Junior High and Allergies

[Mathfailure]

I cannot understand this:

My son is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. Yes he is aware, yes he avoids them, yes he can be in the room with another child's PB&J.

What I do not comprehend is the school placing peanut butter containing items on the school menu that is purchased by most of the students in the school. If two hundred children at lunch are eating peanut butter cookies, my child will be exposed. And each exposure is potentially making him more sensitive.

When I brought this up to the school nurse today she just said others had voiced the same concern. Ok, so what is done? Nothing.

I asked the cafe lady who was loading the lunch cards, she said I just keep the peanut items 'away' from the other food. Umm, cross contamination can happen easily and with serious results.

I do not know how to go about this, I do not want to make it a "peanut free school", if others want to bring in peanut items it wouldn't have the possiblitiy of coming in contact with my son's lunch. I just want to have the school stop serving peanuts to the entire population, make something else for lunch without nuts/peanuts.

Has anyone else has this situation? How did you change it?

 

[livndisney]

I cannot understand this:

My son is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. Yes he is aware, yes he avoids them, yes he can be in the room with another child's PB&J.

What I do not comprehend is the school placing peanut butter containing items on the school menu that is purchased by most of the students in the school. If two hundred children at lunch are eating peanut butter cookies, my child will be exposed. And each exposure is potentially making him more sensitive.

When I brought this up to the school nurse today she just said others had voiced the same concern. Ok, so what is done? Nothing.

I asked the cafe lady who was loading the lunch cards, she said I just keep the peanut items 'away' from the other food. Umm, cross contamination can happen easily and with serious results.

I do not know how to go about this, I do not want to make it a "peanut free school", if others want to bring in peanut items it wouldn't have the possiblitiy of coming in contact with my son's lunch. I just want to have the school stop serving peanuts to the entire population, make something else for lunch without nuts/peanuts.

Has anyone else has this situation? How did you change it?

I am not sure I understand. Your son can be in the same room as peanut butter and it is ok for others to bring in peanut butter. You also don't want a peanut free school. But you don't want the school to serve peanut? So they serve peanuts or is in peanut butter?

 

[Hannathy]

kids eating peanut butter cookies aren't going to hurt him unless he eats some and I would assume by Jr High he knows to not eat them.

So are you asking them to not serve any peanut butter items in the whole school for 1 child. That doesn't sound reasonable to me.

Or what are you asking?

 

[proud_canadian]

I understand what you mean.

I grew up with a nut allergy, and even though I had to ingest them to have a reaction, it always made me nervous being around others eating nuts. Just in case. And by having the school selling those products, it likely increases the amount of exposure and more chance of a reaction.

I understand, but not sure what you can do about it

 

[BusyMom2Three]

Our school district is the way you are wishing yours would be. Classrooms must be peanut-free (no peanut containing snacks), the schools do not serve anything with peanuts or peanut oil, but kids can bring peanut items from home. I figured it was this way everywhere.

I do understand the reasoning: no peanut products would come in contact with food your child might eat if other kids bring peanut containing products from their own homes, but they could if the school served them and your child buys a lunch. There is also the issue of cooking peanut products at school and having the oil in the air. (No, my child does not have a peanut allergy.)

Maybe mention this policy to your child's school.

 

[Hannathy]

So the whole school should change for 1 child? Seems a bit unreasonable.

 

[BusyMom2Three]

Our whole district has the policy, not just one school. I think it's fine to not offer a pb cookie or sandwich but still allow kids to bring their own. It's the one food allergy that is becoming more rampant and can be a life or death situation. It seems smart that the schools want to avoid having that happen. We're vegetarians and have limited choices, and I still find this reasonable. I would be mad if we couldn't send them with our kids to school, though, since nuts are important to my kids' diets.

 

[badblackpug]

PB&J is an alternate lunch at both the elementary school and the junior high for my kids. I really think that by Jr. high kids know enough not to eat the allergen in question. By this age they will be a lot of different places where they may or may not come in contact with peanuts or peanut products.

