Is it just me, or does this country have a serious epidemic of allergic reactions to food in this country. We have 20 new scouts joining our troop, and here are some of the dietary restrictions and allergies. I'm fortunate that my kids don't have any of this, but WTF? This doesn't even account for the 30-40% that are on some kind of ADHD drug. (kids names have been replaced by ****)


**** need gluten-free, no wheat
**** no peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, shellfish
**** no nuts
**** no nuts, eggs
**** no peanuts, tree nuts
**** no pecans, watermelon
**** no corn/sugar, includes no corn oil and corn syrup


Other information:

**** allergic to fire ant bites, will carry epi-pen
**** will carry epi-pen
**** will carry rescue inhaler and epi-pen
**** will carry epi-pen
**** has Ehlers-Danlose syndrome Classic type 1 skin bruises and tears more easily
**** has autism -high functioning (no meds) and has focus issues, plus gets upset with repeated
failed attempts at things, fine use of motor skills is more difficult for him
**** has asthma, will carry rescue inhaler
**** will carry rescue inhaler and epi-pen
**** has ADD with inattention and distraction, mom will provide more info
Needs adult to give him his medication
**** allergic to latex tape
**** has anxiety disorder (on meds), and has executive functioning deficits need extra instructions and has trouble completing tasks, also need supervision for food choices

quote:

---

**** no peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, shellfish

---

Looks like my kid is going!


I wish I knew wtf was going on. I have two sons, one with food allergies, one without. Raised the same way from womb on. Same environment and everything.

Is there a Benadryl merit badge nowadays?

I was a Scoutmaster for 12 of the 15 years my boys were in scouting. This is a common issue in the big cities. When I left Spring and came to Bandera those issues went down and the single parent poor family issues went up.

Sounds like you have a group of pansies!

Seriously, are you Ernest with his crew at camp?

"ADD mom will provide more info" <-- this is going to be your problem kid more than the others. ADD is not something that requires "extra info" but mommy sure thinks little jimmy will need extra attention

Shouldn't the family provide & send the appropriate foods with these kids that can die at the sight of a nut??

I am of the firm belief that most adhd cases are just a matter of the schools and parents not wanting boys to act like boys. Maybe it's just me.

quote:

---

Shouldn't the family provide & send the appropriate foods with these kids that can die at the sight of a nut??

---

No joke. It's not fair to the kids who are not allergic. When I went to Philmont, it seemed like we ate peanut butter and crackers every day for lunch. Wondering what the heck they eat now!

Odds the kid who "needs" the gluten-free foods really has a gluten allergy/celiac disease are minimal.

As a new Cubmaster, this is off interest to me. But I can tell you our pack/parents view it as if you need special food, you bring it.

I know that is Philmont's view.

quote:

---

**** need gluten-free, no wheat

---

This one always makes me wonder if it's a real allergy or just paleo crazy people.

How bad will it be 20 years from now? I swear when I was a kid (46 now) some of these "diseases" didn't exist. If I had been born 20 years later they would have had me so doped up on ADHD meds I couldn't function. I was the boy that was into everything and never stopped unless it was to eat.

American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology present a few hypothesis on the matter, and the hygiene hypothesis is gaining some traction as a viable explanation. But research is still on going.

The downside regardless of what has led to the rise in more allergies once a child's immune system can not distinguish between harmless and harmful irritants the bodies response can be life threatening.

quote:

---

quote:

---

**** need gluten-free, no wheat

---

This one always makes me wonder if it's a real allergy or just paleo crazy people.

---

Considering the prevalence of Celiac disease is estimated at less than 1% of the population...

and yet Gluten free seems to be everywhere.

I am allergic to peanuts, but always brought my own food so everyone else could eat peanut butter.

It is not that ****ing hard.

Disclaimer - I know there are people who have legitimate food allergies and medical conditions, and I'm not making light of those type situations.

With kids these days and their parents I attribute a lot of this to "precious snowflake syndrome". It's usually caused by overprotective parents who believe everything they see or hear on social media or the television news or in advertising. They are often just looking for a way for their child to be different/special.

The school district I work for deals with this constantly. We even had one campus that until this school year was a designated nut free campus. I was at a 1/2 day long district-wide meeting at that campus last year, and about 10:00 am I got hungry and needed a snack. I had to go stand outside on the other side of the parking lot to eat my granola bar, seriously this happened.

When I came back in I asked the campus' principal, "so you mean to tell me that just me opening up the package of a granola bar with peanuts in it and eating it would cause all these kids that have this allergy to instantly go into anaphylactic shock"? She told me "no", and she also thought it was a crazy rule/designation.

Luckily our school board wisened up and removed the nut free status from any of our campuses.

As far as the ADD/ADHD medication is concerned, there are children who need it due to their inability to focus/concentrate. You can see a tremendous difference in these type kids when they are medicated vs. unmedicated. However, there are a lot of moms who will get it prescribed either for their kids or for themselves because it's basically legalized speed. The mothers will use it for the energy boost it provides and also as a diet aid so they can get or stay skinny.

