Friday, June 03, 2016

Food Allergies and Children

Recent news stories on Food Bullying brings into focus the issue of children with food allergies and how they interact with other children in social situations.  In the past few years schools have set special tables aside to create a safe place in the lunch room for children with food allergies.  Food Bullying though, brings about the question of, in setting these places aside for kids with food allergies are we also isolating those same children and thereby creating a sect of pariahs that now carry the stigma that attracts bullying?

Food allergies are a serious condition to have.  Especially severe allergies that can cause death.  Therefore it is very easy to empathize with parents that wish to create a safer environment for their allergic children.  Is there, however, a better way to make these children safer without actually quarantining them from the rest of society?

Perhaps education could have been the key here?  Parents of allergic children, educate their children on how to avoid their allergens.  Parents of non-allergic children educate their offspring of the existence of people with food allergies and how they can have life-threatening reactions.  Schools educate children of the existence of food allergies, how to avoid food allergens, and how not to spread food allergens around the table or lunchroom.

The downfall of relying on Education, is that it takes time to see the true effects.  Because these effects are not immediately noticeable, society, namely the people that strongly desire the effect, are not satisfied that anything is happening.  This then leads them to push for the more gratifying solution of creating the safe tables.  While the safe tables make the parents feel better, these same parents may not realize the full extent of what this does to their children. 

When we draw attention to children with food allergies, the other children know that something is different about them, but may not understand what.  Unless someone specifically educates the non-allergic children about what exactly is going on, all they know is that these “allergic kids” have to sit at a separate table.  This leaves the door wide open for questions, bullying, and testing.  Yes, testing.  Curious children learn by testing boundaries, and through trial and error.  If they don’t know what happens when an allergic child touches their allergen, they’re going to try to test it to see for themselves.  

Whereas, if the food allergic children were allowed to continue to interact as normal, and sit among their peers, their medical condition may not ever come to the attention of the kids around them, thereby eliminating the stigma that would attract bullying.  If the allergic children are well aware of their condition, know what they are allergic to, and understand how to refuse offers of food from other kids, this lowers the risk of alerting other children to something amiss. 

While the instant gratification of having the allergic children sit at a safe table makes the parents breathe a sigh of relief, in essence, they are creating a worse situation for their children by drawing all the attention in their direction.  Attention, is not always a good thing.