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Close To One-Third Of Children With Food Allergies Are Bullied
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The study examined 251 families from a New York City food allergy clinic and discovered that nearly one-third of kids have been bullied because of their food allergy.
The bullying happened on school grounds and resulted in teasing.
In most instances, the kids reported that classmates threatened them with the food to which they were allergic. They would wave it in front of them, throw it at them or promised they would put it in their food undetected.
Of the families who were surveyed, 45.5 percent of the kids and 36.3 percent of their parents reported that the child had been bullied or tormented for any reason. Besides that, 24.7 percent of the parents and 31.5 percent of the kids confirmed they had been bullied specifically because of their food allergy.
Results of the study showed that bullying is associated with reduced quality of life as well as increased distress in parents and children, regardless of the severity of the food allergy. Parents were aware about the bullying in just 52.1 percent of the cases. When parents knew about the bullying, the children's quality of life improved.
The authors conclude that bullying is frequent in children with food allergies. They point out when parents are aware their children are being bullied, the kid's quality of life is better.
The research team believes that pediatricians and parents should screen for bullying in children with food allergies in order to decrease stress and better the standard of life for these kids.
The burden of food allergies increasing to a life-threatening situation can be worrisome for a child. Normal activity and social lifestyles can be limited due to the constant requirement of avoiding certain foods.
Written by Kelly Fitzgerald
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Eyal Shemesh, MD, Rachel A. Annunziato, PhD, Michael A. Ambrose, BA, Noga L. Ravid, MD, Chloe Mullarkey, BS, Melissa Rubes, MA, Kelley Chuang, MA, Mati Sicherer, MA, and Scott H. Sicherer, MD
Pediatrics, December 2012, (doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-1180)
MLA
n.p. "Close To One-Third Of Children With Food Allergies Are Bullied." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 25 Dec. 2012. Web.
21 Jan. 2013. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/254466.php>
APA
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/254466.php.
Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.
Visitor Opinions (latest shown first)
Teasing or Bullying
posted by Andy on 7 Jan 2013 at 5:29 amTo be honest, the distinction between teasing and bullying is mute, when the victim could die from being "teased" or bullied... if some kid "teases" my sone with a nut product, it is in effect a threat on his life.
What some of you fail to grasp is that children with severe allergies could die from "teasing" or bullying.. where children without such allergies are much less likely to end up in hospital.
Bullied For Peanut Allergy At School Throughout Childhood
posted by Sophie on 29 Dec 2012 at 10:19 pmI wish this study better controlled and simply better conducted as 'bh2' pointed out. I can vouch anecdotally that it does happen and it can be severe. The dismissal in some of the comments is really sad. People may not have seen these things growing up but it still existed and the number of children in the US with food allergies are on the rise.
I was bullied horribly throughout elementary school my allergy to peanut/all peanut products and the bullying reached a point that I waited until the other kids in my class had left for the lunch room one day in 3rd grade and started crying and begging my teacher to not make me go to lunch. After that, I ate in the front office at a desk beside the school secretaries.
There were two bullying incidents that required hospitalization beyond just an ER visit. One was where a girl took her peanut butter & jelly sandwich out, shoved it in my face where it got on my cheeks and eyelashes and said "I bet you're lying about being allergic to peanut butter by touching it, idiot" and even with my epinephrine, by the time the ambulance arrived I was in anaphylactic shock and I was admitted into the hospital for 2 days for monitoring. I don't think that's simple teasing since my entire class was very aware of the severity of my allergy since there was a need to know for the other students because even a trace amount left on a table or dirty hands with PB on them is enough to cause a problem, also in a crowded area such as a classroom or school lunch room, things like peanuts where small particles can become airborne also pose a threat and I can't sit near anyone eating them so my classmates had to know to please not sit near me with those things… as far as PB/traces of peanut being left on the table, I knew where to find the cleaner that was kept for me to use for wiping down where I sat down at and I'd grab paper towels to just clean up and make sure.
The second bullying incident that was severe enough to require an overnight hospitalization was during 4th grade and happened in our classroom. We were having a class party and I had a cupcake I brought in for allergy precautions instead of the cake everyone else was having. I left the class to use the bathroom, my cupcake was on my desk and I'd only eaten a little of it. While I had been gone, someone or a few kids took a few little pieces of peanuts and pushed them into the cupcake where I wouldn't see. I took a bite, after chewing a few times I realized there was peanut and spit it out which got some kids laughing, and cue epinephrine, ambulance and hospital. (This was a cupcake my mom and I had baked together from scratch, there were no peanuts when they were made.)
Those are only two of many incidents of bullying, they're the worst of what I experienced but all of it was horrible. Going to school and being scared of if you're going to be bullied with something that a kid commonly has but happens to be life-threatening to you is a miserable experience and environment to have to be in.
A potentially lethal bullying tactic isn't a "small issue" and the figurative Peter with his negative feelings needs to be taught empathy and about differences and that feeling upset or irritated is okay, but to take it out in a form of bullying towards the person they're upset with (due to something that person has no control over and I guarantee they'd LOVE to not have that allergy so they don't have to worry about it in social situations, at school when it comes to bullies and that emotional burden, or every time they eat) is inappropriate and there are other ways of communicating frustration, say by talking to Joey nicely and explaining he's upset because of this no peanut rule and it makes him feel like such and such. That allows Joey to tell Peter how he feels about the allergy and that maybe he doesn't like that rule having to be there and he feels bad. Bullying avoided, lessons learned. Perhaps I'm too idealistic, though.
It is the parent's fault
posted by Columbus Allergist on 27 Dec 2012 at 11:47 amI don't care what you call it. If a child has an allergy to a food or animal and another kid forces them to be exposed to it as a form of bullying or teasing, that is endangering the child and should be considered battery. To knowingly cause someone potential harm. Put the kids and the parents in jail.
Are all the kids really that allergic to things?
posted by DAVE on 25 Dec 2012 at 3:46 amWe didn't have any of this nonsense when I was growing up not to long ago, but when you tell Peter he can't have his favorite PB and J because of Joey expecting Peter not to have negative feelings toward Joey would be feeble minded.
Are all the kids really that allergic to things, or do we just make a big deal out of small issues now that we have the technology and as a result put our kids through this ourselves.
Incomplete statistics are meaningless
posted by Tom on 25 Dec 2012 at 1:03 amFor that percentage of children bullied to mean anything, you have to have compare it to the percentage of all kids without food allergies who are bullied. If my experience as a child is any guide, about a 3rd of all children become the targets of bullies at some time or other. Bullies simply look for ANY percieved weakness in one of their cohteporaries and try to exploit it to make themselves feel powerful. Food allergies are just one of many characterisitics that they will home in on.
Bullying And Food Allergies
posted by bh2 on 24 Dec 2012 at 5:55 pmNo control group? Some "study".
The question is not whether many children are bullied. They are. The question is not whether they are bullied because they have food allergies known to their mates. Plainly, they are. But this misses the point.
The central question is: what proportion of children are bullied regardless of how or why?
Bullying Or Teasing?
posted by Ken on 24 Dec 2012 at 5:34 pmCan you distinguish between bullying and teasing? It seems to me that much of what is called bullying is actually teasing. Something my friends do to me with great relish.
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