As someone with a nut allergy, I know it's an inconvenience to people around me, and I hate it. And for me, having reactions is both scary and embarrassing. Thank you for writing this post.
Double sided sword here, people with severe allergies need to learn how to live within their environment as well, it's not the responsibility of all to cater to the possible needs of one. If a special request is made sure, but not a blanket don't feed animals peanuts statement.
I hate this response. I’m the mom to a now grown woman who has food allergies. When she was young, we taught her how to navigate her world safely (reading labels, bringing her own food on flights, wiping down seats, etc.). We were and she is hyper vigilant all the time. The one thing we always did was maintain a home free of her allergens so that there was one space where she could relax and not be on high alert all the time (and us as well). Feeding squirrels in your yard doesn’t stay in your yard; it’s not like feeding your family pet. Your decision to feed a wild animal robs allergy families of their one sanctuary because now they have to be on high alert in their own backyard.
Develop some empathy and don’t use your crummy “they need to navigate in the greater world” argument to mask your selfishness.
That peanut request would also apply to anyone eating peanuts or other trer nuts in their own yard, and animals not only drop nuts of their mouth, they also come out in poop, meaning those nuts could have been eaten yesterday or many miles away by a bird. If the person with the allergy wants to survive, they will need to learn to navigate everywhere safely.
I knew I would not sway you with my post; I hoped that perhaps someone might able to put themselves in the shoes of an allergy family losing their one place of respite. You have proven that you are unable and unwilling to do so with the stupid squirrels might poop peanuts in your yard argument. (BTW, after digestion I doubt there would be much allergenic protein left to cause a reaction. Our allergist never specifically warned us about animal poop because it’s just a general parenting thing to not let your kids eat it.)
Should I not mow my lawn because it may trigger someone's asthma, I'm not catering my life to others potential problems, go find another hill to climb.
You sound like one who was offended at having to wear a mask in order to keep others safe during the worst time of the pandemic. While I have no allergies and am fortunate that my child didn't either, I also realize squirrels know how to survive without people feeding them something that could endanger another persons life.
Nice assumption, but completely wrong, have a nice day! You do realize people enjoy eating peanuts outside don't you? And people travel beyond the towns they live in? People with life threatening illnesses ranging from diabetes to allergies adapt to the environment, not the other way around.
We have done the same in our house. Our next door neighbor has nuts out for squirrels. When my kid was little I had to go out daily to pick them up in the summer.
That was my first thought. My local birds all eat various forms of nuts, corn and seeds. If I were to avoid common allergens like peanuts, I just wouldn’t be feeding birds.
I understand how scary allergic reactions are… but this is such a big ask.
Or, you can rethink what birds and other wildlife actually need. Wildlife doesn't need us to feed them at all, except by providing habitat in the form of native gardens of any size. If you want to enjoy birds in your backyard, plant shrubs and perennials that support caterpillars= baby bird food. If you have room, add native plants with berries or seedheads. You'll be rewarded with happy visiting birds.
My entire back yard and most of my front is a native garden. There are endangered species I feed, with the help of a local bird expert. That’s what I’m at a loss as to what to do.
The birds never came for my native garden (I use a local schools list of hyper native plants), they started to come when I put out particular feeds suets and fruits. That’s why I’m at a loss.
also adding, i live in a very busy area on a main road. So most skiddish birds don’t stop by (and it’s like a quarter acre so it’s not the best protection).
I get allergies such I really do. I just also don’t want the local warblers and pretty species to die off. :(
It's a good question. I would hope it's just a matter of time for the specific birds to locate the habitat you provide. Thank you for doing that work. I wonder if Doug Tallamy has advice for your situation - the professor who wrote Nature's Best Hope, and Bringing Nature Home; and the Homegrown National Park movement. Best wishes.
Most adults try to but that’s not easy for children. If you ever had a child or loved one with a severe anaphylactic reaction, grasping for air, you’d be more empathetic. Or if it was you, you’d appreciate others being careful. Heck, you should be empathetic anyway.
I am being realistic and not reacting to emotions, yes that is a horrible experience and yes parents should be careful, but the general public doesn't need to conform to the allergies of others, the people with the allergies need to learn how to manage them if they want to survive without helicopter parents.
Your comment about not being able to mow your lawn, hypothetical as it might be, takes the extreme to ridiculous. I’m glad you are not my neighbor, friend or relative.
I don't think this is a reasonable request honestly. Don't feed peanuts to animals in a public park? Sure. Don't feed peanuts to animals in your own yard? No.
I was thinking about that too! Like, how would we even know if it's a problem? And is the answer not feeding animals at all? There's many intense allergies so are we supposed to be responsible for the animals taking something from my yard to someone else's?
Here's some of my thoughts (and stick with me here because I promise it'll makes sense):
Do we really OWN our yard? What does it mean to own something? Does it mean we get to call all the shots? That we are responsible for that "thing"? As a homeowner, I'm still responsible for how I interact with and impact my community. If I'm playing loud music and disturbing my neighbor, they'll probably ask me to turn it down. If my chestnut tree, that grows in my yard, rains down chestnuts (which are encased in sharp spike balls) and they land all over my neighbors porch, then they'll probably ask if we can cut back the limb causing the problem.
I don't think ownership is about doing whatever we want, I think it's about our responsibility to the relationships our "stuff" intersects with.
I'd recommend looking into Andrea Smith's three pillars. The first one in particular talks about ownership in a way I hadn't thought about before. That combined with the Means of Production and how people furthest away from production get paid the most, are closest to the concept of ownership, and yet have the least knowledge about what's actually going on at the production level; VS the people closest to production are getting paid the least, get the least amount of say in how they're allowed to use their bodies because their labor is owned by the people furthest away, and they constaly get the message that they're replaceable (have little worth). I know that seems like a tangent but the values we hold are created by the environments we're in, so I think our understanding of ownership is mostly a responce to what we've picked up from society and the things we've interacted with (purposefully or not)
I'm actually GROWING peanuts in my garden this year. For me. Some might get dug up by animals before I harvest them. Would an allergist shame me for GARDENING just because someone else's child has food allergies? That kid's parents should have done a full examination of the yard after the FIRST incident.
This happened to us too! My son was maybe 5 or so. 4th of July. Only ate safe foods and right as fireworks were starting so did his reaction. It was horrible, because I didn’t know if it was the start of a new allergy. I harassed the companies of the safe food we ate, it was not their fault. My kiddo was so sensitive he couldn’t touch nuts without having a major skin reaction. Every year I find peanut shells in my yard. The birds around here grab them as well. Nut allergies frickin’ suck.
Safe foods means only eat food that has properly be labeled, that we’ve called the company and asked about their allergy practices, etcetera. Building immunity to bacteria and germs has nothing to do with food allergies 😂
Why did the child eat 1 of the peanuts that was outside on the ground? I mean, I still feel bad for the kid and parents but how or why did they eat it?
The kid was young. They put their hands in their mouths all the time. If you made your home safe, why would you worry about your backyard? It’s not your fault someone decided to feed animals that littered your yard. It happens to my yard all the time.
Dr. Rubin thank you for this reply. People who are not raising children with allergies don’t understand that those of us who do make our homes the one place where our child (and us) don’t have to constantly be on watch.
Mine ate the outside of an acorn shell. That was the 1 and only thing she put in her mouth since I put my hand in her mouth and throat to try and get it out! I get it but if your kid is allergic, I would be crazy watching everything. What if anything touched a peanut?
Why are these allergies becoming so much more common? I don’t remember anyone from my childhood days. Or is it like the spectrum disorder - they were diagnosed as something else but now we have better ways of identification?
A part of it is that we're seeing more people survive with severe food allergies. Go far enough back and these are kids that just ... died.
But we also have a an issue where for years parents were told to avoid major allergens before one. Turns out, early exposure to allergens reduces your chances of having a serious food allergy. So we have accidentally made the problem worse too.
Other things for folks with allergies to be aware of are dog and cat chew toys that are “flavored” and in the last few years there are more dog toys that are latex with little to no labeling indicating potential allergens. I can’t be sure of the flavored toys but I’m hesitant and haven’t had success with reaching out to the companies. The latex toys on the other hand irritate my hands when stocking…
On the other hand, if you are leaving out proper bird seed or suet blocks for birds and squirrels, they typically don't have peanuts in them and excepting gluten, the allergens within are much less.
As an allergy mom, educate your child on what a peanut and its shell looks like. You are doing your child a huge disservice by not giving them the tools to protect themselves.
As I support native bird populations, what allergy free/nut free suet and feed do you supply? I’m exhausted trying to keep up with doing everything right.
Thank you for calling attention to this. My husband’s grandson has numerous food allergies, including peanuts. Hopefully this will prompt people to be mindful when handling potential allergens.
Someone in my neighborhood feeds peanuts to the crows and the shells are always scattered in our yards. It’s distressing everyone time I see one! My child is anaphylactic to peanuts and a handful of other foods. Thank you for writing this!!
As someone with a nut allergy, I know it's an inconvenience to people around me, and I hate it. And for me, having reactions is both scary and embarrassing. Thank you for writing this post.
Double sided sword here, people with severe allergies need to learn how to live within their environment as well, it's not the responsibility of all to cater to the possible needs of one. If a special request is made sure, but not a blanket don't feed animals peanuts statement.
