Mom Demands School Go Peanut-Free For Allergic Child [View all]

[alp227]

The parents of a 10-year-old boy with a very serious peanut allergy are suing Livonia Public Schools.

Kathy Williams said her son, Nick, could die if exposed to peanuts.

She told WWJ Newsradio 950′s Marie Osborne that the district has failed to protect him.

“We had asked them to go peanut and tree nut-free, and their response to us was, due to the upset in the community and the backlash from other parents, we refuse to change practices,” Williams said.

...

“‘Why should we have to do this for one child?’ ‘I don’t really care if your child dies; my child’s getting the cupcake.’ ‘Why don’t you keep him at home? He doesn’t deserve to be here,’” Williams said.

full: http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/04/24/mom-demands-school-go-peanut-free-for-allergic-child/

True that peanut allergies can be fatal. I know that one person I went to jr. high with died on vacation after graduating high school because of eating food with peanuts.

And wow, Livonia-area parents really say that kind of stuff like "I don’t really care if your child dies" or "He doesn't deserve to be here"? Seriously? Livonia is in Michigan's 11th cong. district, whose representative is a Republican and represents the 19th state house district also represented by a Republican. (Thaddeus McCotter, a Republican candidate for the 2012 presidential election who resigned over the forged petitions scandal, used to represent the US House district that included Livonia.) I wouldn't be surprised that suburban right wing parents living in the suburban outskirts of a major city would show snotty elitist me-first attitudes, but those quotes...geez it sounds like Ms. Williams may be exaggerating for dramatic effect.

Safety should come first, and while I appreciate Kathy Williams's efforts in defending her kid, this is the thing I wonder about people with peanut allergies. How can they avoid contact with peanuts in the workplace or other outside places? Is there a treatment? I hope Nick Williams avoids going to Detroit Tigers games, as you know how the song goes, "Take me out to the ball game...buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks."