless it’s just one very verbose one?) — I wonder if it would make sense to put up “No nuts; no peanuts” sounds next to the “No dogs” signs at school playgrounds? Schools at least are generally not free anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a death sentence for my NK. There is already so much she has to miss out on in life due to a severe anaphylactic allergy to peanuts.

I’m not saying your kid can’t go to the park and eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for a picnic. Wash their hands, etc. But having your kid run around on the equipment with a bag of Bamba’s leaving peanut oil residue on every surface means we can no longer play.

And I do understand we live in a “I, me and mine” society where it’s ok if not encouraged to get yours and do what you want because how your actions effect others isn’t your problem. I understand. I’m sad, that’s not how I’m raising my kids but I get that’s a key American value especially in dog eat dog D.C. but can we just try to have a little concern for others?

You’re the one who doesn’t care that some kids are severely sensitive eaters and that peanut foods might be all they’ll eat.

Nope, you don't get to act like you care about "severely sensitive eaters". I have a child with ARFID and know several families with children with ARFID. It's an incredibly, kind, supportive community that is very sensitive to food allergies because it's entirely possible to have ARFID and food allergies.

Also, as this thread exemplifies, parents of kids without disabilities can be such selfish idiots. In my experience, parents of kids with disabilities can be much more open minded and caring about the challenges others are facing.

So much ugliness in this thread. What ugly hearts some of you have.

Why do I have an ugly heart for saying that I will gladly put away any problematic foods or drinks while in public when asked, but that I will not refrain from ever eating and drinking in public JUST IN CASE?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here, and I have not read much of the thread. But as the parent of a kid in kindergarten, this is something I've thought a lot about.

I understand OP's request and why she would make it. If my child had a serious allergy, I'd of course worry about this too, and do whatever I could to protect my kid. That's what good parents do. I get it, I really do.

But here is the problem. I have a kid with ARFID who relies on nut butters and nuts to get enough protein. I expend a ton of energy worrying about my kid's diet. And what you are asking me to do is worry that some of the very few foods my kids will eat might leave a residue on her fingers that could be transferred to a piece of playground equipment and then harm your child.

I'm sorry, that's too much. It's too much! I have to worry about my own kid. Is the risk from a peanut residue actually that dangerous to your kid? If so, I think that like me, you need to take the responsibility for your child's unique situation on yourself -- wipe down equipment if you are concerned, have your kid wear gloves, even be ready to let other families at the playground know the situation so that they can make reasonable choices in the moment.

But to ask me to simply refrain from allowing my kid to eat one of a very small number of foods she will eat at the playground, especially when these foods are already not allowed at her school, is too much. I can't. I'd like to help you, but I can't. Just like you can't help me.

Good luck to you.

NP. Of course you child should eat what she needs to eat.

And then, if you're on or going to a playground, you can wash or wipe down her hands.

There! Your child gets the nutrition she needs and does not spread substances that potentially can make someone else's child ill. But nowhere in your otherwise supposedly reasonable post did you ever mention YOUR "taking the responsibility for your child's unique situation on YOURself" by wiping her hands.

You do realize, PP, it is easier for a parent to wipe or wash ONE child's two little hands than for the OP to have to go all over a playground wiping down every rung on every ladder, every slide, every pole--? Oh, you cannot take a few moments to wipe your child's hands but OP should "wipe down equipment if you are concerned," as if that is an effort equivalent to your just wiping your kid's hands. I'm betting you'll come back to huff and puff and say of course you wash or wipe your kid's hands. Eh, if you do, why bother to post at length about how this is really all on OP, then?

There have been nasty knee-jerk name-calling posts on here by trollish little creeps. Yet somehow your rational, reasonable, "I've got a kid with seriousl issues too, it's so hard!" post is even worse to me. You do not possess the empathy you might think you do, PP.

But here's the thing - at the end of the day, you want other people to have empathy for your kid with allergies. I sincerely hope, I do, that you also remember to have empathy for the struggles other parents are facing, and have some compassion and maybe even a helping hand for them. So many spoiled people, and it's all about me, me, me. My kid with allergies! Yeah well look around you and realize your self centered focus on your child's allergies is not the only problem in the world.

