Bullying and food allergies

Bullying. It is a word that is heard over and over again. Kids (and adults) can be so cruel. We have been lucky here. So far she has not been bullied about her food allergies. She is surrounded by family, friends, neighbors, teachers, and staff that love and protect her. I think that this is key, it truly takes a village to raise a food allergic child.

Here is a great article about food allergies and bullying-
http://www.livingwithout.com/issues/4_23/Food-Allergy-Bullying-3108-1.html?pg=1

Last night I learned of something that happened on a radio show.  It is worse than bullying to me because it came out of the mouths of adults.

This is what was said on the show-
"So I was listening to US 99.5 (country station) with hosts Lisa and Ray at about 8:15 this morning and they were talking about April Fool's pranks. Ray says, "I love picking on the kids with food allergies". Lisa chimes in with, "ha, you just ate a peanut!" and the other lady says, "Oops, did I say it was dairy free--I meant gluten free!" Ray says, "I'll sell you this Benadryl for $20!" And they all are cracking up like it's the funniest thing ever!

And we really wonder why kids are bullies? Who do they learn it from?

Many in the food allergic community have bombarded their Facebook page with messages. They have since deleted most. One mom was able to call into their show. They refused to apologize. They still say it's funny and they also said that food allergies are not a disability. That's not true, food allergies are covered under federal law.

Here is their Facebook page-
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lisa-Dent-Ramblin-Ray-Mornings-on-US995/344629192241?ref=ts&fref=ts

I know that we can't control everything that comes out of someone's mouth. However, I also know that if they made fun of a kid with cancer, diabetes, etc there would be outrage, rightfully so. Children and families with food allergies need to be taken seriously too.