Always the Last to Bed

Alright, let’s get right to it. Let me ask you, are you aware of something out there in the big ole world that your child can eat that will kill them? Lots of things can gravely injur your child, but what if there was something that you KNEW would kill them if they ate it or touched it? If you knew about this, wouldn’t you try as hard as you could then to keep it away from them? Go ahead, say I’m dramatic. But really. Do you know of something like that? Well if you don’t, then you have no business critiquing Moms who have allergy kids. And you have no business doing anything but adhering to any requests that come from Allergy Moms. Isn’t it a nice thought, to not intentionally put a child in danger?

After nurturing an unborn child for 9 months, making sure we eat the right foods and go to all the appointments, dreaming about baby names, buying fairy pictures for the nursery, then surviving the laborious birthing of our precious child and then raising them to school age, there is NO WAY that a Mom that knows there’s a food that can KILL her sweet child, is going to let it slide to not read the ingredients on a box, ask fellow parents and teachers to only send snacks that are safe for their child, ask parents hosting parties to not serve that deadly food item, and also ask every server at every restaurant, every flight attendant, and every bakery employee- does the food your serving my child contain this deadly item???

We allergy moms will do EVERY THING in our power to keep our child safe, just like you would keep your child safe with a seat belt, a strap in their stroller, and a helmet when riding their bike. It’s a precaution. You know biking without a helmet can kill them. You know riding in a car without a seat belt can kill them. So you do all those things.

I see you, doubting, careless parents who think allergies are a joke. I see you rolling your eyes at restaurants when we talk to the server about our kids allergy, asking if your kid can still pack a peanut butter sandwich for lunch in the parent meeting, and also STILL SENDING Snickers and peanut butter cups for the Halloween party “because that’s what your child likes.” These activities are insensitive, selfish and disgusting.

How about a little kindness???

I hope your child doesn’t suddenly become allergic to dairy, peanuts, cashews, soy, sesame, or gluten. Most of all, I hope the best for your kid, that they don’t grow up to become as insensitive as you! Because they have a long life to live, and lots of different kinds people to interact with, understand, and love. How about teaching them a better example.

Honestly I don’t even know why I’m writing this because if you’re that insensitive you probably stopped reading when I called you out. But here’s the thing, sure, a child can choose to not eat the Snickers or Reese Cups and find another candy to it. It’s not entirely about that. It’s also about the loss. The FOMO. All the other kids are eating chocolate but they can’t have chocolate because of the cross contamination. This. It’s about walking up on your porch to Trick or Treat and sifting through your bucket and finding nothing they can have. They want to be part of it all- eating the birthday treat you baked and brought to school, showing off an overflowing Halloween bucket. A little kindness goes a long way.

And that’s the end of my Allergy Mom Rant.

Bonus content: non allergen candy examples for Halloween: Smarties, Skittles, Junior Mints, Air Heads, Ring Pops, Blow Pops, Nerds, Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish, Starburst, Fruit Roll Ups, Gushers, Fruit Snacks.