I was horrified to read that a severely allergic child became the butt of particularly cruel and obnoxious bullying due to his allergies. This news article shows again that many people are still completely ignorant of the impact of life-threatening allergies and are more than willing to take out their frustration on the victim.
The fact that other young boys could pelt student Aiden Broadhurst with small stones, while saying the stones were peanuts (to which Broadhurst was deathly allergic) is simply an extreme example of how bad it can get for a child with anaphylaxis.
Wherever you live, don’t feel smug. This isn’t just a problem for a single school on the west coast of Canada. After all, schools all over North America are bringing in “no peanut or tree nut” policies to protect allergic students. There are parents everywhere who hate this kind of policy because it restricts their choices in how to feed their child who doesn’t have allergies. It’s one small step to blame the allergic student for the “problem”.
It’s also another example of why parents of anaphylactic children cannot take anything for granted. Even if your school is working hard to ensure that allergic kids are safe, you can’t let your guard down. One sleepy parent who forgets a no-peanut (or other food substance) rule can put a child’s life in jeopardy. It’s that simple.
What can you do?
1. Teach your child to say no to any food that is offered outside of your home. If your child is highly sensitive to even the smallest cross-contamination, there can be no exemptions. Period.
2. Make sure your child doesn’t let other children touch his or her food, or lunchtime utensils if cross-contamination is an issue.
3. If your child accidentally comes into contact with other people’s food or utensils, hand washing should be the automatic response. You may have to forbid your child to touch other people’s foods or utensils if extremely allergic to trace amounts: sometimes even skin contact without ingestion can be enough to bring on anaphylactic shock.
4. Provide your child with lots of good, healthy alternatives when the school is having a special “treat” day. In fact, you can help to educate kids and parents alike by making tasty, allergen-free goodies for your child’s class. You can also introduce “safe” packaged food treats, such as the brand Enjoy Life, which makes a large variety of healthy snacks and cookies without any of the 10 major allergens.
5. Ensure that the school has an Epi-Pen for your child, safely and conveniently stored in case of emergencies. Replace the device regularly to make sure that the adrenaline in the device is not past date. If your child’s allergy is severe, look into the Twin-Ject device that can deliver a second dose of epinephrine (adrenaline) if needed.
6. Remember that most people would be horrified to know that their actions had put your child’s life in danger! So, don’t over-react to bad behaviour; instead, help others to understand and walk a mile in your shoes. Your best defense is always your child’s clear understanding of their own condition.
I consider myself lucky that my child’s food allergies are relatively mild. Other parents of allergic kids are not so lucky.
If you don’t have children with allergies, please keep in mind how you would feel if your young, vibrant and otherwise healthy child suddenly died. No parent should ever get a call from the school that starts out with, “We’re so sorry but today…”
