Last night I resorted to a bribe with my son. I told him if he slept through the night I would take him and his sister to the local farm and nature center. Well, he surprised me and actually slept through the night so I had no choice, despite my fatigue, to take them to the farm. For $14 we got to look at some cows, pigs, small horses, ducks, chickens (and their chicks!), rabbits, deer and an emu. They also had some exhibits in buildings which held my son's interest for all of five minutes before he was insisting on using the outdoor play equipment. He didn't want to play on the cool wooden boat, the train or the tractor. Nope, he wanted to dig in the sandbox and ride around in a cozy coupe car - the same thing we have at home! Oh well, it was a nice day, the sun was shining, birds were singing so I figured I'd just sit back and relax on a park bench when... my super-sensitive hearing picked up an evil question being uttered in the play area behind us: "Anyone want their peanut butter crackers?" ACK!!!
Yes, I know that sounds like an innocent enough question and for most people the sun would have continued to shine, the birds would've kept singing, blah, blah, blah. However, as a mother with a child that has food allergies including peanuts, I went on red alert. I tried to calm myself by noting that they were playing on a different section of the playground and nowhere near us. However, to my horror, tottering around the corner and making a beeline right for my son was a tipsy toddler clutching her peanut butter cracker in her pudgy little fist. She was smiling at my son and ready to move in for the hug that little girls seem inclined to bestow upon my handsome little guy. The mother must have thought I was a nutcase because I quickly swept up my own toddler and suggested in a loud voice to my son that we move to the inside play equipment. Luckily, he was amenable and we managed to avoid getting crushed peanut butter cracker smeared on him.
Now don't think that I'm one of those people who think that peanuts should be wiped off the face of the planet (although that would make my life easier). However, I do wish that people would limit snacks to the areas designated for eating food (i.e., picnic tables). I also wish people would wipe or wash their kids hands after eating. So,when they do go on the play equipment, there wouldn't be the risk of peanut or other allergen proteins getting on the swings or toys. Despite my vigilance, I noticed when we got home that my son did have some hives forming on his face. Luckily, they went away. I can only assume that the stuff he was playing with inside got some kind of allergen on it and he came in contact with it.
Despite the scare I think we all had fun and I'm really glad we were able to go. I just think next time I'll bring the Epipen along with us.
No comments:
Post a Comment