Bummer. CNN reports that last week a 5th grader in Pennsylvania with severe peanut allergies was sitting at his peanut-free lunch table when a bully came up and teased him by waving a granola bar in front of his face. Not only was the poor little guy being mocked but the bully kid was putting him in serious danger--it could have touched him and God knows what would have happened!
Now the extra hard bummer. A study published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, found that 35 percent of children over age 5 with food allergies have are getting bullied, teased or harassed because of the food they have to eat. Not only do these kids have to worry about policing their own allergies and stressing out about everything they put in their mouths, they have to deal with this too? Kids can be cruel, man.
I finally understand the tears that some parents shed when they come into the bakery as they watch their kids pick out anything that they like, it's the first time they've ever had a choice. For that moment they are not weird and nobody is thinking about food allergies. They can finally be a kid who shoves cookies and donuts in their mouths and eats just the frosting off the cupcake. I see this daily and know I'm a really lucky girl. What a cool day job.
