Children & Allergies

As a teacher and a professional in the education field I have run into students who have the so-called "peanut allergy."

My annoyance at stupid parents, who I believe have sparked such allergies through insane germ-o-phobia when their kids were babies, is paramount.

As i may have noted before on this blog, I used to play outside rigorously as a kid, we had a dog, my babysitter had a big German Shepard with long dog hair, and I never had problems with allergies. Once the school work got so heavy, and once I started watching too much of the tele, the "allergies" began to emerge.

I believe most allergies are a result of hyper-cleaning our students' and childrens' environments. I have personally known teachers who have a significant problem/phobia with germs and they are psychotic.

I do not support peanut bans in schools, and I agree with The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, having bans on peanuts in schools or even individual rooms is the wrong approach. It doesn't teach these students how to react when they enter the "real world" (granted it will be a while before my kiddos get there).

What we should be doing instead is to teach our children self-advocacy and self-awareness that they need to take control of their own health concern. As a kid, I had other concerns that I was aware of and was a self-advocate for, as my parents taught me to be. If I needed something, I spoke up and said so.

We cannot be putting these children into what is tantamount to a freaking bubble. There is no realistic way to protect ALL kids from ALL things harmful, it's part of learning, and it's part of life.