The "Candy-gate" saga continues (REVISED VERSION)

I asked my "friend" (okay she's really my sister) to forward the "nutty nut" letters to me when she receives them via e-mail For those of you following the drama in a little development somewhere in Maryland...Here we go!

David,

I totally sympathize with you and all the other parents who are dealing with serious food allergies, but you've named pretty much ALL of the halloween favorites! My suggestion is to let children with food allergies enjoy the fun of "Trick or Treating", but then donate the loot and purchase whatever candy is acceptible for your child's specific condition. There are so many different types of allergies that it would be difficult for the rest of us to avoid everything that could pose a potential risk to every child who may be affected. Good luck to all who are dealing with food allergies - let's hope the kids will outgrow them!

Randi




Nutty Dad replies:


Randi,

I certainly agree that it may be easier to "donate" the candy. My only point is that specifically with peanut allergies, as it is one of the most severe and most likely to cause Anaphylaxis shock, in some very rare cases the child can have a reaction simply by touching the nut or nut oil. Therefore it is impossible to determine if there is any residue on the packaging. As unlikely as it may be, the simple act of "taking the candy, saying thank you, and dropping the item in the candy bag", COULD, ( thankfully this has never been an issue in my daughters' case) potentially spark the chain reaction of an allergic episode. The fact of the matter is that my oldest child is 8 and the younger child is 4 and they have been trick or treating many times, without incident. I just thought I could relay a request to the neighborhood as a concerned parent about something that potentially (READ HIGHLY UNLIKELY) might be a serious issue. I did not intend to ruffle any feathers. As an aside, maybe those parents that really like those types of goodies could buy a separate package for their families to enjoy and handout the "safer non peanut products" to the children. Thanks! DP

Randi is NOT going to let this go:


Dear -----,

On our recent vacation, I saw the following sign in a gift shop... "All unattended children will be given a cup of espresso and a bag of Hershey kisses and returned to your custody." I don't know how that relates, but... Anyway, I agree with your comments. Any child who is so allergic to nuts that they would go into anaphylactic shock from touching an unopened candy wrapper really shouldn't be going out on Halloween, don't you think? A few days after Halloween last year, one of my friends went to dip into his son's Halloween candy but didn't find any. He asked his son where he hid the candy. "Oh, I ate it." "You ate it ALL?" "Yeah." The kid had eaten an entire pillowcase full of candy in 2-3 days...and didn't go into shock!


-Randi




Jamie jumps in on the action!

Dear neighbors,

I think perhaps a better suggestion that I made to David is to have

said "Thank you" to all those neighbors who were kind enough, last

year, to purchase alternatives to the chocolate/peanut favorites.

Some of you had 2 bowls for the children to choose from, and that was

VERY thoughtful of you.

Some safe alternatives include: Nerds, Sweetarts, Skittles, ringpops,

Starbursts, Tic Tacs, Pixie Stix, etc.

We did, in fact, wipe down each package of candy after we separated

what was safe and not safe so that the children could handle them

without danger.

Please forgive any "disturbance in the Force" this may have caused,

as we REALLY do NOT follow the Brittany Spears School of Parental

Care and allow our kids to handle anything dangerous. David was

trying to be protective, but I think he simply forgot that Highland

Lake extends far beyond the reaches of a 15-kid classroom.

Please enjoy your holiday, and we'll be sure to be well disguised so

you'll have NO idea who we are when we come knocking:)!

Thank you,

Jamie (the cool one)

Heeeeere's Randi!!!!!


Jamie,

That's a great idea!� You really ARE the cool one :-)� We will have two�

bowls available, thanks for the candy suggestions.

Of course kids taking the candy could have peanut products on their hands -�

I can see how this could make you crazy!

Randi

Vance has HAD IT...now it's getting ugly!

Cool or not this sounds a little too complicated.� I'm going to place the burden where it belongs.� Parents, do not bring children with food allergies to my door for tricks or treats.

Vance

My sister is never one to sit on the sidelines-here's her input!

Wow! I think that they get the point. I too was a little surprised by the initial letter. But let's all move on and wish everyone a safe and fun holiday. Here is a link to the website for the choose civility

campaign in Howard county. Let's all choose it!!!�

Peace,

Amy � �http://www.choosecivility.org/

These are people after my own heart...they too have too much time on their hands!

Where will this all end??? STAY TUNED!