Your publication is a rag that is unworthy of a link from this Canadian blog. That’s saying something, since I’ve linked to a lot of garbage in the past. I’ve even linked to Leah McLaren’s stupid columns. But the “It’s Just Nuts” article by Patricia Pearson in your December issue is beyond the pale. Instead, I’m going to link to this response on CBC Online from the editor of Allergic Living.
I expect much more from, well, just about any national publication. Complaining that you have trouble packing school lunches? Get a fucking grip. This article is not hip or edgy; it’s the sort of thing normal people keep inside their heads. Scratch that: Normal people don’t think things like this at all.
Blech. I might vomit. Not from a peanut allergy; I’m only allergic to people who put their own kids’ food preferences ahead of other kids’ lives.
Nobody is “cowering in fear of the lowly peanut”. People are taking reasonable precautions in response to life-threatening allergies. In schools, especially some elementary schools, that means banning peanuts entirely.
Ms. Pearson claims she “dove into the science” before she wrote this article. That may be true, but when you dive into the shallow end of the pool, you hit your head on the bottom. I’m not sure how self-centred a person has to be to risk a child’s health over a peanut-butter sandwich, but at least now we know this about her and can keep our distance.
I really wish I was a snotty Toronto mommee whose greatest concern about food was that my child would only eat macaroni and cheese under certain circumstances. That must be really awesome for Ms. Pearson. It would be great if I didn’t have to spend my time reading labels to make sure my child doesn’t die from his peanut allergy. I’d love it if he could eat anything at a restaurant.
Now that I think about it, Ms. Pearson is right. After all, he probably won’t die, and it is a real inconvenience for other moms to have to pack jam sandwiches instead of peanut-butter sandwiches. Those talks I have with his teachers each year about how to use the EpiPen? SO HYSTERICAL OF ME. Thanks, Ms. Pearson. It really is great to have you around to put everything in perspective.
I especially appreciate Ms. Pearson’s concern for my budget. Yes, EpiPens are expensive. They sure are. I own several, and I have to replace them when they expire. If I didn’t have them, I could afford to buy other things. This is true. Also, I have no confidence that people know how to use them. Unless…uh…I show people how to use them. But that would be too tiring, I suppose. Thank goodness Ms. Pearson is around to point out things I never understood before! I should just explain to my son that they’re too expensive to replace when they expire.
And one person outgrew his peanut allergy! Case closed! Schools and parents are overreacting. That MUST be the way it is. It’s a whole new world over on this side!
Thanks for showing me the error of my ways, Ms. Pearson.
Ms. Sanati, please ignore everything I said earlier. It was just hysterical talk from an overprotective parent.
You go, Megan. Sounds like Chatelaine is on the Lose Credibility Fast diet.
Sounds like Chatelaine has been taken over by the morons who ruined Maclean’s.
All this attention to children’s health? Overblown! Peanuts, who cares? H1N1, who cares? It’s not like people are actually dying or anything. Oh….wait. Hmmm….
Sounds like a winner!
When I read this article, I was livid too — and none of my kids have a peanut allergy, they all love PB and A is a terribly picky eater.
I remember how I used to stock my house with Benedryl and pea butter, and how I kept a PB-free jam jar when we lived in Yk, and how I sanitized my kitchen with hot water and bleach before Michael came over. I remember “Michael days” were days the kids did not eat nuts that day or the day before, just to keep him safe.
Did Megan demand this? Nope. I was trying my best to be a good friend and to keep a little tyke I knew and loved safe (and allow him the wonder of an almost-PB and jam sandwich that wouldn’t kill him.)
A. learned to enjoy pea butter, too. Picky eaters don’t die from being fussy.
In the end, I believe one of the primary jobs of a parent is to teach kids to think of others first, to be aware and compassionate to the needs of others. In a Christian household, it goes like this: God first, others second, and yourself last.
The writer of this article obviously believes in teaching her kid to think of himself first and others second. Good luck to her when he’s a teenager and strong enough to overpower her when she won’t let him drive the car or give him $20 from her purse.
To state the obvious, publishing the article was irresponsible. It promotes intolerance and frankly, could lead to dangerous behaviours towards kids who have allergies. The first thing that crossed my mind is that it is possibly a human rights violation. What’s next? Will Ms. Pearson and her editor write a piece about how much they hate having to give up the good parking spots to those lazy farts in wheel chairs?
Just wanted to let you know that my “hysterical” ways have kept my son alive for 23 years in spite of his multiple food allergies. He’s so poorly adjusted to life from my overprotection that he’s living on his own, 200 miles away, while he attends law school.
Since becoming an empty nester a couple of years ago, I decided to give back to the food allergy families of the world by creating an online database of food allergy friendly restaurant reviews. http://www.FoodAllergiesToGo.com is free to anyone who wants to use it for travel, work or pleasure.
Keep up the good work Megan!
Ann@FoodAllergiesToGo.com
[...] As you’ll recall, Chatelaine published a story in its December issue that suggested peanut allergies are not particularly serious (because there are relatively few deaths from anaphylaxis) and that parents of allergic children are just overreacting. [...]
I would add that it is not only this artice, it is that the whole magazine concept is unworthy of spending our time and money over it. Rogers should thank Ms. Sanati for this.
I am cacelling my subscription thanks to her.