Mom who baked cookies for school bus riders for 15 years shut down by complaint

[boedicca]

Riddle me this, nanny staters: I'm allergic to cats. Should the government kill all cats so that I don't risk exposure to one? I see many roaming around outside. I might get a whiff of one and have an asthma attack!

Oh.Teh.Horror!

School children on a school bus are a captive group.

You make less and less sense with each post.

I can be surprised by a cat just walking down the street. It's a risk. Why isn't the rest of society beholden to protect me from that risk?

 

[Chuckt]

Riddle me this, nanny staters: I'm allergic to cats. Should the government kill all cats so that I don't risk exposure to one? I see many roaming around outside. I might get a whiff of one and have an asthma attack!

Oh.Teh.Horror!

Unfortunately you don't have empathy for them because you aren't sick.

 

[Connery]

As far as the cafeteria, elementary kids are supervised by their teachers and teacher's aids who are very aware of any student's food allergies.

Yes there have been assertions that the food allergies are air borne as well yet the children eat at a table in close proximity to the general population.

Oh, I've never heard about food allergies being airborne.

Neither have I but it was claimed peanuts and peanut dust were the substances to be avoided.

 

[boedicca]

Riddle me this, nanny staters: I'm allergic to cats. Should the government kill all cats so that I don't risk exposure to one? I see many roaming around outside. I might get a whiff of one and have an asthma attack!

Oh.Teh.Horror!

Unfortunately you don't have empathy for them because you aren't sick.

Wrong. You have no empathy for them because you wish them to not develop into responsible adults who can take care of themselves.

 

[Chuckt]

You haven't proven that anyone was actually made sick by the cookies.

If a child had been harmed, you can bet that it would have been part of the story. Instead, the whole thing is about extreme risk aversion combined with unwillingness to take personal responsibility on the part of one anonymous parent.

So, the freedom of the rest must be destroyed for a miniscule level of risk that formerly was addressed through not accepting cookies from strangers.

I believe the school acted rationally in this case for the simple reason we have to read the ingredients before we can donate any food to our child's school and they will also read the ingredients.

 

[depotoo]

I bet the kids are more at risk just riding the school bus than they are in being near some cookies.

And your examples are of adults who were not offered cookies by a nice lady. But thank you for proving that nobody can prevent everyone from random risks in life.

How would you like taking your kids to the hospital and spending the day in the E.R. because someone exposed them to cookies repeatedly? Do you know what it is like having an allergy?

I know of people who get nose bleeds from being around animals. They're allergic.

I feel pretty certain, if someone's child had been taken to the hospital due to the cookie ladies cookies, it would have made news.

I have severe allergies, so do my kids. Guess what? I never once told anyone not to serve the things they were allergic to, as they were taught, from a very young age what would happen to them, if they were to indulge. Guess what? I never had an emergency where I had to take them to the hospital due to their not listening.

I do understand the fears of a parent with children of allergies, but if they truly were fearful of their eating those cookies, they could approach that cookie lady and tell her their child is not able to indulge, and please don't give them one, even suggest an alternative, if they feared their child couldn't handle not being able to eat one. I am sure that cookie lady, seeing as she was doing this as a kindness would have gone out of her way, to have something for that child, or quit bringing them all together. But, no, rather they would be selfish and have all punished for their childs not being able to indulge by anonymously complaining.

 

[Chuckt]

Riddle me this, nanny staters: I'm allergic to cats. Should the government kill all cats so that I don't risk exposure to one? I see many roaming around outside. I might get a whiff of one and have an asthma attack!

Oh.Teh.Horror!

Unfortunately you don't have empathy for them because you aren't sick.

Wrong. You have no empathy for them because you wish them to not develop into responsible adults who can take care of themselves.

Cross contamination can make children sick regardless of whether they are responsible for themselves.

 

[syrenn]

Yes. It is.

The school bus is an extension of the school.

That places the responsibility of what happens on the school bus on the school.

This isn't difficult, people.

i agree.... the school bus is part of the school.

my question is was cookie mom handing out cookies to kids IN the school bus or on the street? The street is not and extension of the school.

if the issue is "getting kids home safely" was wasn't whining mom there to meet her kid at the bus making sure said kid got home safely?

