Elizabeth -
You left ______ too soon. New south end library facility was our very last haven - things got worse for M over time, and we were really limited on "safe" places. We found it a fun somewhere-other-than-our-house place for meeting friends...until...the vending machines arrived - shortly after the snack bar failed.
I did (with the help of others from the allergy group, which met there) get them to yank most of the peanutty stuff (which was initially probably twelve out of fifteen products or some such ratio) for a time, which was something. But still...*why*???
Apparently, to "draw" the teen crowd, and/or to feed the hungry ones whose parents used it for free after-school care.
My favorite part of the exchange (fwiw, I had a pretty friendly relationship with the desk folks - I was in two or three times a week) was the bit about "Well, we can't keep people from eating in the library, so..."
Hmm. Anyone else remember knowing when and where to use your "library voice"???
Sue

Quote:Originally posted by joeybeth:
[b]i agree with elizabeth 100%. this is the perfect opportunity to speak with the staff at the library and remind them why it's important to enforce this rule.
i've been in your shoes before and said nothing because i was uncomfortable. this was years ago. now that i've been dealing with PA so many years (over 10), i usually just say what i have to say (politely of course) OR i give my girl instructions to get up and move or leave in a loud enough tone that the person(s) involved can hear what i'm saying and understand why we are having to move. more often than not, people apologize profusely and are extremely nice about it. i find it's good to educate people when i can and getting up without saying anything wouldn't serve that purpose.
most people aren't doing it because they are inconsiderate but because they simply don't know. you'll find the occasional jerk who doesn't care at all, even after finding out your child has a serious problem with the food they're dragging into an area clearly marked with "no food/no drinks" signs but i can't remember the last time i ran into someone like that.[/b]
I also agree with Elizabeth and will be writing a letter.
I'm really kicking myself for not saying something. I feel like I missed the most perfect and justified time to try to educate someone on PA and remind people and the library another reason why the rules need to be enforced.
Joeybeth- Yes, I usually respond just as you do. I have been dealing w/ this for over 8 years now. If my pa dd would have been with me, we would have moved immediately and I would have explained to the woman why we were moving and asked her to please put it away. PA dd was not w/ me and I took the nice and easy approach.
Ugh...

If it might have a negative effect on my DD either now or later , you bet.
I always look for those teachable moments too.
Recently, a fellow teacher with a peanut butter cracker in hand appoached me as I stood in the doorway to my room. She called out her request for help with the sound system as she got closer. I didn't miss a beat with my response that I would help as soon as she got rid of that cracker. When she got to my door she read the sign that said " this is a peanut & tree free classroom" and apologized. I think that she learned alot about leaving residue along the way and she vowed not to do it again.
It was the same shape as the 1 pb cracker that introduced us to the world of PA and gave us our 1st ER visit. What a flashback!
I teach music at my DD's school and I'm always ready & willing to educate the educators. It's a tough job sometimes.

I once said something to a dad that was a chaperone on my dd's summer camp trip to a county fair. They have roasted peanuts there, which is why I always went with her. We were getting ready to board the bus, and we were all waiting in a big group. He had a big bag, so I asked him not to eat them on the bus and politely explained why. I think he was put off, but he walked away from us and finished the bag before getting on the bus. Normally, I'd never confront people, but when it comes to my child, I have to speak up.
When my dd was very little, and we were new at this, I might not have said anything to library mom. But now, I definitely would have.

Quote:Originally posted by M'smom:
[b]Elizabeth -
You left ______ too soon.
Sue [/b]
Sue--are you in Texas? I live near Houston.
(Sorry for interrupting, everyone.)

Before I know as much as I do now, we took DD to a couple of minor-league baseball games last summer. She was at an age where she mostly just sat on our laps. We have no indication that she would have an airborne reaction, or even contact, considering we had lots of peanuts/pb in our home before we knew she was allergic, just never fed her any. Anyway. . .
The people a couple of seats over from us did open a bag of peanuts (we were in a back row, so had nothing coming at us from behind at least) and just asked them to be careful about the shells and not flick them in our direction. It kind of makes me sick to think about it now. We've already talked to my in-laws about not taking her again until she's older, when she can help avoid for herself or when we have a better idea of how sensitive she is.
krc - which library were you at? We do storytime here all the time and that is really frightening. I don't worry about people who've eaten may contains around us, but peanuts right on the table, yikes!
------------------
Mom to Harper
11/17/04 PA

McCobbre -
Years ago, we lived in Fort Worth - just long enough for M to be a Texan. Does that count??
It would be fun if we were all a bit closer - I'd love to have coffee/lunch with both of you! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
Sue

Quote:Originally posted by M'smom:
[b]
It would be fun if we were all a bit closer - I'd love to have coffee/lunch with both of you! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
[/b]
DITTO! But unfortunately we'll have to settle for a cyber lunch due to our 3-way-split time zones these days . . . [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/biggrin.gif[/img]
Sue, I cannot believe that there are vending machines in the library.
What ever happened to keeping the TREASURE of the library (THE BOOKS) clean and protected??
~Elizabeth

joeybeth, I also handle this issue in a similiar way. However, IMO only, I see my dd's pa like I would see any person with a wheelchair (child/adult). I believe that in an equal society there should be no one that cannot access a public place or event without fear for their life. My first attempt is to tactfully explain my dd's situation, when this fails I simply raise my voice loud enough to ensure all ears can hear me explain to my dd that some people are just too ignorant that they can't save their peanuts until later, so I guess their snack means more than her life. This has never failed ever.

I'm gonna veer off this topic, but I just needed to post this . . .
And I know these days of freedom are virtually gone for most kids, but . . .
Once upon a time (age 12) I would ride my bike 2 1/2 miles to a certain downtown magnificent-piece-of-architectural-design library . . . best friend & I would go about 10:00 AM. Read-read-read. At noon-thirty we would ride our bikes over to the Woolworth to enjoy our nutritious pre-teen-lunch of french fries and cherry-topped cheesecake. [Cost us $1.02, plus "tip". She bought the fries, I bought the cheesecake & we shared.] Then we would leave our bikes parked at Woolworths & we would walk down to Harrahs to ride the elevator. We rode up & down a couple of times standing on our feet. We always attempted a couple more rides while doing hand stands. Sometimes we would also walk a few blocks over to visit her dad who had offices in downtown "skyscraper". Then we would ride our bikes back over to library to read-read-read. We would check out, on average, maybe 10 books each. Stuff those into backpacks. About 4:00 we'd ride bikes home.
We never had ANY need to eat or drink in the library. If we were thirsty, there were drinking fountains.
The library was pristine. We would occasionally get shushed (once) in "library voice" by librarian or an adult patron if we got too giggly. We shushed.
We would not have even CONSIDERED bringing food into the library. The books were hallowed. The library was revered.
We saved our horseplay for the Harrah's elevator. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/biggrin.gif[/img] [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/redface.gif[/img]
~Elizabeth
Edited because I really CAN spell, I just CANNOT type accurately.
[This message has been edited by ajas_folks (edited February 27, 2007).]