? about peanut/tree nut allergy.

[Planogirl]

What gets me is when I read that teachers ask that parents make sure that kids wash up before coming to school and so on. How many parents just ignore that request? How many kids eat PB or something else with nuts in it before school and don't wash their hands or get the stuff on their clothes? I don't see how a school can ever be completely safe and that's scary.

 

[luvmy3]

What gets me is when I read that teachers ask that parents make sure that kids wash up before coming to school and so on. How many parents just ignore that request? How many kids eat PB or something else with nuts in it before school and don't wash their hands or get the stuff on their clothes? I don't see how a school can ever be completely safe and that's scary.

I posted that and I did ignore it but not because I had an issue with the request itself, more because it just wasn't something I thought about. I didn't have to worry about that kind of stuff at my house so I wasn't going to bother with extra precautions for someone who wasn't living with me. Then my ds was diagnosed with a treenut allergy, and after researching that, I really was made more aware of what parents with kids with severe LTFA have to deal with, and now if I know there is a kid in the same class as one of mine and the teacher sends a note like that home again, I'll be more conscious of things like that.

 

[krcit]

I'm not sure what you don't understand? Here's a scenerio, and please remember that I never said that this always happens, will always happen or that there is a high chance of it happening, just that it is possible.
A company called P's Nuts makes granola bars some containing peanuts, some not. They use the all the same machinery to make the granola bars and they are supposed to clean it after each use, only one day John has a hangover and doesn't feel much like cleaning it, no big deal, most of those chopped peanuts went into the peanut granola bars. So when its time to make the batch of oatmeal granola bars, some of those chopped peanuts, or some of the peanut oil gets into the batch. Again not really a big deal for most people, but little Billy decides to bring one in for snack and gets his crumbs everywhere, and he doesn't wash his hands after he eats and he uses the communial markers. Timmy who is allergic puts his arm on the crumb and who knows that crumb could be an oat or it could be a tiny piece of peanut, he just brushes it off and does his project using the marker that Johnny used, and then he rubs his mouth. I could go on and on but you get the idea. There are people who will have a reaction just from coming in contact with a peanut or peanut oil. Its is less common for contact with a peanut causes a severe reaction, but it has happened. Is this a remote possibility in the classroom, yes but its still a possibility so again I can understand why schools may choose to keep any and all possibilities of peanuts out of the classroom in order to avoid any chance no matter how small. I don't believe its necessary either, and I never claimed it was I am just saying that there are reasons why parents would want that stuff banned, and I can understand why they would want to, sorry you can't.
The OP was given a list with a certain "may contain nuts" item listed on it, I imagine that there is a reason that it is being included with items that do have peanuts, maybe the child with the allergy does get a severe reaction when he comes in contact with that brand, or he has had that particuar granola bar before and did have a reaction and thats why its on the list, I really have no idea of the specifics. I don't understand why people get so up in arms about stuff like this especially when not knowing the details about the kid the OP is talking about, or his allergy, or how severe it is. I wouldn't have a problem being inconvenienced if it meant keeping a child in my kid's class safe, I wouldn't care if it was going overboard, if the teacher requested a certain item not be brought in I would assume there was a good reason for it.

Just to clarify, I wasn't telling the OP not to feed her child the food but she asked of it could be a problem, and the truth is it could even if the chances are small. Did anyone else consider that IS the reason its on the list

I appreciate your answering the question. I'm not going to send in the granola bars, not worth even a slight chance of harming the child. I was just curious if it was possible for it to be a problem. I'm thinking that the list they gave out is probably a bit of overkill but better safe than sorry.

 

[Hannathy]

If a child would react to the unbelievably small amount off peanut that would be left over on a machine and transmitted to a piece of oat and then transmitted to his finger and then to his mouth, I'm sorry but that child would not have lived to make it to school! That would be almost unmeasurable and they certainly would have come into more contact than that before. Think about what you just laid out. This is why some of these "rules" are just crazy and getting totally out of hand.

There is a child with a peanut allergy in my son's class and do you know what they have asked that it would be nice if you sent in non peanut treats for birthdays. the kids can still have peanut stuff for snack and lunch. This is his 3rd yr. there are a few other allergies, same thing just think about it for treats.