The Cookie lady gave the cookies to the kids getting off the school bus, the bus driver -- (now follow me here) ---

the remaining kids on the school bus.

I know it takes some thought to work through the logistics, but I imagine you'll figure it out soon.

now follow me here.... i agree with you.

On the bus... school has a say.
off the bus.... not the schools business.

 

[Chuckt]

I bet the kids are more at risk just riding the school bus than they are in being near some cookies.

And your examples are of adults who were not offered cookies by a nice lady. But thank you for proving that nobody can prevent everyone from random risks in life.

How would you like taking your kids to the hospital and spending the day in the E.R. because someone exposed them to cookies repeatedly? Do you know what it is like having an allergy?

I know of people who get nose bleeds from being around animals. They're allergic.

I feel pretty certain, if someone's child had been taken to the hospital due to the cookie ladies cookies, it would have made news.

I have severe allergies, so do my kids. Guess what? I never once told anyone not to serve the things they were allergic to, as they were taught, from a very young age what would happen to them, if they were to indulge. Guess what? I never had an emergency where I had to take them to the hospital due to their not listening.

I do understand the fears of a parent with children of allergies, but if they truly were fearful of their eating those cookies, they could approach that cookie lady and tell her their child is not able to indulge, and please don't give them one, even suggest an alternative, if they feared their child couldn't handle not being able to eat one. I am sure that cookie lady, seeing as she was doing this as a kindness would have gone out of her way, to have something for that child, or quit bringing them all together. But, no, rather they would be selfish and have all punished for their childs not being able to indulge by anonymously complaining.

200,000 to 300,000 kids go to the hospital every year because of food allergies every year and it doesn't make news. Reporters can't just go around blaming people because of libel and hospitals wouldn't be able to do their job if they had to report 300,000 cases to the news every year. That isn't what they get paid for.

 

[boedicca]

Unfortunately you don't have empathy for them because you aren't sick.

Wrong. You have no empathy for them because you wish them to not develop into responsible adults who can take care of themselves.

Cross contamination can make children sick regardless of whether they are responsible for themselves.

Then supermarkets should be forbidden to carry allergens, and bakeries to make them, and people from carrying them in public...

 

[boedicca]

I bet the kids are more at risk just riding the school bus than they are in being near some cookies.

And your examples are of adults who were not offered cookies by a nice lady. But thank you for proving that nobody can prevent everyone from random risks in life.

How would you like taking your kids to the hospital and spending the day in the E.R. because someone exposed them to cookies repeatedly? Do you know what it is like having an allergy?

I know of people who get nose bleeds from being around animals. They're allergic.

I feel pretty certain, if someone's child had been taken to the hospital due to the cookie ladies cookies, it would have made news.

I have severe allergies, so do my kids. Guess what? I never once told anyone not to serve the things they were allergic to, as they were taught, from a very young age what would happen to them, if they were to indulge. Guess what? I never had an emergency where I had to take them to the hospital due to their not listening.

I do understand the fears of a parent with children of allergies, but if they truly were fearful of their eating those cookies, they could approach that cookie lady and tell her their child is not able to indulge, and please don't give them one, even suggest an alternative, if they feared their child couldn't handle not being able to eat one. I am sure that cookie lady, seeing as she was doing this as a kindness would have gone out of her way, to have something for that child, or quit bringing them all together. But, no, rather they would be selfish and have all punished for their childs not being able to indulge by anonymously complaining.

Your approach is the Civil Society one...and much preferred to the One Size Fits All Nanny State Solution.

 

[Chuckt]

Wrong. You have no empathy for them because you wish them to not develop into responsible adults who can take care of themselves.

Cross contamination can make children sick regardless of whether they are responsible for themselves.

Then supermarkets should be forbidden to carry allergens, and bakeries to make them, and people from carrying them in public...

They are sealed and labeled and those shopping usually know the risks. People who are on a school bus don't have a choice but to be around them.

 

[Chuckt]

How would you like taking your kids to the hospital and spending the day in the E.R. because someone exposed them to cookies repeatedly? Do you know what it is like having an allergy?

I know of people who get nose bleeds from being around animals. They're allergic.

I feel pretty certain, if someone's child had been taken to the hospital due to the cookie ladies cookies, it would have made news.