I hate this response. I’m the mom to a now grown woman who has food allergies. When she was young, we taught her how to navigate her world safely (reading labels, bringing her own food on flights, wiping down seats, etc.). We were and she is hyper vigilant all the time. The one thing we always did was maintain a home free of her allergens so that there was one space where she could relax and not be on high alert all the time (and us as well). Feeding squirrels in your yard doesn’t stay in your yard; it’s not like feeding your family pet. Your decision to feed a wild animal robs allergy families of their one sanctuary because now they have to be on high alert in their own backyard.
Develop some empathy and don’t use your crummy “they need to navigate in the greater world” argument to mask your selfishness.
That peanut request would also apply to anyone eating peanuts or other trer nuts in their own yard, and animals not only drop nuts of their mouth, they also come out in poop, meaning those nuts could have been eaten yesterday or many miles away by a bird. If the person with the allergy wants to survive, they will need to learn to navigate everywhere safely.
I knew I would not sway you with my post; I hoped that perhaps someone might able to put themselves in the shoes of an allergy family losing their one place of respite. You have proven that you are unable and unwilling to do so with the stupid squirrels might poop peanuts in your yard argument. (BTW, after digestion I doubt there would be much allergenic protein left to cause a reaction. Our allergist never specifically warned us about animal poop because it’s just a general parenting thing to not let your kids eat it.)
Should I not mow my lawn because it may trigger someone's asthma, I'm not catering my life to others potential problems, go find another hill to climb.
You sound like one who was offended at having to wear a mask in order to keep others safe during the worst time of the pandemic. While I have no allergies and am fortunate that my child didn't either, I also realize squirrels know how to survive without people feeding them something that could endanger another persons life.
Nice assumption, but completely wrong, have a nice day! You do realize people enjoy eating peanuts outside don't you? And people travel beyond the towns they live in? People with life threatening illnesses ranging from diabetes to allergies adapt to the environment, not the other way around.
We have done the same in our house. Our next door neighbor has nuts out for squirrels. When my kid was little I had to go out daily to pick them up in the summer.
Not to mention they sell bird suet that contains peanuts/peanut butter and other nuts as well..
That was my first thought. My local birds all eat various forms of nuts, corn and seeds. If I were to avoid common allergens like peanuts, I just wouldn’t be feeding birds.
I understand how scary allergic reactions are… but this is such a big ask.
Or, you can rethink what birds and other wildlife actually need. Wildlife doesn't need us to feed them at all, except by providing habitat in the form of native gardens of any size. If you want to enjoy birds in your backyard, plant shrubs and perennials that support caterpillars= baby bird food. If you have room, add native plants with berries or seedheads. You'll be rewarded with happy visiting birds.
My entire back yard and most of my front is a native garden. There are endangered species I feed, with the help of a local bird expert. That’s what I’m at a loss as to what to do.
The birds never came for my native garden (I use a local schools list of hyper native plants), they started to come when I put out particular feeds suets and fruits. That’s why I’m at a loss.
also adding, i live in a very busy area on a main road. So most skiddish birds don’t stop by (and it’s like a quarter acre so it’s not the best protection).
I get allergies such I really do. I just also don’t want the local warblers and pretty species to die off. :(
It's a good question. I would hope it's just a matter of time for the specific birds to locate the habitat you provide. Thank you for doing that work. I wonder if Doug Tallamy has advice for your situation - the professor who wrote Nature's Best Hope, and Bringing Nature Home; and the Homegrown National Park movement. Best wishes.
I’ll check those resources out thank you.
Most adults try to but that’s not easy for children. If you ever had a child or loved one with a severe anaphylactic reaction, grasping for air, you’d be more empathetic. Or if it was you, you’d appreciate others being careful. Heck, you should be empathetic anyway.
I am being realistic and not reacting to emotions, yes that is a horrible experience and yes parents should be careful, but the general public doesn't need to conform to the allergies of others, the people with the allergies need to learn how to manage them if they want to survive without helicopter parents.
Your comment about not being able to mow your lawn, hypothetical as it might be, takes the extreme to ridiculous. I’m glad you are not my neighbor, friend or relative.
Same!
Oh wow. I do lay out peanuts for the squirrels and blue jays. Heck. Thanks for sharing.
Excellent information, thank you for putting this information out there!
I don't think this is a reasonable request honestly. Don't feed peanuts to animals in a public park? Sure. Don't feed peanuts to animals in your own yard? No.
I was thinking about that too! Like, how would we even know if it's a problem? And is the answer not feeding animals at all? There's many intense allergies so are we supposed to be responsible for the animals taking something from my yard to someone else's?
