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.