I have severe allergies, so do my kids. Guess what? I never once told anyone not to serve the things they were allergic to, as they were taught, from a very young age what would happen to them, if they were to indulge. Guess what? I never had an emergency where I had to take them to the hospital due to their not listening.

I do understand the fears of a parent with children of allergies, but if they truly were fearful of their eating those cookies, they could approach that cookie lady and tell her their child is not able to indulge, and please don't give them one, even suggest an alternative, if they feared their child couldn't handle not being able to eat one. I am sure that cookie lady, seeing as she was doing this as a kindness would have gone out of her way, to have something for that child, or quit bringing them all together. But, no, rather they would be selfish and have all punished for their childs not being able to indulge by anonymously complaining.

Your approach is the Civil Society one...and much preferred to the One Size Fits All Nanny State Solution.

I welcome other size solutions to the problems like separate lunch tables at the school cafeteria for the cookie lady to come deliver her cookies to.

 

[boedicca]

Cross contamination can make children sick regardless of whether they are responsible for themselves.

Then supermarkets should be forbidden to carry allergens, and bakeries to make them, and people from carrying them in public...

They are sealed and labeled and those shopping usually know the risks. People who are on a school bus don't have a choice but to be around them.

No they are not. Some stores sell bulk items in bins, and have baked goods sitting open on counters.

And some, horror of horrors, put out FREE SAMPLES.

 

[dreolin]

I used to work with a lot of elementary age kids, and they were poor, and you dangle a cookie in front of them and there would be a feeding frenzy.

Also, there were a lot of special needs kids who were being mainstreamed at this school and some of them had food allergies or required special diets.

All I can say is "better safe than sorry" and that no child's life is worth a cookie.

I wouldn't want strangers giving food to my kid. I am sure the lady meant well, but there are people out there who aren't so kind.

 

[zeke]

under the PC gestapo rules you shut down EVERYBODY's fun, because your kid is too stupid to know he/she has allergies and can not take a cookie.

Typical leftardism - if I can not have one, nobody will.

your reasoning is the exact example why leftardism is a totalitarian mental disorder.

I didn't see any notation of ages on the school bus.

This could be a 1st or 2nd grader we are talking about that is being given food without the parents permission.

Young kids aren't always known for their superior logic abilities to say no when all around them are munching on a treat.

And even then,

An allergic reaction to peanuts killed a 12-year-old Mercer Island girl who ate a neighbor's homemade cookie over the weekend.


Kristine Kastner was given a chocolate-chip cookie after her mother checked, and didn't notice the finely chopped nuts, the King County Medical Examiner's Office reported.
She ate the cookie at 4:15 p.m. Saturday, had a severe reaction that included constriction of her breathing passages, and was pronounced dead less than two hours later at Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue.

Local News | Allergic Reaction To Cookie Kills Girl | Seattle Times Newspaper

If something happened to one of those kids, what kind of consequences do you think the school would be facing?

Take your best guess.

a 1st or a 2nd grader is pretty capable of understanding that he/she is not permitted to eat the cookie because he/she might die.
If you explain it to the kid and not guard the 5-6-7 yo from the very reality of his condition FOR LIFE.

And the whole bus of kids and the driver and the mom who baked the cookies should not be punished because one kid MIGHT have food allergy and his parents are too stupid to explain to him that he can not have a cookie if he has allergy.

that is the whole point here - the PC gestapo - because one possibility of inconvenience, ALL have to suffer.

Suffer?? Really? Reality and your thought process don't have much in common do they?

Suffering because you didn't get to eat a cookie? Are you kidding me?

No suffering is your kid is dead because they ate the wrong cookie unknowingly. On a fucking school bus no less. Since when do kids need to eat on a school bus? I rode a school bus for years. I didn't eat cookies. I sure as hell didn't suffer for NOT eating a damn cookie.

And I LOVE cookies.

 

[Chuckt]

Then supermarkets should be forbidden to carry allergens, and bakeries to make them, and people from carrying them in public...

They are sealed and labeled and those shopping usually know the risks. People who are on a school bus don't have a choice but to be around them.

No they are not. Some stores sell bulk items in bins, and have baked goods sitting open on counters.

