I was reading this entry at a blog I look at on occassion.

I don't understand all of the deadly food allergies that are suddenly around. In my elementary school, we had one kid with a nut allergy (he happened to be my neighbor - I babysat him on occassion). And that was it. No one was going to be on the verge of death if they looked at a carton of milk. No one was going to explode if they ate a piece of bread.

And that one kid with a nut allergy? His parents didn't expect every kid in the school to go nut-free because of him. He ate his lunch alone during the actual lunch-eating period, then all the kids washed their hands and they went outside or to the gym for recess. The parents in his classroom were asked not to send snacks with nuts for birthdays and the like, but that was the only real accomodation that was made.

Now, all of a sudden, everyone has deadly allergies to some food or another. And parents expect the whole school to change to accomodate their kid. Why should I not put cheese on my kid's sandwhich because one kid on some other classroom has an allergy? It's ridiculous.

Sorry if I'm offending the parents out there. I admit I'm not one, and my perspective may be different because of that. I was a teacher, though. And if we had a kid with allergies at the school where I taught, the snack rule I mentioned above was in effect, but parents weren't told they can never give their own kids peanut butter sandwiches, or bread with gluten in it, or milk or whatever because one kid in the class was allergic. It was that kid who sometimes had to make sacrifices. Because you know what? Sometimes in life you have to sacrifice. I don't like amusement park rides that go upside down. Does that mean I ask the park to suspend operations of those rides whenever I go so I don't feel left out? No, it just means I don't ride those rides. Food with blue dye in it makes my stomach do unpleasant things. Do I require that the cakes people at work bring in for birthdays or whatever never have blue icing? No, I just don't have a piece of cake that day. See how it works?

Is it a hard lesson for a kid to learn. Sure. But it is a lesson all of us need to learn someday.

And I firmly believe that the reason we have so many allergies, and "sensitivities" and whatnot popping up these days is that kids aren't allowed to get dirty any more. Parents are always on the lookout for the slightest bit of dirt and standing by with hand sanitizer, wet wipes, etc. When I was a kid, we were outside in the dirt all the time. I probably ate my weight in dirt (and lead paint, to boot) by the time I was five. And aside from some ear infections and some upper respiratory infections (that were most likely caused - or at least made worse - by my mother's smoking), I made it through kidhood unscathed.

OK. Cranky time is over. Back to your regularly scheduled...internet.