Dangerous kid's cartoon: That's So Raven

From bridges4kids Open Letter to Disney:

There's a scary episode of That's So Raven, which totally delivers misinformation about allergies and could be extremely dangerous for any kids watching it. Here's a snippet. Follow the link for the full letter to Disney.

The show was a spoof of Iron Chef with two teams cooking. “Raven” was on one team with her father. The required ingredients included mushrooms and you learned in the show that Raven was allergic to mushrooms. Her father saw the mushroom ingredients and cautioned her not to touch them and set them aside. The opposing team as a “funny joke” for the sitcom, INTENTIONALLY THREW MUSHROOMS INTO HER FOOD. She ate some and the allergic reaction was grotesquely spoofed, showing her face and hands swelling but she is able to breathe and talk and make a joke hoping that her behind was not getting bigger too, ha ha. (In an accurate depiction of a systemic reaction, she would be vomiting, struggling to breathe as her lungs and throat closed, and losing consciousness as she slipped into anaphylactic shock, possibly followed by death, even if emergency treatment were administered). She downplays her reaction and says its “no big deal” and “will go away in five minutes” (totally inaccurate). Her father tries to take her to the doctor but she refuses to go and is made out to be a HERO for toughing it out without treatment.

There have been great kids shows about allergies, but this isn't one of them. Slap on the wrist for Disney.