These are just my experiences and opinions. Again, I know there are those that really need these things.

Maybe this is because more parents these days let their kids decide for themselves what to eat all the time instead of making them eat more balanced meals. That seems to happen more in the country, and spending more time outside getting dirty. That could have something to do with it.

It's mostly because parents are raising a bunch of needy, coddled children. Though my wife is allergic to just about anything that stings or bites, and developed asthma in her late 20's. She's my needy child.

My buddy wouldn't take his daughter out of his house until she had her 2 month shots, this was his second, the first he was even worse with, I just didn't hear about it.

Our Pediatrician encourages us to get our children out, expose them to the dog etc... though she hates cats.
We had our first out @6 days, and the second did her first hike on mom's chest @8. I was really proud when my almost 3 year old brought home a dozen sticks from the park the other day.

It's just amazing how little hard word, dirt and germs people are exposed to these days. Our dept is in charge of our water and sanitation systems for a rather large ski resort. When a sewer line backs up, you'd be amazed at other operations departments terrified reactions. My boss opens all interviews with "at some point in your time here you will get human feces on you or your clothing, do you have an issue with that?"

In all due respect boy scouts isn't what it was 50 years ago. Today it is filled with 92% of the kids that have no friends, un athletic, home schooled, and liberal helicopter parents....that is why your list looks the way it does.


long gone are the days of fathers signing their boys up to join scouts to learn outdoors/wilderness/survival information to be used for when they mature. Today is it used for nothing but a way for precious snowflake to make friends. Hopefully

Would you say food allergies are prevalent now or we're just better at diagnosing them? Same goes with autism. you hear about kids having some form of autism all the time now. Is something causing that or are doctors able to identify it better?

quote:

---

Maybe this is because more parents these days let their kids decide for themselves what to eat all the time instead of making them eat more balanced meals. That seems to happen more in the country, and spending more time outside getting dirty. That could have something to do with it.

---

This is exactly how my my sister in law raises our nieces. One of them rarely touches a vegetable and everything she eats is some kind of processed crap/junk food. The other eats whatever but that's turning in to an issue with her weight as she's already big for her age. The girls are 10 and 12.

quote:

---

In all due respect boy scouts isn't what it was 50 years ago. Today it is filled with 92% of the kids that have no friends, un athletic, home schooled, and liberal helicopter parents....that is why your list looks the way it does.


long gone are the days of fathers signing their boys up to join scouts to learn outdoors/wilderness/survival information to be used for when they mature. Today is it used for nothing but a way for precious snowflake to make friends. Hopefully

---

You haven't spent a lot of time around Boy Scouts, at least not the troops I have been around. My son just finished Webelos and joined Boy Scouts so we visited a bunch of troops and I didn't see this at all. In fact I saw exactly what I remember seeing when I was a scout 30 some years ago. All the troops we were around had a separate adult camping area, many with a sign reading something along the lines of "go ask your senior patrol leader." They also had a specific set of rules that if the scout needed to talk to an adult it be an asst. scoutmaster other than their parent.

The biggest drain on scout attendance hasn't changed, it's the smell of perfume and gasoline. Something that hasn't changed.

quote:

---

Is it just me, or does this country have a serious epidemic of allergic reactions to food in this country. We have 20 new scouts joining our troop, and here are some of the dietary restrictions and allergies. I'm fortunate that my kids don't have any of this, but WTF? This doesn't even account for the 30-40% that are on some kind of ADHD drug. (kids names have been replaced by ****)

---

I think it's simply that those kids used to stay home and not be involved in scouting because there was no option for dealing with food allergies or medication.

The problem is definitely with the parents, not the kids. All kids in every generation start out basically the same, and the parents project issues onto them.

What most of these parents dont realize is that just because little Jimmy had a rash after having some egg once when he was 1, doesn't mean he is allergic to it forever. they usually grow out of it, but the parent never lets them try it again out of their own fear.

My daughter is almost 2, and loves to play with (and taste) dirt. She plays with sticks and rocks, and goes barefoot outside. I watch other parents at the park FREAK out when their child does this. No wonder kids today have so many perceived problems, their parents are making them a nervous wreck.

I've already got my Tigers camping below freezing, and working on simple alternative fire starting (striker). All my boys can probably id more plant and snake species than most of the OP posters (not kidding).

quote:

---

quote:

---

Maybe this is because more parents these days let their kids decide for themselves what to eat all the time instead of making them eat more balanced meals. That seems to happen more in the country, and spending more time outside getting dirty. That could have something to do with it.

---

This is exactly how my my sister in law raises our nieces. One of them rarely touches a vegetable and everything she eats is some kind of processed crap/junk food. The other eats whatever but that's turning in to an issue with her weight as she's already big for her age. The girls are 10 and 12.

---

Ive noticed this as well. Lots of parents let their kids tell them what they are going to eat, and not the other way around.

