Banning dairy and eggs at school??

[pryncess527]

kkandj, thank you very much for your informative post about allergies! I do always feel badly for the children, I can't imagine trying to grow up and having to deal with a bunch of restrictions that my peers did not share.

 

[Nancyg56]

I don't think that there is a blanket answer when schools are asked to address allergies in children. People have very strong feelings about the safety of their own child vs the comfort of another, and conversely, the comfort and well being of their child vs the safety of another.

My DGD was allergic to dairy and eggs, so her diet was limited, Thank God it was not so severe that contact was dangerous for her, but she did go to school with kids whose peanut allergies were pretty severe. These were K-2, so little kids. Our school system addresses each issue as it occurs, and for the most part, the parents are supportive. No one has banned dairy and egg from school, and quite frankly, with all the items that include both, I cannot see how they could safely do so. I do believe that if it was necessary, they would try to find a solution, and most folks would try to follow the guidelines.

I think that issues occur when adults do not understand how allergies impact other kids. Children learn from their parents, and in Kady's case, the children were very aware of what Kady could not eat, and "watched" out for her. In her school system, tolerance for differences was taught from the get go, so food borne allergies were just part of the program, addressed individually so you knew who you were supporting, and that was how you were approached...support, not mandate. I thought it made a difference in how parents and children responded.

It is not easy to be "that" kid. No ice cream. No peanut butter cup. No pizza. It goes on and on. For youngsters, it is a hard path, so when a parent reaches out for help within the school system, please don't be too quick to think she has not taught her child about personal responsibility. She may be trying to manage a situation that is a lot more than the child and adults around the child can manage without addition support from the school community, without withdrawing her child completely. Children should not be isolated, and that can happen, I think.

Every day we thanked God that Kady's allergy was manageable, and that she, even as a kiddo, would never touch a thing she did not know to be safe. But I did witness a near miss when I was a parent helper, and that made all the difference to me. One child had severe food allergies, and was never to eat anything not supplied by Mom. One of the room mothers. mixed up her plate, an that the good Lord I saw it, because the child would have believed her food was provided by Mom. I think this is one reason that some parents feel the need to ask for additional concessions. If the threatening food is not there, a tragic accident will not happen. After that incident in school, my DD and this mother always made a point of being at school when there were "special" events that other parents would be monitoring. Working as a team, they were able to ensure the child's safety, and still let her participate in activities that included those outside her classroom.

 

[Nancyg56]

ETA: One more thought--when non food allergy families hear these stories like Elodie, even if you don't agree with the mother, please have compassion on the child. These little children have been poked, prodded, tested, sent by ambulance, hospitalized, have horrible memories of reactions and have endured way more than kids this age should have to. No matter what, these are still very little children and none of this is within their control.

I think that this post bears repeating. My DH cousin was at dinner with us, and the attitude she had for children with food allergies was appalling. No child deserves to be ostracized for this, and honestly, DH and I have never included them in anything since. It was appalling to hear Mom tell us she refused to "deal" with other kids allergies, let them stay home. All this while my lovely little DGD was at the table, and her mom was checking the menu for safe foods for her. I thought my normally calm DH was going to explode as the family casually discussed how inconvenient these kids were. It took all I had to calmly explain to the then 9YO ( I ignored the ignorant parents) that her classmate had no choice about what was dangerous for her, but she could choose if she wanted her peanut butter, and therefore, if anyone ate alone, perhaps the one with the choice was the appropriate person.

 

[eliza61]

Ban eating all together. Totally serious. that's what it's going to lead up to. Not to sound cruel but any kid that has that much sensitivity has to be quarantined. so either just get rid of eating all together or seperate the little girl totally when ti's lunch time.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Ban eating all together. Totally serious. that's what it's going to lead up to. Not to sound cruel but any kid that has that much sensitivity has to be quarantined. so either just get rid of eating all together or seperate the little girl totally when ti's lunch time.

LOL! Yup. Looks like thats the only solution!

Here's another article I found. Quite interesting. This one confirms that the mom is looking to ban dairy/eggs from the school. The last straw was when the daughter came home having trouble breathing because her teacher was eating buttered popcorn. Umm, buttered popcorn? the microwave kind? I feel bad for the girl, but this just shows how difficult it would be to ban the allergens from the school.

Article: http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/0...ts-complaint-over-students-egg-dairy-allergy/

 

[eliza61]

LOL! Yup. Looks like thats the only solution!

Here's another article I found. Quite interesting. This one confirms that the mom is looking to ban dairy/eggs from the school. The last straw was when the daughter came home having trouble breathing because her teacher was eating buttered popcorn. Umm, buttered popcorn? the microwave kind? I feel bad for the girl, but this just shows how difficult it would be to ban the allergens from the school.