 

[krcit]

If a child would react to the unbelievably small amount off peanut that would be left over on a machine and transmitted to a piece of oat and then transmitted to his finger and then to his mouth, I'm sorry but that child would not have lived to make it to school! That would be almost unmeasurable and they certainly would have come into more contact than that before. Think about what you just laid out. This is why some of these "rules" are just crazy and getting totally out of hand.

There is a child with a peanut allergy in my son's class and do you know what they have asked that it would be nice if you sent in non peanut treats for birthdays. the kids can still have peanut stuff for snack and lunch. This is his 3rd yr. there are a few other allergies, same thing just think about it for treats.

I will be honest and admit to having a 'you've GOT to be kidding me' reaction to the list. Then I took a minute, thought about it, asked about it on here, and realized that it's no big deal. Not gonna get my panties in a twist about something that really is not a hardship for me to follow in order to give a fellow mom some peace of mind.BTW, it's not the school, they have peanut free classes of course but this is a list from the child's mom.

 

[luvmy3]

If a child would react to the unbelievably small amount off peanut that would be left over on a machine and transmitted to a piece of oat and then transmitted to his finger and then to his mouth, I'm sorry but that child would not have lived to make it to school! That would be almost unmeasurable and they certainly would have come into more contact than that before. Think about what you just laid out. This is why some of these "rules" are just crazy and getting totally out of hand.

There is a child with a peanut allergy in my son's class and do you know what they have asked that it would be nice if you sent in non peanut treats for birthdays. the kids can still have peanut stuff for snack and lunch. This is his 3rd yr. there are a few other allergies, same thing just think about it for treats.

Students with a peanut allergy usually have a 504 plan in place, its possible that the child the OP is talking about has one that specifically states no peanut products in his classroom, the child in your ds's class may not have such requirements in his.

Oops, just saw the OP state the list was from the mom. IMHO the mom probably knows what foods her child has reacted to, and the one on the list that contains trace amounts is one of them.

OP, just curious is the mom asking that all food with the warning be kept out of the classroom?

 

[krcit]

Students with a peanut allergy usually have a 504 plan in place, its possible that the child the OP is talking about has one that specifically states no peanut products in his classroom, the child in your ds's class may not have such requirements in his.

Oops, just saw the OP state the list was from the mom. IMHO the mom probably knows what foods her child has reacted to, and the one on the list that contains trace amounts is one of them.

OP, just curious is the mom asking that all food with the warning be kept out of the classroom?

Yes. there is a list of acceptable foods and then a list of unacceptable ones. It's really long.

 

[Hannathy]

Yes. there is a list of acceptable foods and then a list of unacceptable ones. It's really long.

If you all go along with that you are nuts. When she has custody of my child she may start telling me what to feed them until then forget it. And who is going to police all the food. I would hope the teacher has better things to do than check each child's lunch against a long list. I would also ask her for scientific proof of what she is alleging could cause a reaction. until then my kid would be bringing the granola bars, If they eat in the room I could see possibly the peanut butter, but not without asking for a place for the kids who want it to eat it. but not the might contain list, now way, no how.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

If the allergic child is not going to eat them then it would be no problem. These peanut restrictions go waaaaay to far.


And just let a school try to tell me what my child could eat before school.

I don't think a school is TELLING YOU what your child can eat before school, they are ASKING that you wash your child up before coming to school if they are eating something like PB. If they still have PB on their hands and then touch a door knob, keyboard, etc that another child with a peanut allergy can touch than their life may be at risk. Honestly, taking 1 minute to just have a child wash their hands is worth it IMHO.
A letter was sent home today in DD's folder requesting the same thing, she has a peanut allergy and the teacher told me so does another child in the classroom and from what she understands, his is very severe. DD told me that the whole class had to wash their hands before and after snack today.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

I also wanted to add that as a mom to a child who is allergic to peanuts all scenerios go through your head....I think that someone will bring in a generic brand of oreos and DD, thinking they are oreos and they are safe may eat one, when in reality it was made on a machine that also processes nuts. I told DD she only eats what I put in her lunch box, no sharing with anyone!

