Just a little bit heart breaking

[jethrien]

Today was ARR's 2nd birthday. One of his presents was a set of plastic food--he has a bunch already, but he was missing a couple key favorites (including a cookie for Cookie Monster, a banana for Monkey, and a bagel and some Cheerios and noodles for ARR).

Upon finding a muffin, he immediately handed it to me. I offered him a "bite", but he replied, "No, Mommy eat. No eat, cow milk."

I had to assure him I'd made him a new one, one without any cow milk in it, before he would pretend to eat it.

Comments

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Well, at least he's well trained to avoid his allergic triggers? Happy Birthday ARR!

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

We're trying very hard. I've met other parents of allergic kids who had managed to get them policing their own food as young as four. I don't intend to make him responsible for it that young, but as he starts to move out into the world, it's not a bad thing to have him have his own failsafes in case adults around him are stupid or make mistakes.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Sad to say, he'll have to do the policing because the world isn't going to do it for him. The thinly-veiled scorn people have for allergies, even potentially life-threatening ones like peanut allergies, is disgusting.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

My niece and nephew's cousins are allergic to wheat, and at 2 and 5, they are very good about asking where their special foods are. Heartbreaking that he has to know, but maybe a little comforting that he does know?

[ladymondegreen.livejournal.com]

This. So much this. I have a colleague who is dead of a peanut allergy these fifteen years, and people still don't take it seriously. It makes me sad.