While I take your point about peanut allergies, I have to take exception to the comment on CFS. There actually is a difference between CFS and just being tired. I know being tired. I'm a single parent with 2 active grade schoolers. But my tired is not the tired of a colleague & friend with CFS. There's no doubt in my mind that without treatment, both CFS sufferers I know would have killed themselves years ago. Maybe CFS was diagnosed much 30 years ago is because those folks just slit their wrists or ate a shotgun. I don't know, but it seems like a big jump from peanut allergies to CFS.

As the mother of a daughter who nearly died after unknowingly eating a peanut butter filled m&m at a family charity benefit in New York City, I implore Ms. Bennett to step away from the glue gun and stop inhaling its contents.

I had an anaphylactic shock to Cipro seven years ago. I was alone and didn't realize it until I started having trouble breathing. I drove myself to the hospital and while the nurse screamed at me for not calling 911, the doctor measured my oxygen saturation and said if I had waited for the ambulance I would have been dead. She said I had two minutes to live when I walked in. So, it is a serious thing, however, I agree parents tend to go overboard. My doctor said my reaction was as serious as she'd ever seen, but I am still able to walk safely through Walgreens where Quinolones are dispensed and I assume Levequin dust must circulate like peanut dust in schools. People are allergic to a lot of things, it just isn't practical to ban them all. The peanut parents just have a better communications program. Those of us who at risk simply need to watch out for ourselves. After about the fourth grade, I think kids ought to be able to do that without too much trouble.

Bravo Laura!! Well said!

Laura - Thank you! It has gotten so bad that my 10 yr old actually thinks she is allergic to peanuts when she isn't. What will cause death for her is crustaceans so what does her school bring in and plop next to her - crayfish. And who got to stay in school and get an education - the crayfish. My daughter was sent home. When she had a complete anxiety attack at their proximity they thought she was having a reaction and almost gave her an epi which would have really done a number on her adrenaline rush.. You just have to wonder - has the world gone mad?

Laura, I gotta tell you I have been wondering the same thing. I know there were some kids in school who were swept up with the dropped and dried spaghetti, but I just assumed that was because of the big L on their foreheads. I didn't dream it was from a food allergy--we didn't know such a thing existed except for the brussel sprouts.

Yes, yes I know--before you blow a gasket--there are kids with serious allergies and they are more than problematic. That said the hysteria of the peanut plague is just one more of the many bits of padding we are putting around us to cushion us from living. Flyoverland is exactly right--learn to communicate rather than do the auto-BAN. Thanks Laura

Ms. Bennett,
I recently wrote a Letter to the Editor in response to a column by Joel Stein of the Los Angeles Times entitled "This Allergy is Kind of Nutty" in which he too claims that children with food allergies actually have "...a parent who needs to feel special". I will restate several points here in response to your column.
1. You (and Mr. Stein) are correct, that food allergies as we know them today did not exist when we were children. Which is why current research is looking into several possible explanations: genetically modified food - particularly soy and corn, overly processed food - which relies heavily on soy and corn ingredients, increased use of vaccinations, anti-biotics, disinfectants and petroleum based products. All of these factors are indigenous to western, developed countries. It is worth noting that families dealing with autism, asthma and ADD/ADHD - which have seen similar increases in diagnoses over the last ten years, are also very interested in these lines of research.
2. Mr. Stein also mentions in his column that "food allergies kill about as many people as lightning strikes each year". While that may be true, it is a silly argument. We are able to prevent the possible death of our eight year old daughter by supporting her schools decision to restrict peanuts, by reading food labels, by carrying epi-pens with us at all times and when necessary, using the epi-pen. People who die from lightning strikes don't have those options.
3. Diagnosing food allergies is a complicated process involving endless blood tests, skin tests, food challenges and questionnaires. One typical recommendation from doctors is that if you have one child with a peanut allergy, for example, be careful with your other children. They are at greater risk of having a reaction, which may be why your child's classmate had to be careful.
4. With regards to the numbers of people with peanut v. shrimp allergies, the issue in a school setting is really about cleanliness. It is far easier to clean up a piece of shrimp than it is to clean up peanut butter, which is sticky and often leaves behind a residue that can work its way into a young child's mouth.
5.. The main goal of parents with food allergic children is to show them how to lead as normal a life as possible. Nothing special about that. Nor is there anything special about reading every label every time you grocery shop, about making endless amounts of homemade food to limit risks, about dealing with airlines that serve peanuts and getting permission to carry epi-pens on board, about watching your child not be invited to parties, sleep-overs, etc because of her food allergies. I promise you I do not feel special. Just very sad.
6. Finally, how do you go to sleep at night after writing just one column which manages to make fun of people who deal with food allergies, lactose intolerance, restless leg syndrome, Munchausen-by-Proxy and chronic fatigue syndrome?