And some, horror of horrors, put out FREE SAMPLES.

And their aisles are larger and if I knew I was allergic, I would stay away. You can't stay away on a bus because that is some families' only option. The issue here is whether you think kids with allergies should be forced to sit with kids who have cookies which they are allergic to or not. You believe they should be forced to. I believe they shouldn't be forced to be around material that makes them allergic.

Common sense says no one should be forced.

 

[Chuckt]

I didn't see any notation of ages on the school bus.

This could be a 1st or 2nd grader we are talking about that is being given food without the parents permission.

Young kids aren't always known for their superior logic abilities to say no when all around them are munching on a treat.

And even then,

Local News | Allergic Reaction To Cookie Kills Girl | Seattle Times Newspaper

If something happened to one of those kids, what kind of consequences do you think the school would be facing?

Take your best guess.

a 1st or a 2nd grader is pretty capable of understanding that he/she is not permitted to eat the cookie because he/she might die.
If you explain it to the kid and not guard the 5-6-7 yo from the very reality of his condition FOR LIFE.

And the whole bus of kids and the driver and the mom who baked the cookies should not be punished because one kid MIGHT have food allergy and his parents are too stupid to explain to him that he can not have a cookie if he has allergy.

that is the whole point here - the PC gestapo - because one possibility of inconvenience, ALL have to suffer.

Suffer?? Really? Reality and your thought process don't have much in common do they?

Suffering because you didn't get to eat a cookie? Are you kidding me?

No suffering is your kid is dead because they ate the wrong cookie unknowingly. On a fucking school bus no less. Since when do kids need to eat on a school bus? I rode a school bus for years. I didn't eat cookies. I sure as hell didn't suffer for NOT eating a damn cookie.

And I LOVE cookies.

We were never allowed to eat or drink on a school bus and the same goes with public transportation. Pokemon cards are also banned on the bus because it became a distraction for the bus driver. Kids also have food fights which is why food shouldn't be allowed to be on the bus. And the driver is the one who has to clean the bus and they don't want to.

 

[Chuckt]

Then supermarkets should be forbidden to carry allergens, and bakeries to make them, and people from carrying them in public...

They are sealed and labeled and those shopping usually know the risks. People who are on a school bus don't have a choice but to be around them.

No they are not. Some stores sell bulk items in bins, and have baked goods sitting open on counters.

And some, horror of horrors, put out FREE SAMPLES.

They have lids on any bins in my state. The stores that gave out free samples usually went out of business. They usually sliced up a hoagie and gave out samples but never things with peanuts in them. It is a lot different than sitting with a child spitting crumbs out at you because he is sitting and laughing while eating.

 

[paperview]

i agree.... the school bus is part of the school.

my question is was cookie mom handing out cookies to kids IN the school bus or on the street? The street is not and extension of the school.

if the issue is "getting kids home safely" was wasn't whining mom there to meet her kid at the bus making sure said kid got home safely?

The Cookie lady gave the cookies to the kids getting off the school bus, the bus driver -- (now follow me here) ---

the remaining kids on the school bus.

I know it takes some thought to work through the logistics, but I imagine you'll figure it out soon.

now follow me here.... i agree with you.

On the bus... school has a say.
off the bus.... not the schools business.

Then we have no argument.

The problem was one of school liability. Off the bus, no prob.

We have no idea if this was a first grader who had experienced some health issues, and the parents were doing what they thought was best to protect their child.

They notified the school - no one knows much beyond that.

It's possible the reason it was anonymous is the complainant felt terrible wanting to halt the good deed, and maybe even *liked* the 'cookie lady" -- but for the life and health of her child, and perhaps even the concern the child might be highlighted in an untoward way, should she/he/they go public, chose to simply bring the matter to the school.

A complaint was made, and even the cookie lady says she understands it was about safety. She's seems to be pretty OK with it all, and was due to retire from her cookie-giving soon anyway --- like most stories that could be about the good in it, and that sometimes the best intentions are fraught with unforeseen dilemmas,

... it turns into knee jerk squawk hops with partisan jabs - when no one knows diddly about the political affiliations, why, who, or much beyond a reason to scream, taunt, disparage and tsk tsk tsk.

Just utterly ridiculous, if you ask me.