If you don't have a kid who's allergic to peanuts, the uproar over General Mills' new Peanut Butter Cheerios might seem like the latest in a long string of attempts to demonize what's been a staple in American pantries for decades. Well, let me tell you something. You're wrong, and the only reason why you have the luxury to be wrong is because you, again, don't have a kid who's allergic to peanuts.
I do have a kid who's allergic to peanuts. My son, Julian. And while at this age, he's pretty well-trained (knock wood) to ask if a cookie or a brownie or a sandwich or whatever else contains peanuts before he takes a bite, he probably wouldn't think to check if one of his buddies passed a plastic baggie of Peanut Butter Cheerios his way.
Why? Because they don't look all that different from regular Cheerios. (What's ironic is that Cheerios are one of the few snack foods most parents consider "safe.")
Fortunately for us, Julian's reactions to peanuts so far have been the kind that a good dose of Benadryl can treat; we've only had to run to the Emergency Room once. (Of course we have an Epi-Pen, just in case, because you never really know if your kid's allergy is going to get better or worse.)
But we're among the lucky ones. Some kids are so severely allergic to peanuts that one Peanut Butter Cheerio could kill them before anybody realized what was happening. Like what happened to 7-year-old Ammaria Johnson just last week: The little girl took a bite of her friend's snack on the schoolyard and died of cardiac arrest within minutes. Minutes!
And that's a grade-school kid. Peanut Butter Cheerios pose a significantly higher risk to toddlers, in my opinion. Think about it: Little kids take Cheerios with them everywhere. To the park. To the children's section at Barnes & Noble. To the zoo. On the train. Your toddler is screaming in the stroller? Here, have a bag of Cheerios. The waiter is taking forever to bring your family's lunch order? Shhh, have some Cheerios for now.
My point is this: Kids are messy eaters, and because they take Cheerios everywhere, that means stray Cheerios are everywhere kids go. Let's say your severely peanut-allergic 2-year-old spies a Cheerio on the bench at the playground. She wouldn't think twice before popping it in her mouth: Mommy gives me these!
General Mills says cross-contamination isn't a possibility, which is good to know; they also point out that other Cheerios flavors do contain nuts (Honey Nut, Banana Nut, and Oat Clusters). But there are way more kids with life-threatening allergies to peanuts than almonds, walnuts, or any other kind of nut. So that argument doesn't make a difference.
Personally, I don't think the benefit of adding another variety of Cheerios to grocery store shelves is worth risking more kids' lives.
Do you think Peanut Butter Cheerios are dangerous? Should they be banned?
Image via Gramody/Flickr
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Comments 173
I understand parental concern when it comes to things like allergies, I really do. Both my son and myself are highly allergic to beestings. Does that mean that I keep him inside away from any possible source of stings? Ought I protest and get people everywhere to kill bees just because of my allergy?
No.
Instead of making life more annoying for the rest of the world, I do something different: I pay attention to what I'm doing so that I don't get stung, and when my son's outside, I keep an extra special eye on him to ensure that he isn't stung, as well.
I don't think it's right or fair for everyone to get the short end of the stick simply because there are some people who are allergic to peanuts. I do understand it, yes...but it's really up to the parents to be paying attention to these things, and it's also up to them to make sure that other responsible adult parties know about the child's allergies too.
No! So since my son has allergies to pollen and grass. We should remove it all from the planet right? Or my other son has milk allergies and breaks out in eczema patches so we should ban cow's milk to? Right?! WRONG! As a parent it is my job to monitor and make sure they stay safe.
I know it would be easier if the whole world revolved around your kid and his allergies but it doesn't. If it did we would never be allowed to eat anything because public consumption of any food containing nuts or dairy or eggs or wheat or shellfish or any number of ingredients would be illegal.
banning these new cheerios because of allergies is the same as banning ny and all foods. Every food out there contains some sort of allergen. If you or your child has allergies, you should be watching what is in foods.
Children should be taught not to share snacks at all regardless of allergies and not to eat random foods they find somewhere.
Then teach your damn kid to ask before eating ANYTHING if it has peanut butter, or I dont know, tell him he can die if he eats anything other than the food YOU provide him.
I guess we should also kill all stinging insects, ban all nuts, antibiotics, anti seizure meds, and exercise. Yes, even exercise can casue anaphylaxis and you can die.
Source (becasue I know you may not believ the exercise thing lol): http://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and-treatments/library/at-a-glance/anaphylaxis.aspx
Oh please. If someone is allergic then don't have them in the house, it's as simple as that. My husband is allergic to peas but do you see us going around trying to get foods with them in it banned? No, we just don't buy them!