I have one those kids. I'm one of those moms.
Yes. I use to silently mock (in my own head) the kids who have dangerous allergies and the moms who sent lists of forbidden foods to the hosts of playdates. I felt sorry for them. I thought that their kids are just not as sturdy as they should.
Karma sucks!
After dealing with my now 4 year old's eczema since she was 3 months old by lathering her with daily regiment of lotions and potions, we found out it's due to food sensitivities and allergies. About 6 months ago, I read Robyn O'Brien's book "The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food is Making Us Sick - And What We Can Do About It", a light bulb blinked on in my head. Food. Can my little healthy sturdy girl be really allergic to the food I feed her? Eventually, slowly, I remove the one thing in her diet that I thought was the healthiest, dairy milk. Miracle!! She stopped scratching. Her blistered, sore, red skin turned into healthy smooth kid's skin. No more crying, no more yelling, no more potions. It was like magic.
Now that I know food is a big factor in her overall well-being. They next thing I noticed was the very rare times she ate a tiny bit of peanuts, she started coughing and complained that her tongue feels weird. We are not a family of peanut butter sandwiches. It just wasn't in our list of food in the pantry. But every so often, peanut M&Ms or trail-mix with peanuts would make it across our house's threshold. Another light bulb blinked on in my head. Peanuts? Could it be? What else?
The pediatrician took her blood for an allergy test at her 4-year check up. Positive. All came back positive for peanuts, cashews, coconuts, nuts, nuts, and more nuts. We were also given an Epi-pen for 'just in case'. So, she is one of those kids. I'm one of those parents. I will be sending the list of no-no foods to the hosts of playdates. And I apologize to all the parents that I silently mocked for so many years. I'm sorry.