She has 2 boys at her table, 1 must be the other child who is PA and the other I assume not. He asked DD could he have some of her strawberries, her reply? No...I can't share anything with anyone, *I* am allergic lol.

 

[Dee77]

You are very lucky to not have a loved one with a life threatening food allergy. I can't imagine a parent who would be concerned with whether or not a teacher should check to make sure that a student's life is not at risk having lunch. As for the parent providing scientific proof well maybe that proof will only be available if she feeds her child the items on the list so I guess you are out of luck there, since her child could die.

There are no clean cut factors that are consistent with everyone that has food allergies, there are many variables and the precautions parents take are to safeguard their child's well-being. I really don't understand how this is even up for debate.

 

[Dee77]

But again, we're not talking about foods that contain nuts or peanuts. I can completely understand banning them in classrooms if a child is severely allergic. However, banning products that *may contain traces of nuts* because of the factories where they were processed seems to me to be overkill. The chance of there being enough exposure to produce a reaction is likely to be much smaller than the chance of exposure through other sources (i.e., breakfast items eaten at home).

As I'm typing this, I'm eating some roasted peanuts. Later, I'll make my kids' lunches for school. They therefore may contain traces of peanuts. If a child is so allergic that coming into contact (not eating, but touching) my DDs' lunch sends them into anaphylactic shock, I stand by my comment that that child has a disability too severe to mainstream into the regular classroom and accommodations should be made. No realistic restrictions would provide a safe environment for that child.

So food allergies should now be classified as a disability???

 

[bumbershoot]

So food allergies should now be classified as a disability???

From a post the other week about airlines and peanuts, it already sort of IS classified as such. Sort of. With controversy and ongoing conversation about it.


WeLoveLilo05, that's probably a good place for your daughter to be at this age. I wouldn't try to correct it right now.

DS have allergies, per se, but he has a huge nasty reaction to all things based on corn syrup. And maybe food dyes. But since you get rid of food dyes almost entirely when you get rid of corn syrup products, we don't really know for sure (some day we'll experiment, but not today). He's 6, and he won't eat *a thing* unless he gets our explicit permission. He's not reading yet, and until he does, I'm glad he keeps himself safe like that, even when he REALLY wants to eat something that looks delectable. Though him sharing with another hasn't really come up, if it did and if he said that someone else coudln't have what he had because he's sensitive to corn syrup, I wouldn't have a single problem with it. It's all part of how he's keeping himself safe. The time will come that your DD can be more open about offering up food, but there's nothing wrong with what she's doing now...



OP, since the mom sent in that list, can you contact her, see if the granola bar is something she's had experience with before?

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

From a post the other week about airlines and peanuts, it already sort of IS classified as such. Sort of. With controversy and ongoing conversation about it.


WeLoveLilo05, that's probably a good place for your daughter to be at this age. I wouldn't try to correct it right now.

DS have allergies, per se, but he has a huge nasty reaction to all things based on corn syrup. And maybe food dyes. But since you get rid of food dyes almost entirely when you get rid of corn syrup products, we don't really know for sure (some day we'll experiment, but not today). He's 6, and he won't eat *a thing* unless he gets our explicit permission. He's not reading yet, and until he does, I'm glad he keeps himself safe like that, even when he REALLY wants to eat something that looks delectable. Though him sharing with another hasn't really come up, if it did and if he said that someone else coudln't have what he had because he's sensitive to corn syrup, I wouldn't have a single problem with it. It's all part of how he's keeping himself safe. The time will come that your DD can be more open about offering up food, but there's nothing wrong with what she's doing now...



OP, since the mom sent in that list, can you contact her, see if the granola bar is something she's had experience with before?

Yes, I told her that she made the right decision not to share her food and that I was proud of her

 

[krcit]

If you all go along with that you are nuts. When she has custody of my child she may start telling me what to feed them until then forget it. And who is going to police all the food. I would hope the teacher has better things to do than check each child's lunch against a long list. I would also ask her for scientific proof of what she is alleging could cause a reaction. until then my kid would be bringing the granola bars, If they eat in the room I could see possibly the peanut butter, but not without asking for a place for the kids who want it to eat it. but not the might contain list, now way, no how.

