Demanding Mom Orders Neighbors to Accommodate Her Kid’s Allergies by Handing Out Carrot Sticks at Halloween

allergy-mom-halloween-sign(Via Imgur)

Life would be so much easier for everybody if we could all just figure out how to be generous with other people and not be demanding, entitled assholes for ourselves. Learning how to say “please” and “thank you” would be a big step in the right direction, but even that step seems to have eluded one mother whose child has severe food allergies, which she is dealing with by leaving 97 theses a demanding note nailed to trees in her neighborhood telling all her neighbors to hand out carrot sticks for Halloween. 

The sign was posted on Reddit, and the Internet is furious with the alleged mother. I can see why. Normally I am 100-percent Team Allergy Kids. I think it is a wonderful and generous gesture for people to keep non-food treats on hand at Halloween for kids with allergies, as per the Teal Pumpkin Project. My heart bleeds for kids who feel weird and isolated and singled out at Halloween and birthday parties.

It’s also a neat idea when parents of kids with allergies buy a bunch of safe candy in advance and then allow their kids to trade their Halloween haul for the safe candy at home. (Also, that allows the parents to eat an otherwise unconscionable amount of candy themselves.) I think it takes a relatively small amount of effort on my part to help kids with allergies not feel left out, and I am happy to do it.

That said, the mother who posted this sign comes off like an entitled jerk. Not once does she say “please” or “thank you” in her missive. She just used her bright orange paper to command her neighbors to “practice responsible parenting” by handing out raisins and carrots at Halloween.

“My son has severe allergies and comes home every year devastated that he can’t eat any candy he’s collected at your homes while trick or treating. Don’t exclude my child, or any other child from the fun.

This Halloween, practice responsible parenting and do not distribute candy containing nuts of any kind, gluten, or dairy.

Be mindful of everyone’s child – here are some tasty and allergy-conscience [sic] suggestions:

  • Carrot sticks (fun to eat, healthy and easy on the teeth)
  • Smarties
  • Necco Wafers
  • Lifesavers
  • Brach’s Lemon Draps
  • Raisins (but stay away from Raisinettes!!!!)”

I can see being frustrated, but this mother must know that nobody wants carrot sticks for Halloween. Does she really think they are fun to eat? Because carrot sticks are not fun to eat. 

A more reasonable request would have been to ask parents to keep some extra carrot sticks or non-food treats around for when kids with allergies show up, not to demand that they do away with candy entirely. If she were really on the ball, she could stop by ahead of time and drop allergy-safe treats off at the houses in her neighborhood and politely ask if the people in the houses would be willing to give those to her son, so that he can trick or treat like the other kids and still get to eat what he collects. But posting a rude note demanding that one’s neighbors swap all the Snickers for carrot sticks for all children is out of line, and the fact that she couldn’t even be bothered to say “please” makes it seem unlikely that any of her neighbors will feel inclined to acquiesce.

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