Your kid throwing a fit because they demand a snack 24/7 isn’t an “issue you are facing”. You are just a shitty larent.

A lot of you don’t seem to understand children DIE of food allergies. They die. They don’t come back.

I can't wrap my head around people rolling the dice by taking these kids to the park when we all know full well how awful and selfish everyone else is. Are they trying to prove some sick point by jeopardizing their kids' lives? You're going to have to explain the thought process and why a parent would do this.

I can't wrap my head around people blithely raising their children to give zero consideration to sharing the world kindly with others by taking the most basic, simple steps, which aren't even real sacrifices, to keep strangers a little safer. Are those parents trying to prove some sick point by raising children who have no empathy and never think of NOT doing exactly as they please, when they please, where they please?

The crime of eating almonds!

You choose to miss the point. The "crime" is not the almonds or the eating. The crime is children growing up never having learned to think about someone else but only about doing whatever they want in that moment.

But little trolly troll, I think you're the one posting repeatedly on this thread and probably will come back with another snappy little nothing to try to keep this all going.

Not PP but I teach my children to think about others, as I also allow them to eat healthful snacks and meals at snack time and meal time. And sometimes it includes nuts, or dairy, or eggs, or (less commonly) shellfish. If someone speaks up and discloses a bad allergy to an item my child is eating of course I will put it away. But I am not going to assume that those around me have life threatening allergies to common foods unless they tell me they do. Just like I wouldn’t walk my dog past someone who has panic attacks around dogs, but, I’m going to walk my dog, and there will be people nearby sometimes and the onus is on them to tell me they can’t be around dogs so I can react appropriately. The onus isn’t on me to only walk my dog in abandoned alleyways.

But the issue here is that you walking your dog past someone who is scared won't kill them. And walking your dog is an important part of the dog's health.

Here, we know that peanuts can be deadly to some kids (which is not always the case with other allergens - dairy, eggs, eg). That is the a million times worse than whatever could happen if you walked your dog past a scared person. And to avoid death, you just have to avoid the peanuts. That is SO EASY to do. I don't understand why PPs protest this so much. I do this every day - literally EVERY day with my kids. We don't take nut products to school, soccer practice, or kids events. If we have kids over, I ask parents about potential allergies. It doesn't bother me one bit to do this.

It's mind blowing how triggering it is to some people to ask them to be cognizant of where they take nut products. That was literally it. Crazy world we live in.

What you're not understanding, because you're incredibly thick, is that everyone is not going to get this message or comply. No matter how much you think they should. Then what are you going to do?

And my comment stands, as evidenced by the PP. It's mind blowing how incredibly triggered some people get when asked to think about others. It's mind blowing. OP has stated that she already takes precautions but is putting out the PSA, while recognizing that it may not go anywhere. My point, which you missed, was what a shock this thread was because I've not seen such heinous and obnoxious responses like I've seen here. And your analogy was off and not applicable here.

You always this miserable? Or just when asked to think about your fellow man? Sheesh.

OK Pollyanna. You clearly don't even have a kid with a serious allergy. You're just trolling at this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child had a peanut allergy as a baby- his blood test levels were through the roof- but he did not react in vivo because he had eaten peanut butter constantly since 6 months old, which was very lucky for us, it wasnt on purpose he just loved peanut butter. His allergist said he MUST eat peanut product DAILY until at least age 5 or 6, as a way to avoid developing a serious peanut allergy. Mind you this was about a decade ago so maybe thinking has changed, but, this was what happened.

He went to a peanut free preschool, so I gave him a PB sandwich for dinner every night, but if we had other dinner plans, i would make sure to give him those peanut butter pretzels, or PB crackers, or trail mix with peanuts, as his afternoon snack. And sometimes we were at the playground, or on a public bench, or at a communal eating area in a museum. And, I get it. I do. But like you have to worry about your child, I have to worry about mine, and I was going to do what the allergist told me to do and sometimes that meant my kid ate peanuts in public, in a communal setting. If soemone had asked me to put it away, I would have. But I was not going to preemptively not feed him what his allergist had told me to feed him, because we happened to be eating that meal or snack out of the house. I'm sorry, I am. But I agree with other posters that if the allergy is so severe that breathing in particles from my kids snack nearby, or touching residue, is enough to send your child into anaphylactic shock then that is a truly severe life threatening situation and you need to mitigate that yourself, any way possible, including letting everyone know as soon as you show up in a room and bringing soap and water to wash things down, including his hands, very frequently. And possibly masking.