 

[princessmom29]

My DH has a life threatening shellfish allergy, and DD is sensitve to them so I know where you are coming from, but I just don't get making it an issue. We live on the coast so seafood, including shrimp is often served in restaurants and in schools. Do what I do, and what DH's mom did. Send a lunch and tell him to stay away from those eating peanuts. I refuse to punish others for the allergies in my family. It is OUR responsibility to take care of it. Not other moms, not the school, and not the public. The whole "nut free school" thing really bothers me. We have lots of kids with dairy allergies in our school, many more than nuts, and yessome of them are airborne. No one is screaming for a "dairy free school" they just deal with it. Someone is allergic to everything. Before long all we will be serving kids in school is water if we continue to eliminate everything that is a potential allergen. Where does it stop, and who's allergy takes percedence over the others? How is it fair that one thing gets banned, but not another??

 

[shelby101301]

So the whole school should change for 1 child? Seems a bit unreasonable.

yes, the whole school should change for one child.

What if it were your child? What if one of those peanut items accidentally contaminated the non peanut items and that one child ended up dead?

When you have rushed your child to the ER watching their airways swell and close and see their faces slowly turn blue like I have...then you will understand how serious allergies can really be.

OP, I don't have an answer for you except maybe raise it with the school board. Educate them how dangerous it is, and how easily cross contamination is. Find out your legal rights if your child is injured....maybe they will listen if they realize they have a major liability on their hands. And while airborne exposure may not hurt your child, I can't believe in today's world of growing allergy kids that it will be long before they will have to go peanut free anyway.

I do sympathize. *MY* child has a life threatening food allergy and I know how hard it can be to keep your child safe, even with diligence...

 

[princessmom29]

Our whole district has the policy, not just one school. I think it's fine to not offer a pb cookie or sandwich but still allow kids to bring their own. It's the one food allergy that is becoming more rampant and can be a life or death situation. It seems smart that the schools want to avoid having that happen. We're vegetarians and have limited choices, and I still find this reasonable. I would be mad if we couldn't send them with our kids to school, though, since nuts are important to my kids' diets.

But it is NOT the only allery that is rampant or life threatening, it is just the one geting the most press nad attention right now. Shellfish, Dairy, and egg are also rapidly growing, potentially airborne and life threatening. In recent years DH has gotten to the point that he wheezes when he smells shrimp boiling. We have kids with airborne dairy and egg at our school. It is not just peanuts, as some would have you believe. Iti s justthe fact that anit-nut groups are so vocal and are pushing the idea that it is so much more dangerous or prevalant.

 

[princessmom29]

yes, the whole school should change for one child.

What if it were your child? What if one of those peanut items accidentally contaminated the non peanut items and that one child ended up dead?

When you have rushed your child to the ER watching their airways swell and close and see their faces slowly turn blue like I have...then you will understand how serious allergies can really be.

OP, I don't have an answer for you except maybe raise it with the school board. Educate them how dangerous it is, and how easily cross contamination is. Find out your legal rights if your child is injured....maybe they will listen if they realize they have a major liability on their hands. And while airborne exposure may not hurt your child, I can't believe in today's world of growing allergy kids that it will be long before they will have to go peanut free anyway.

I do sympathize. *MY* child has a life threatening food allergy and I know how hard it can be to keep your child safe, even with diligence...

I have been there, done that and I STILL don't think the school should have to change for my child. They serve shrimp and we deal with it. It is MY responsibility to make sure everyone is aware she has an allergy, and that she needs to be seated away for everyone eating shrimp. I DO NOT expect the schoolto eliminate it from the menu, but od expect them to give her a safe place to eat. I refuse to punish an entire school b/c my DD is allergic. Soryy, but I just don't think it is fair to the other children when it is so easy to just keep DD away from them. All I have to dois pack her lunch every day. Problem solved without the school having to change.

 

[Hannathy]

yes, the whole school should change for one child.

What if it were your child? What if one of those peanut items accidentally contaminated the non peanut items and that one child ended up dead?