Do you and Mr. Stein raise a fair point about over reacting in the face of a threat to a child? Possibly. That said, parent to parent, if you were to ask me to take a precaution of any kind with one of your children, I would be happy to do so. I would not challenge you or mock you.

The one great thing about having a child with food allergies is that it provides us with a litmus test for kindness. We have been moved to tears by families that ask me to train them on how to use the epi-pen, who routinely stock 'safe snacks' in their house for when my daughter visits, who always ask before they act. Who practice true kindness in a media world full of ill informed sarcasm.

Anne-Marie Hesser
Greenwich CT

Oh to be so naive. I miss being that naive. Sure, you can convince me you've met a nut somewhere along the way who invented a medical condition for their child to garner attention. If there can be dog psychiatrists then anything is possible. But if you had a child with an anaphylaxis reaction to an allergen, you'd be a little hyped up about it. You'd be vigilant. A peanut is as life threatening for one child as a handgun is for another. Once you understand that - if you ever really understand that - then you won't judge these families so harshly. We all love our children and do what we can to protect them.

As a doctor for 15 years I have never seen a anaphylatic reaction to anything a person did not ingest, inhale or have direct contact with. To completely ban peanut butter from schools is unnecessary.Peanut butter is a cheap source of protein and maybe the only kind of lunch a mom maybe able to send to school. Also most kids outgrow food allergies.

Laura, I am with you on your post. You're not saying you don't take allergies seriously, but having lived long enough to claim Kukla status (the "G' word is not allowed in my home), I'm in total agreement. It's great to be vigilant, but placing fear on children who do not have an allergy, but "may develop one" is incomprehensible to me. Thanks for voicing common sense.

I always like when the older generation (even the soft ones, like the author) does a "These kids today" article. Back in my day, why we had to only use a nanny, we didn't have private chef.

I am only 24, I don't have any friends with peanut allergies, and if they had gone to my school they probably would have been chased around and taunted with Reese's cups. We played on a rusty metal playground with broken beer bottles all around. We were tough.

Way to go Laura. You know what else is completely rediculous! Exercise induced asthma. When I was kid if you didn't feel like going to PE you either cut class of were called out as a lazy bum. WTF!

Best. Article. Ever.

Hilarious! I LOVE reading your columns. As a student teacher in a high school in Michigan, I see this kind of ridiculousness all the time. Parents these days have no sense of humor...everything is deathly serious when it comes to their kids (I think to give them a feeling of power and a sense of importance). The result--kids who are terrified to try new things or even go outdoors.

We had a classmate in grade school who was allergic to eggs. I blamed Nixon, who was President at the time. Anyway, her mother made her special cakes when folks had birthdays and the class had a party and that was that.

But guess what? Your little apple blossoms grow up. There were girls in high school who were constantly pushing whatever boundaries nature had dealt them (diabetes, allergies, etc...) with mixed results. Some would get hives or pass out but some would discover that whatever ailments they thought they had weren't as serious as they had been led to believe.