Similar. And this is really common. I think a lot of these peanut allergy kids reacted once and NEVER received another peanut and thus it made their allergy very strong. There's a reason why peanut allergies are increasing. Over sterilization (families without dishwashers have lower rates of allergies), waiting too long to start peanuts, and not reintroducing foods once a slight allergy is shown.

We started at 1 month with my younger two. They had tiny bits of peanut powder in their mouths. And then at 4 months, peanut powder mixed in. We didn't start other food until 6 months.

Dh is a health nut and LOVES nuts (he thinks they're the healthiest snack). He can't get enough of nuts so our kids grew up eating them with every meal. It's been a struggle since starting public school. No nuts and no peanut butter.

[Anonymous]

Why do you all keep dissing kids who are eating at the park? DH works late one night a week, so my kids and I have a tradition of packing sandwiches (yes often PBJ) and eating dinner at the playground. I see lots of kids eating lunches and dinners there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you all keep dissing kids who are eating at the park? DH works late one night a week, so my kids and I have a tradition of packing sandwiches (yes often PBJ) and eating dinner at the playground. I see lots of kids eating lunches and dinners there.

The OP wrote about kids running around on the playground equipment with food in their hands.

I fed my kids plenty of meals and snacks at the park, but we sat down at a picnic table, or on a blanket or on a bench. But my kids have always eaten sitting down. It just seems safe, and a good habit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t bring your child out in public. Put them in a bubble.

Kids today are allergic to everything because they’re so sheltered.

This

I played in dirt all the time as a kid, and I was from a very middle class (not DCUM middle, but legit, normal American middle) family, and I developed allergies to peanuts and tree nuts as a teenager. This after eating peanut butter constantly as a kid.
My younger DD is 3 and has an egg allergy. We nearly lost her the day of her first anaphylactic reaction, when she was 9mo. Perhaps some of you would be a bit more understanding if you had to sit and watch doctors try to save your baby’s life, all because you fed her a teaspoon of scrambled eggs. I’ve never been more terrified in my life, and I lived in constant fear of taking her anywhere outside of our house for months, because she reacts on contact. I watch her like a hawk on playgrounds, mainly because parents seem to have no concerns at all with their little kids running all over the equipment carrying all manner of food…why is that even a thing? I’ve always made both of my kids sit down to eat.
We are finally past the age of her putting her hands on her mouth, so I’m starting to breathe easier…but, yes, I’m the crazy mom at the playground following her kid around and wiping things down. We’ve learned to go at odd hours when it won’t be crowded. We don’t go out to eat unless I thoroughly vet the place ahead of time…no spontaneous meals on the go. I haul a slow cooker and an electric skillet to hotels for vacation. I can’t raise her in a bubble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid has so many allergies that I can't even try to control what people do. It makes no sense. My husband and I have zero allergies. We grew up abroad where people do not have allergies. We definitely do not "over-sterilize" anything. I never use disinfectant wipes or any strong detergent. My kids have always played outside. One proven contributor is the use of antibiotics in utero or in infancy. I would think wealthy Americans use go to the doctor more frequently and use more antibiotics and other prescription drugs than poorer Americans or people in less developed countries. I did have to use lots of antibiotics when I was pregnant with my and she has 30+ anaphylactic allergies. I wouldn't be surprised if the use of tylenol and ibuprofen was also a factor.

Antibiotics kill off gut bacteria, and there are specific strains of bacteria associated with food allergies. Some day this will be common knowledge, and food allergies will be treated by reestablishing healthy gut flora. In the meantime, people would do well to research on their own and try to repopulate the gut with the particular strains that are needed.