Here's some of my thoughts (and stick with me here because I promise it'll makes sense):
Do we really OWN our yard? What does it mean to own something? Does it mean we get to call all the shots? That we are responsible for that "thing"? As a homeowner, I'm still responsible for how I interact with and impact my community. If I'm playing loud music and disturbing my neighbor, they'll probably ask me to turn it down. If my chestnut tree, that grows in my yard, rains down chestnuts (which are encased in sharp spike balls) and they land all over my neighbors porch, then they'll probably ask if we can cut back the limb causing the problem.
I don't think ownership is about doing whatever we want, I think it's about our responsibility to the relationships our "stuff" intersects with.
I'd recommend looking into Andrea Smith's three pillars. The first one in particular talks about ownership in a way I hadn't thought about before. That combined with the Means of Production and how people furthest away from production get paid the most, are closest to the concept of ownership, and yet have the least knowledge about what's actually going on at the production level; VS the people closest to production are getting paid the least, get the least amount of say in how they're allowed to use their bodies because their labor is owned by the people furthest away, and they constaly get the message that they're replaceable (have little worth). I know that seems like a tangent but the values we hold are created by the environments we're in, so I think our understanding of ownership is mostly a responce to what we've picked up from society and the things we've interacted with (purposefully or not)
I'm actually GROWING peanuts in my garden this year. For me. Some might get dug up by animals before I harvest them. Would an allergist shame me for GARDENING just because someone else's child has food allergies? That kid's parents should have done a full examination of the yard after the FIRST incident.
This happened to us too! My son was maybe 5 or so. 4th of July. Only ate safe foods and right as fireworks were starting so did his reaction. It was horrible, because I didn’t know if it was the start of a new allergy. I harassed the companies of the safe food we ate, it was not their fault. My kiddo was so sensitive he couldn’t touch nuts without having a major skin reaction. Every year I find peanut shells in my yard. The birds around here grab them as well. Nut allergies frickin’ suck.
Is the ‘safe’ food possibly not allowing enough interaction with the range of foods required to build immunity to various bacteria, germs etc.
Safe foods means only eat food that has properly be labeled, that we’ve called the company and asked about their allergy practices, etcetera. Building immunity to bacteria and germs has nothing to do with food allergies 😂
Why did the child eat 1 of the peanuts that was outside on the ground? I mean, I still feel bad for the kid and parents but how or why did they eat it?
The kid was young. They put their hands in their mouths all the time. If you made your home safe, why would you worry about your backyard? It’s not your fault someone decided to feed animals that littered your yard. It happens to my yard all the time.
Dr. Rubin thank you for this reply. People who are not raising children with allergies don’t understand that those of us who do make our homes the one place where our child (and us) don’t have to constantly be on watch.
Kids eat everything 🤣 One of mine ate a rock when he was 3. Another one tried to eat a dead bumble bee.
Mine ate the outside of an acorn shell. That was the 1 and only thing she put in her mouth since I put my hand in her mouth and throat to try and get it out! I get it but if your kid is allergic, I would be crazy watching everything. What if anything touched a peanut?
Luckily, for the rest of us he didn’t have a rock allergy!
Why are these allergies becoming so much more common? I don’t remember anyone from my childhood days. Or is it like the spectrum disorder - they were diagnosed as something else but now we have better ways of identification?
Well, that is key information about science, right? As diseases are studied and more information is learned we are better able to deal with issues.
A part of it is that we're seeing more people survive with severe food allergies. Go far enough back and these are kids that just ... died.
But we also have a an issue where for years parents were told to avoid major allergens before one. Turns out, early exposure to allergens reduces your chances of having a serious food allergy. So we have accidentally made the problem worse too.
Other things for folks with allergies to be aware of are dog and cat chew toys that are “flavored” and in the last few years there are more dog toys that are latex with little to no labeling indicating potential allergens. I can’t be sure of the flavored toys but I’m hesitant and haven’t had success with reaching out to the companies. The latex toys on the other hand irritate my hands when stocking…
On the other hand, if you are leaving out proper bird seed or suet blocks for birds and squirrels, they typically don't have peanuts in them and excepting gluten, the allergens within are much less.
Sorry, but I’m feeding my squirrels! 🐿️
Good. Please keep your damn squirrels out of my bird feeders!! lol. They are really messy and like to bully my Nuthatches.
As an allergy mom, educate your child on what a peanut and its shell looks like. You are doing your child a huge disservice by not giving them the tools to protect themselves.
As I support native bird populations, what allergy free/nut free suet and feed do you supply? I’m exhausted trying to keep up with doing everything right.
Thank you for calling attention to this. My husband’s grandson has numerous food allergies, including peanuts. Hopefully this will prompt people to be mindful when handling potential allergens.
Someone in my neighborhood feeds peanuts to the crows and the shells are always scattered in our yards. It’s distressing everyone time I see one! My child is anaphylactic to peanuts and a handful of other foods. Thank you for writing this!!
As a parent of a child with a severe peanut/tree nut allergy, I endorse this message.