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Are Parents Embroiled in a Peanut Panic?
Filed under: In The News
That's what Laura Bennett says in her latest piece at the Daily Beast -- that a new breed of "alpha parent" is so determined to have a child that is somehow exceptional that they will take dramatic, unnecessary measures to ward off an ailment their offspring doesn't even have.
Bennett describes an encounter with a fellow preschool parent, in which the mother castigates her for sending her son to school with cookies that might have contained a trace of the evil nut. The child carries an Epi pen in his backpack at his mother's insistence:
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize Blakely was allergic to nuts."
"He carries an EpiPen."
I needed some clarification. "He carries an EpiPen because he has been tested and found to be allergic?"
"Well no, but nut allergies are life-threatening and can develop at any time."
Just when did nuts become Public Enemy No. 1, Bennett asks, and just why are parents lining up to engage in "Munchausen's by Peanut?"
Parenting is serious business, of course, and we all want what's best and safe for our kids. Are parents whose children are legitimately and severely allergic to nuts hysterical? No. Are parents who fear that their non-allergic children could spontaneously expire because there is a nut somewhere in the building hysterical? In a word, yes.
This is the perfect collision of parenting and a society over-saturated with media -- media that often works very, very hard to instill fear in our everyday lives. Did you ride in a car seat until you were 8 years old or weighed 80 pounds? Did you have a walker with metal wheels? Did you sit next to a kid who ate a peanut-butter sandwich at the school lunch table? And are you still alive?
I have two kids and I am a vigilant mother. But when does being cautious and loving turn into making our kids overly dependent? I mean, really, what's next? The Salem Peanut Trials?
Do parents over-react to situations like the peanut-allergy problem, and is the media to blame?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
4-09-2009 @ 9:31AM
isisaquaria said...It sounds extreme---but it is almost a valid fact. In my past, I worked with a woman whose grandson was six--he had eaten pb almost daily-- he always ate it on sat afternoon with his meme. One afternoon, he had a reaction and now--no peanuts===He has no other allergies, never had anything b4. If he had been at school, with no information on file--the child may not be here today.
Are Epi-pens all the same dose? Could the teachers keep them on hand? Just a thought, for peace of mind and safety for all....
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4-09-2009 @ 11:32AM
Kirstie said...Epipens come in two sizes - the regular epi-pen, and the epi-pen jr., which is for children up to 66 lbs.
I could see keeping on in the nurse's office for emergencies, but I would not want teachers who may or may not be properly trained in how to use one keeping them on hand. I've got a severe seafood allergy and carry an epi-pen everywhere, and a) it HURTS, using it and b)they're a little confusing. Let the trained RN be responsible for it.
My allergy was also sudden and unexpected onset - I didn't find out I was allergic until I was 18. I still don't think this hysteria over it is justified, and I know better than most the potential for deadliness allergies can have. Such an occurrence is exceedingly rare, and all we're doing is scaring our kids and making them afraid to try things.
4-09-2009 @ 9:34AM
Mihir said...ahhh...overbearing parents. i'm waiting for the day everyone sends their kid to school in an armored car. each classroom will consist of 30 separate plastic bubbles with their own air filtration system. each child will be lo-jacked in case their bubble unintentionally rolls away.
does that mom expect the kid to know what anaphylaxis feels like so he knows when to inject himself? unnecessary epipen injections aren't exactly great for a child's health either.
where did this woman get an epipen anyway? you'd need a prescription.
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4-09-2009 @ 11:17AM
ninainindia said...Yes the peanut hysteria has gotten way out of hand. I also wonder if the parents that demand the school to be peanut free ever go on vacation? They hand out peanuts on air planes all the time and I've never heard of anyone getting hurt.
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