Article: http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/0...ts-complaint-over-students-egg-dairy-allergy/

and I think it's totally unfair to the other people in the building. I do empathize with the mom but if you're kid is so senstive and so allergic that the fake butter thats on microwave popcorn sets them off, then you do have to accept the possibility that she has special needs that can't be address in a general population.

We're becoming a world where the "needs of the one" out weight every one else.

 

[kkandaj]

I hope that people realize that a majority of food allergy parents do not request food to be banned from any environnment and we are not all nut jobs. Okay, I may be a nut job in other areas of my life, but I'm not unreasonable and a nut job regarding my expectations of other people pertaining to DS' food allergies.

This mother's expectations are ridiculous. They will never ban dairy and egg products--and I'm also not a supporter of peanut/tree nut bans. It gives kids a false sense of security. Seen it with my own eyes. Tons of parents still send pb and nuts to DS' school even though it's a "nut-free" school. (This entire district is nut-free and has been for years, has nothing to do with DS.)

P.S.--All food allergy parents are not crazy people. Once again, the crazo gets the spotlight.

 

[goofyintoronto]

LOL! Thanks for clearing that up. Your right thou. I know a lot of people with severe allergies, (anaphylactic), and they dont request that it be banned from the school. If everyone with severe allergies made this request, we wouldnt be allowed to eat out in public at all! I know ppl allergic to milk, eggs, poultry, fruits/veggies/citrus (yes, for real), banana's, apples, tomatoes, etc!
The mom here is definitely being ridiculous with her expectations.

I hope that people realize that a majority of food allergy parents do not request food to be banned from any environnment and we are not all nut jobs. Okay, I may be a nut job in other areas of my life, but I'm not unreasonable and a nut job regarding my expectations of other people pertaining to DS' food allergies.

This mother's expectations are ridiculous. They will never ban dairy and egg products--and I'm also not a supporter of peanut/tree nut bans. It gives kids a false sense of security. Seen it with my own eyes. Tons of parents still send pb and nuts to DS' school even though it's a "nut-free" school. (This entire district is nut-free and has been for years, has nothing to do with DS.)

P.S.--All food allergy parents are not crazy people. Once again, the crazo gets the spotlight.

 

[monorailsilver]

Add me to the non nut job parent of a kid with a dairy, peanut, tree nut and egg white allergy.

While my sons allergies have improved in his 10 years of life e is still allergic.

He does get hives from dairy contact Not as bad now as in the past.

I have never considered banning foods in his classroom.

I know when he was younger and still now the nurse wanted him to have a placemat at lunch. That was fine for the first few years but now he won't be caught dead using one.

 

[FireDancer]

This tread, and peanut allergy threads, always remind me of a Louis CK bit called "of course but maybe". I can't link it here because it is Louis CK but find that on the web and laugh and laugh.

 

[goofyintoronto]

This tread, and peanut allergy threads, always remind me of a Louis CK bit called "of course but maybe". I can't link it here because it is Louis CK but find that on the web and laugh and laugh.

OMG im dying laughing over here, and im only 31 second into one of his videos!

 

[FireDancer]

OMG im dying laughing over here, and im only 31 second into one of his videos!

It ends with a home run.

 

[goofyintoronto]

It ends with a home run.

I just finished watching! This guy is truly amazing!

 

[marcyinPA]

This has nothing to do with food allergies, but there is a student at the HS I graduated from who is highly allergic to Axe body spray. His parents have tried getting the school district to ban all fragrances. In the meantime he is being home schooled.

While I really feel for this boy and his parents, where do you draw the line. Do you force all families in that school to use fragrance free products such as shampoo, soap, laundry detergent and so on? We are talking a school of 2500 kids. Does this boy never enter a store or a restaurant? Or any public place? I don't see how one can make an entire society change for his needs. Shouldn't they be looking to find accommodations for him so he can join society?

I am not trying to be mean or uncaring. I just don't see how people can demand a ban on something and everyone will abide by it?!

 

[goofyintoronto]

This has nothing to do with food allergies, but there is a student at the HS I graduated from who is highly allergic to Axe body spray. His parents have tried getting the school district to ban all fragrances. In the meantime he is being home schooled.

While I really feel for this boy and his parents, where do you draw the line. Do you force all families in that school to use fragrance free products such as shampoo, soap, laundry detergent and so on? We are talking a school of 2500 kids. Does this boy never enter a store or a restaurant? Or any public place? I don't see how one can make an entire society change for his needs. Shouldn't they be looking to find accommodations for him so he can join society?