I think kids are more secure with themselves when they have parents that are at least a little on the 'strict' side. they feel like someone is in charge, and they know what to expect day to day.

My brother in law and sister in law have a kid they say won't eat things. My wife and I kept him and he ate just fine. We told him that what we were eating was what was for dinner and he could eat it or go hungry. He ate it. They were flabbergasted at the idea that he would eat for us and not them. His sister will eat anything.

My youngest is allergic to cashews. Found this out the hard way when she went into anaphylactic shock after eating cashews when she was 4. A seemingly healthy-as-a-horse kid suddenly couldn't breathe and eventually passed out before being revived. Scariest moment we've ever had with either of our kids.

Our kids' diets have always been good, they're very active and fit, etc., and her older sister doesn't have the same issue. But my wife's brother is the type that has a pretty strong allergies (various pollen, cat, etc) so I can only assume something genetically was passed along to her.

In any case, it is indeed a pain in the ass, although I've been relieved it's cashews vs. peanuts which would be a much bigger asswhip to avoid. We're very low key about it, but it is something we just stay aware of along with keeping up with an epi pen prescription and filling out any forms that ask about it. She's 9 now, and we've had her tested every couple of years since to see if she's grown out of it - including as recently as a few months ago. No such luck yet.

Our troop has its share of ADD kids and one with Asbergers Syndrome. One thing I have noticed is that these kids end up having some form of episode at every campout that inevitably ends up with one or more of them having a screaming meltdown or trying to start a fight and it takes entirely too long to get things calmed down and takes the scoutmaster's attention away from other matters.

Without fail, the kids who have the meltdowns are the ones whose parents never come on any campouts, just dump and run at each meeting, and never participate in anything troop related.

quote:

---

Would you say food allergies are prevalent now or we're just better at diagnosing them? Same goes with autism. you hear about kids having some form of autism all the time now. Is something causing that or are doctors able to identify it better?

---

what we call autism has been around forever, and we just called them weird people. i dont mean that to make fun, its just a recent thing to give it a name.

i think we have more cases these days because women are having children later in life, which is proven to carry more risk of the kid having issues.

quote:

---

My brother in law and sister in law have a kid they say won't eat things. My wife and I kept him and he ate just fine. We told him that what we were eating was what was for dinner and he could eat it or go hungry. He ate it. They were flabbergasted at the idea that he would eat for us and not them. His sister will eat anything.

---

This is a huge bone of contention between myself and Mrs. Finn with our older boy (he's 5). He's extremely picky and I come from the school of "you eat what you're given or you go hungry" and she's the opposite. Thankfully she's good about not letting him eat junk food either. He'll eat the pre-packaged fruit cups of apples, oranges, peaches, pears, and pineapples. Love applesauce too. But he won't eat a whole apple, even one that's been cut into segments. He will eat green beans, corn, and peas too but only if they're the canned kind. As far as proteins go he'll only eat turkey lunch meat, hot dogs, and bacon. I've about lost my mind over this but at least he doesn't have a real sweet tooth, I mean the kid won't even try ice cream.

Our younger son is 18 months and will eat pretty much anything we put in front of him.

Thankfully they're both healthy with no allergies or ADHD-type issues.

As far as playing in the dirt goes, the younger one has followed right along with the older one into the dirt. But the older one, until he was almost 3 absolutely flipped out over something like getting a tiny bit of sand in his shoes. But overnight a while back it was like a switch was flipped and now he's all about playing in the dirt and chasing down bugs, lizards, and snakes.

I didn't get a picture but I dug up these grubs in my garden over the weekend and the 5-year old was enthralled by them. Picking them up, playing with them, and when I stuck them into pot of soil he thought them digging their way back down under the surface was just the coolest thing. Also trying to find the pics we got of him with an anole I caught and he was playing with.

.

Fortunately Mrs. Finn, despite growing up in a household of women where such pursuits did not occur has taken quite well to being a mother of boys.

Agree. Many previously diagnosed by the community as weirdo's (which went no further) are actually now medically diagnosed as autistic.

As far as food allergies go, I think it's very much a mix of real vs. overreaction. I think the gluten issue is largely overreaction. In most cases, I think the kids feel better because they are actually eating a better, more natural diet vs. a bunch of processed crap. Little or nothing to do with gluten; everything to do with eating too much garbage. And I'm sure some of the food allergies are overreactions, but to be fair, it's hard to tell where on the scale a kid's reaction is going to fall. I know our kid's reaction was a huge, scary surprise.

I don't know if it's correct or not, but the increasing food allergies make me suspect that the ever improving hygiene and conditions we all live in are playing a role. As generations pass, our immune systems are not fighting the same real challenges as in the old days, and as a result, I think sometimes the immune system is deciding to fight stuff that isn't a threat. And then that gets passed along.

We were talking about this the other day at work: As children of the 70's, do you ever remember anyone with a peanut allergy? No one could. Somehow all of us lived.

Peanut butter sandwiches for all! well, at least my kid anyway. no amount of peanut allergies will stop that either.