If it were my child I would not want him thinking he was so special the world had to change for them. I also would not want him getting comfortable and not being diligent and taking responsibility for himself. You cant change the world He better get used to watching out for himself or find a bubble and live in it.

My DD ate lunch everyday this year with a group of friends, many times with PB&J's, peanut butter cookies etc and the last week of school they learned one of the boys has a peanut allergy. He didn't expect the school to change heck he didn't even expect the kids he ate with to change, he dealt with it.

 

[princessmom29]

If it were my child I would not want him thinking he was so special the world had to change for them. I also would not want him getting comfortable and not being diligent and taking responsibility for himself. You cant change the world He better get used to watching out for himself or find a bubble and live in it.

My DD ate lunch everyday this year with a group of friends, many times with PB&J's, peanut butter cookies etc and the last week of school they learned one of the boys has a peanut allergy. He didn't expect the school to change heck he didn't even expect the kids he ate with to change, he dealt with it.

This is exactly what we teach DD. SHE is responsible for policing her allergy, and no one else.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I GET it. DGS, whom we are raising is PA. His preschool is totaly peanut free and was before he came last year. We have already checked the elementry school and the school serves NO peanut products. They do allow lunch box peanut butter items but also have no lunch box tables where PA or other allergy kids must eat. Cross contamination is such a big risk and pb cookies are the worst. They cruble EVERYWHERE. I do understand other allergies, he has others as well, but none as life threating as his PA. Not sure what the asnwer is but am so glad his school is trying.

 

[BusyMom2Three]

I GET it. DGS, whom we are raising is PA. His preschool is totaly peanut free and was before he came last year. We have already checked the elementry school and the school serves NO peanut products. They do allow lunch box peanut butter items but also have no lunch box tables where PA or other allergy kids must eat. Cross contamination is such a big risk and pb cookies are the worst. They cruble EVERYWHERE. I do understand other allergies, he has others as well, but none as life threating as his PA. Not sure what the asnwer is but am so glad his school is trying.

The preschools in our district are also totally peanut free b/c kids that age can't understand what is processed with or on what, not to share, etc. The other schools serve no nut products but you can bring them and there are peanut free tables, like yours. My friend's DS is severely peanut allergic (he has done the whole turning blue, being rushed to the ER thing). He went to the peanut free preschools, then she sent him to half day young 5s (not sure if you have that) and half day kindergarten to avoid lunch. By the time he was in first grade and started going full-day, she felt he was old enough to understand, and she has him sit at the peanut free tables. Best of luck!

 

[Mathfailure]

I think perhaps my original post was not clear. I do not want to limit what children bring from home, just not have the kitchen serve items with nuts/peanuts.

I was encouraged to see this is a policy at some schools.

My child does police himself, and has an epi-pen if needed, but it is still a concern.

So, although reactions are certainly polarized, I did not mean to cause that or to imply that I thought my child is more important than another child. I just want to keep his exposure as little as possible.

I will attempt to be clearer with my concern, and take it to the school department.

Thank you

 

[disneyandme]

When it comes to food allergies, it is often easy to see who deals with food allergies in their family (or close friends) and who do not. Last year, there was an article by a "gentleman" who railed on parents who expected special treatment for their child's food allergies. He said that most were made up anyway by parents who wanted attention and wanted their child to get special treatment. He just wrote a new article apologizing to all those parents who he hurt by is words---- his son has just been diagnoised with a life-threatening food allergy and his whole life has changed as a result. Parents who have kids with allergies would love to have their children treated like everyone else- but they have to keep them alive and that often means making accomodations. What works for one child's allergies may not work for another. Don't assume that just because one child who has an allergy is fine to sit with someone eating a food, all should be able to. It doesn't work that way.

 

[disneyandme]

OP- good luck with the school. Keep us posted as you are trying to work things out.

 

[Hannathy]

I understood your original post and don't agree. I don't think the whole school and all the kids should be penalized because of 1 child. I don't think the cafeteria has to totally re-design the whole menu because of 1 child. Peanut butter is an excellent cheap protein and the other children don't need to pay more because they can't use it because of 1 child.