I am not trying to be mean or uncaring. I just don't see how people can demand a ban on something and everyone will abide by it?!

Yup. The scent thing is an issue here at my work. Every hospital in the greater toronto area is a scent free environment, including ours. There's a policy written up about how you should refrain from using deodorant, hairspray, shampoo etc with scent. I often wonder the same thing, how do these people function out in public? Many ppl wear perfume. If youre in court or at a meeting, do you excuse yourself because you cant stand the scent? Its a difficult thing to go thru for sure. Anyway, since most hospitals here are already a scent free environment, i can see schools going that way too.

 

[pryncess527]

Yup. The scent thing is an issue here at my work. Every hospital in the greater toronto area is a scent free environment, including ours. There's a policy written up about how you should refrain from using deodorant, hairspray, shampoo etc with scent. I often wonder the same thing, how do these people function out in public? Many ppl wear perfume. If youre in court or at a meeting, do you excuse yourself because you cant stand the scent? Its a difficult thing to go thru for sure. Anyway, since most hospitals here are already a scent free environment, i can see schools going that way too.

That works for the staff, but can't possibly work for the patients, right? I would think enforcing that in a public school would be almost as difficult as trying to refuse medical care to a perfumed patient.

 

[marcyinPA]

Yup. The scent thing is an issue here at my work. Every hospital in the greater toronto area is a scent free environment, including ours. There's a policy written up about how you should refrain from using deodorant, hairspray, shampoo etc with scent. I often wonder the same thing, how do these people function out in public? Many ppl wear perfume. If youre in court or at a meeting, do you excuse yourself because you cant stand the scent? Its a difficult thing to go thru for sure. Anyway, since most hospitals here are already a scent free environment, i can see schools going that way too.

So, if you work in the hospital or visit someone there, you'd better have not washed your clothing in Tide? How on earth do they enforce something like that?

 

[Christine]

The scent thing is interesting. I'm certainly not allergic to it, but it does bother me terribly. Another woman I work with actually loses her voice if someone in her office wears strong perfume.

I can definitely handle if someone has strong perfume or body spray on and the walk by me, but I cannot tolerate it if the person in my office, where I spend 8 hours a day is wearing it. I cough, my eyelids itch, and so on. My son wears body spray and when he uses it, it really gets me, and it lingers in the house. So I have him spray it on himself in the garage if he really needs to use it.

For my office, at least I'm the boss and I've asked that no one wear perfume in the office. Fortunately, I am not alone in the scent issue as there are several people in my larger organization who cannot handle it. We don't request an all-out ban; however, our management does request it in the smaller groups. Again, a few minutes walking by is not a problem, but 8 hours is.

As for the boy allergic to Axe--well, Axe is VERY popular in middle and high school. And if you've got many boys using it (I think they do), then it can be problematic in a small classroom. My son attended a small middle school that did ban Axe in particular because it was so strong. This spray is much more intense than a scented deoderant, soap, or even cologne.

 

[marcyinPA]

The scent thing is interesting. I'm certainly not allergic to it, but it does bother me terribly. Another woman I work with actually loses her voice if someone in her office wears strong perfume.

I can definitely handle if someone has strong perfume or body spray on and the walk by me, but I cannot tolerate it if the person in my office, where I spend 8 hours a day is wearing it. I cough, my eyelids itch, and so on. My son wears body spray and when he uses it, it really gets me, and it lingers in the house. So I have him spray it on himself in the garage if he really needs to use it.

For my office, at least I'm the boss and I've asked that no one wear perfume in the office. Fortunately, I am not alone in the scent issue as there are several people in my larger organization who cannot handle it. We don't request an all-out ban; however, our management does request it in the smaller groups. Again, a few minutes walking by is not a problem, but 8 hours is.

As for the boy allergic to Axe--well, Axe is VERY popular in middle and high school. And if you've got many boys using it (I think they do), then it can be problematic in a small classroom. My son attended a small middle school that did ban Axe in particular because it was so strong. This spray is much more intense than a scented deoderant, soap, or even cologne.

The problem is that the family wanted a ban on all scents, not just Axe. It's one thing to ask teens in school to refrain from wearing Axe, and something completely different to make families use all scent free products. I just don't see how that can be enforced, and if it even should be. Like I said, where do you draw the line?

 

[Christine]

The problem is that the family wanted a ban on all scents, not just Axe. It's one thing to ask teens in school to refrain from wearing Axe, and something completely different to make families use all scent free products. I just don't see how that can be enforced, and if it even should be. Like I said, where do you draw the line?

Oh, I agree on the scent free products. I don't think it can be done. For the record, with all the scent sensitivities we do have at work, I've never had one person complain about detergent, deoderant, or fabric softener.