Seeing the Peter Rabbit Movie? 5 Questions to Ask Your Child With NO Food Allergies

I woke up in the middle of night recently thinking about all the Peter Rabbit hubbub. I'm sure you've heard, but there is a scene in the new Peter Rabbit movie that shows the rabbits intentionally trying to throw berries into Tom's mouth, knowing he is allergic to them. Their evil quest is successful, and Tom has to use his EpiPen to stop progressing anaphylaxis. 

What's funny about that?

Nothing. It's called bullying, among other things.

But instead of writing another blog post about what's wrong with this scene, and how much it hurts those of us who have children with food allergies (and also hurts those WITH food allergies), I thought it might be most helpful to think about a positive step we can take NOW.

Yes, I'm going to #boycottPeterRabbit like many other food allergy families. Honestly, I wasn't too interested in having my kids watch the movie anyway, since it looked too action packed and stress inducing just from the previews, without even knowing about the food allergy scene.

However, there are many families with no food allergies, families who are our friends, who live in our community, and who we interact with all the time, who are going to see this movie.

If you're one of those families, all that I ask is that you take 5 minutes after the movie to talk with your child. Start by asking them these 5 questions, and...just listen. 

1. Do you know anyone who is allergic to food?

2. Do you think it's right to throw food at someone who is allergic to it, or tease them with it?

3. Do you think it would be funny?

4. How do you think that would make them feel?

5. How do you think someone with food allergies might feel about the scene in the movie when the rabbits throw food at Tom that he's allergic to?

Then, if your child has trouble understanding why the food allergy bullying scene might be hurtful to others like....

his or her friend from school with food allergies....

a kid they know who sits at the peanut free table at lunch...

or someone they've seen a birthday party that brings his/her own cupcake...

Explain to them how TRUE friends might act, and how important it is to put yourself in someone else's shoes.

Hopefully you can have a short and age-appropriate conversion about empathy and compassion. Even though there are many adults who have no empathy or compassion for people with food allergies (just read the comments of some of the articles online....I've learned to not even read them), I'm hoping the next generation, will grow up to be more compassionate about food allergies, and with a greater understanding of them and the risks associated with them.

Let me know if you ask these questions and how your child responds!

Big Recall Due to Peanut Residue: Stay Aware

You've heard about the big recall of certain foods due to peanut residue right?  Did you hear that the recall keeps expanding to more products? The AAFA (Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America) asked me to share a press release today about the recent FDA advisory recommending people with peanut allergies avoid the affected products. Here are the key points of the press release:

AAFA’s Kids With Food Allergies blog (KFA) highlights the full list of recalled products. The FDA said it is looking into the origin and extent of what it called "low levels" of peanut residue in the flour.

The product recalls linked to Grain Craft at this time are:

 Cinnabon Stix

 Safeway 8" Single Layer Red Velvet Cake

 ACME 12” Decorated Chocolate Chip Cookie

 Jewel 12” Decorated Chocolate Chip Cookie

 Chick-fil-A Chocolate Chunk Cookies

 Hostess Snack Cakes and Donuts

 Rold Gold Select Varieties of Pretzels** 

(**Mamacado note - notice the Rold Gold recall as it was announced AFTER the first recall notice! I just checked a package in my cabinet the other day, but it was not affected. Here is how you can check your own packages.)

The company named in the advisory, Grain Craft, has recalled the flour. Grain Craft sells to the baking and food service industries and not to consumers. It says it is the largest independent flour miller in the U.S.

The FDA said it will continue to check to see if other companies may be using this flour.

What Happened?

 On April 26, Grain Craft told the FDA that “sampling by a customer” found peanut residue in cookies.

 Grain Craft confirmed the residue with its own testing.

 The FDA performed its own analysis, confirming the problem.

 Grain Craft traced the affected flour to wheat grown in agricultural areas that also grow peanuts.

 Grain Craft stopped making and distributing the affected flour on April 30.

 FDA analysis performed later did not “show the presence of peanut protein.”

Two reports of severe allergic reactions in children are connected to the investigation.  So, please stay aware and safe and double check everything!

Small Steps this Food Allergy Awareness Week

Did you know it's Food Allergy Awareness Week and National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month? There are so many people making wonderful progress in spreading food allergy awareness, and I truly appreciate their work. It's such an important part of keeping our children safe. 

But I have to be honest. It can also feel overwhelming. 

It's overwhelming to think about doing anything special during our already busy lives and hectic weeks. I suppose that's also true for parents of children in general, but when you have to cook EVERY meal EVERY day as a working parent, it sure takes time.

It might also feel overwhelming with all of the food allergy information we see on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If you're a parent of a child with food allergies, I suspect your social media feeds look just the same as mine.

And when you feel overwhelmed, isn't it easy to feel completely frozen and do nothing?

So I've decided to think about Food Allergy Awareness Week in a different way. Even if I don't have time to spread awareness in a BIG way, I'm still going to focus on the importance of my small efforts.

Because no matter how small your effort, you are still making a contribution. 

So, here are some of the small steps I'm taking this week to spread awareness: 

• Changing my Facebook profile picture to support food allergy awareness week.
• Sharing a few more food allergy related articles on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
• Thanking my son's teachers in emails for taking extra care to keep him safe while at school. I may even get myself together by the end of the week and send in a little card and gift!
• Spreading awareness in my day-to-day life. From encouraging my co-worker with severe food allergies to carry an EpiPen (yes, I know, this horrifies me!), to chatting about food allergies with my grocery store check-out person, any conversation about food allergies brings awareness.

AAFA, KFA, FARE and FAACT have some wonderful ideas to inspire all of us this week/month to spread food allergy awareness.  

What small steps will you take to spread awareness and keep our children safe?