I didn't start this thread to debate. I started it to ask someone with experience with this a question. My question has been answered. I don't aprreciate you calling me 'nuts' if I choose to follow a request from a mom who is worried about her kid. It is not lunch that we are talking about anyway. It is snack in the classroom, not such a hardship and certainly not worth 'taking a stand'. Geez, I hope if one of my kids ever comes down with an allergy that could be life threatening, there aren't parents like you in their class.

 

[jfoofj]

My DS9 has peanut/nut allergies. His school is not "nut free" (they would have no staff if they were ) but each grade has a classroom that is "nut free" and there is a "nut free" table in the lunch room. I do not think that enitre schools should go nut free... you can't cater to one allergy and not all of them, and unfortunately food allergies are on the rise in our kids theses days. In fact, I would be fine with him being in any classroom and sitting where he wants at lunch, we have educated him to never eat anything he is not sure of and I very firmly believe that I can't childproof the world, I have to worldproof my child. It is the schools policy that he has to be in a nut free classroom and sit at the nut free lunch table because he has a documented allergy. Howeever, he won't ever find a college or workplace that is nut free, so it is up to him to keep himself healthy.

My son is also very allergic to bee stings, and has asthma, so he has an epi-pen and inhaler in the nurses office, and he knows when/if he needs them, and what to do in case he does.

We are lucky that my son's nut allergy is ingestion only, some kids are extremely allergic and can't even be near nuts or have any of the oil touch their skin. My son did have a reaction at school last year, and it was do to the fact that he ate a granola bar that said "manufactured on equipment that also manufactures items containing nuts." He had been eating this same brand of granola bars for years, never any problems. Then one day, bammo, he was breaking out in hives, itchy tongue/throat and vomited. Luckily they didn't have to give him the epi-pen, but with each exposure to nuts his chance of having an anaphylactic reaction increases.

SO, if there is a chance of a nut allergic kid eating something that has a warning on the label, I just wouldn't take that chance.

 

[*Fantasia*]

Yes a trace amount could cause a problem for someone who is allergic. The products were most likely manufactured on machines that also manufacturers peanuts and treenuts so cross contamination is a possibility, although not always a definite.

I personally wouldn't bring it to class or for after school. My son is highly allergic to any nuts, especially peanuts. And this is why my family check the labels on the boxes. We don't want to take the chance. I love M&Ms, but no longer buys them cause it may have traces of nuts or peanut oil.

 

[Nancyg56]

If the allergic child is not going to eat them then it would be no problem. These peanut restrictions go waaaaay to far.


And just let a school try to tell me what my child could eat before school.

No one is telling you what to feed your child before school. Most probably you are being asked to simply wash your childs hands, and be careful of the clothes. Is this so difficult? I realize that it is hard to ask kids to make allowances for others but they generally are happy to do this. My DGD had a dairy and egg allergy and it was so sweet to see the other chhildren trying to look out for her. She also has had children with pretty severe allergies in her classroom and honestly, parents were open to trying to keep those kids safe even if it meant making a few sacrifices.
Thak your lucky stars that you do not need to deal with htis kind of thing. Children can get pretty isolated if teh school community is not supportive.

A letter was sent home today in DD's folder requesting the same thing, she has a peanut allergy and the teacher told me so does another child in the classroom and from what she understands, his is very severe. DD told me that the whole class had to wash their hands before and after snack today.

I didn't start this thread to debate. I started it to ask someone with experience with this a question. My question has been answered. I don't aprreciate you calling me 'nuts' if I choose to follow a request from a mom who is worried about her kid. It is not lunch that we are talking about anyway. It is snack in the classroom, not such a hardship and certainly not worth 'taking a stand'. Geez, I hope if one of my kids ever comes down with an allergy that could be life threatening, there aren't parents like you in their class.

Most parents want ot cooperate. In our school syustem kids allergies are dealt with on a case by case basis. Thank goodness the parents are cooperative, but in a small town it is easy.

DGD has a good friend who has several food allergies. Her Mom had to be vigilent but it was really nice to see that in everything her DD was involved in, parents stepped up to make sure that she was not different.