Now it's personal.......

I started this blog to discuss education, parenting, and the Montessori method. Today I have to go off topic slightly. It still has to deal with parenting but it also has to deal with a topic near and dear to my heart, food allergies. My 5 year old is anaphylactic to tree nuts and yes, we did find out the hard way. After eating walnuts she became lethargic and "zoned out". Her whole body turned red. The worst part was the coughing and wheezing, that is a sound that will be burned in my brain for the rest of my life. She was 3 when this happened. She is now in Kindergarten and she is thriving. She is in a nut free room. This means that tree nuts of any kind are not allowed in the room. The teachers make sure that all the students wash their hands or use hand sanitizer. At lunch she sits with friends that buy lunch because the school food is nut free. Some days she brings her own lunch and somedays she buys lunch. She knows that she can't buy the school treats since they may contain coconut. When there are class parties she has her own safe treats to enjoy. This is how, together with the school, we keep her safe.
In Florida, right now, there is a first grade girl with a severe peanut allergy. The school has the children in her class, wash their hands, wipe their mouths and keep nut products out of the class. This has led to protests. Protests over hygiene and keeping a child safe. The protestors want her out of the school, they want her to be homeschooled because they feel that their children are missing out on instruction time because of the handwashing. This child is protected by law, she is entitled to have an education.
I wonder how these parents would feel if it was their child? If their child had to endure painful tests, how would they feel? If their child was never able to go to a bakery or enjoy the same food that every other child could have at the endless class parties, how would they feel? If they had to spend hours at the grocery store every week to read labels, how would they feel? If they had to call company after company to make sure that there was no cross contamination issues because just the slightest amount of a nut could kill their kid, how would they feel?
I have a group of friends/family that "get it", they would go to the end of the universe and back to keep my daughter safe. Her teachers go above and beyond to keep her safe and included. I can not even begin to imagine what I would do without this support. I hope that the allergic child's family in Florida does not feel alone, I hope they know that they have the support of many allergic/nonallergic families.
I also wonder about these protesters. How do they put signs in their child's hands? That boggles my mind. What about taking this opportunity to teach their children about compassion, kindness, and differences? A wonderful teaching opportunity lost.
My last point (I'm sure you are glad about that), what if we weren't talking about allergies? What if this little girl had asthma, cancer, diabetes, autism, or dyslexia? Would there be protests? What if there was a child in a wheelchair? Would parents protest because a ramp needed to be put in?
Well, there's my 2 cents...........I still really do not understand what these parents are protesting, I guess I'll never understand. I hope that the parents stop protesting soon and I hope that their children are always in good health.

Parental judgement

You didn't breastfeed? You put your kid in daycare? You aren't working? You are working? Do these questions sound familiar? I never heard or thought of these questions until I became a mom. What surprises me the most is that these questions are frequently thrown at moms from other moms. We can be so judgemental of others. I wonder why? Why can't we support each other instead of tearing each other apart? I often wonder what the "mom world" would be like if we had conversations instead of criticism. I may not agree with some choices that some moms make but they may not like the way I do things either, and that is ok! What works in one house may not work in another. I will admit that I keep my kids on a routine and schedule, I didn't breastfeed, I have been a working mom and stay at home mom too. Over the last nine years I have found what works for me and what does not work for me. The choices that I have made may not be choices that other moms would make. That's ok because nobody knows my kids like I do......
What do you think? Have you come across other parents that question your decisions? How did you handle it?

"Babies"

I did not think when I first started this adventure that I would post two times in one day but I just have to. I just watched the movie "Babies".  It was a wonderful documentary about 4 babies from around the world.  It was amazing to see that even though the four babies come from very different worlds they still met their developmental milestones at about the same time. It was interesting to see the moms and dads still interacting in similar ways with their children. They still encouraged them to play, they became excited for them when they did something new and so on. This movie also made me think that we, as Americans, take so much for granted. I include myself in this group. Or maybe it's just me. It was interesting to see how parents in other parts of the world take care of their children. How they feed them, clean them, provide for them. Above all, babies are still babies no matter where they are from and they are still so darn cute! I loved this movie. If you haven't seen it, give it a try and let me know what you think.