Peanut Allergy issue - is this going too far in your opinion?

[Skywalker]

I have seen peanut allergies and the way they are handled by schools discussed here a couple of times, but I don't think I've seen this mentioned.

There is a child in my son's school, not in his class, but somewhere in his school that has a peanut allergy.

So, okay no sending in anything with peanuts. That I understand and I have never knowingly sent in something with peanuts.

I have, however, been sending in some of his little Halloween chocolates from time to time as a treat (and to help get rid of them, LOL). Even then, I would always make sure it was not a chocolate bar that had peanut in it. But at school, my son was reprimanded for bringing in chocolate that was made in a factory that was "not certified nut-free and may have come into contact with peanuts". Okay, what level of diligence must I take on here? Anyway, again, fine, no more sending in chocolate bars just in case, no big deal.

But now, this latest note from the school is, I must admit, ticking me off a little.

Their latest is asking parents to please refrain from giving their children peanut butter for breakfast or lunch at home, in case they come into contact with the child at school. The letter has asked families to restrict peanut butter to "weekends and holidays only."

To me, this is starting to go a bit far. So now, my son can't even have peanut butter on his toast at home in the morning? Because someone at school, not even in his class mind you, has an allergy?

If this is what they feel is needed to keep this child safe then fine, I won't be going against it but I must admit to feeling a little annoyed. I'm not going to mount a complaint or get all huffy or anything like that. But honestly, just for the sake of discussion, if the child is that sensitive perhaps they should be home-schooled or something and how do the parents ever let them into any public place whatsoever? ?

Anyone else think is getting a little extreme?

Parents of children with peanut allergies, please don't bash me, you have my sympathies and concern, honestly.

 

[Christine]

I am a parent of a peanut allergic child. I am fortunate in that my son is not so sensitive that these requirements are necessary.

My knee-jerk reaction is that you are correct--this is too much; however, I have read that there are children that are THAT sensitive to peanuts. Truly. If my child were like that, I don't know what I would do.

I would like to say that I would keep him at home if he was so sensitive. BUT.....I know that in the state of Virginia, I would not be allowed to homeschool him (unless the requirements have changed). Neither my husband nor I have a college degree (which is a requirement that one parent have one in order to homeschool). Also, both my husband and I must work in some form--we do not make enough to have one of us to stay home--no exaggeration. So, it is very hard for me to say what I would do. All students are entitled to a public school education and the school does have to make *reasonable* accommodations.

Anyway, I guess I don't have a good answer for you. The easy answer is that "no, I wouldn't probably put these requirements on other parents" but when push came to shove, I'm not sure how it would all work out.

 

[Tigger_Magic]

I think the latest request is a bit extreme. If it applied to the children in the child's class, I might understand. The child may be extremely sensitive. But to apply it to the entire school is taking the protection a little too far.

 

[golfgal]

I have seen peanut allergies and the way they are handled by schools discussed here a couple of times, but I don't think I've seen this mentioned.

There is a child in my son's school, not in his class, but somewhere in his school that has a peanut allergy.

So, okay no sending in anything with peanuts. That I understand and I have never knowingly sent in something with peanuts.

I have, however, been sending in some of his little Halloween chocolates from time to time as a treat (and to help get rid of them, LOL). Even then, I would always make sure it was not a chocolate bar that had peanut in it. But at school, my son was reprimanded for bringing in chocolate that was made in a factory that was "not certified nut-free and may have come into contact with peanuts". Okay, what level of diligence must I take on here? Anyway, again, fine, no more sending in chocolate bars just in case, no big deal.

But now, this latest note from the school is, I must admit, ticking me off a little.

Their latest is asking parents to please refrain from giving their children peanut butter for breakfast or lunch at home, in case they come into contact with the child at school. The letter has asked families to restrict peanut butter to "weekends and holidays only."

To me, this is starting to go a bit far. So now, my son can't even have peanut butter on his toast at home in the morning? Because someone at school, not even in his class mind you, has an allergy?

If this is what they feel is needed to keep this child safe then fine, I won't be going against it but I must admit to feeling a little annoyed. I'm not going to mount a complaint or get all huffy or anything like that. But honestly, just for the sake of discussion, if the child is that sensitive perhaps they should be home-schooled or something and how do the parents ever let them into any public place whatsoever? ?

Anyone else think is getting a little extreme?

Parents of children with peanut allergies, please don't bash me, you have my sympathies and concern, honestly.

This is the EXACT problem with schools limiting or restricting peanuts in schools. Peanut products are in the weirdest places and not everyone is going to look at everything they feed their child to make sure there aren't peanut products in those or they weren't made in a factory where peanuts are present. I think schools need to set up peanut free zones for that child, separate lunch table or what ever, don't keep bag lunches in that child's classroom, set up a cabinet in the hallway or what ever and teach his teacher/nurse/whomever to use and epi pen.

Some kids will only eat peanut butter or have a limited diet, aka picky eater, and peanut butter is a good source of protein for these kids. I guess it is going too far to put one child ahead of all others when they really can't be sure everyone is going to follow this request. I know peanut allergies are horrible but you can't expect an entire school to follow a no peanut butter rule. All it takes is one slip up when the parents felt their child was safe.

 

[Ava83]

Is there a child with a severe allergy in the school, or is this precautionary? I think if there is a child at the school with a peanut allergy then the school must take as much care to keep that child safe.

I cannot imagine how hard it must be everyday keep your child safe from something that looks so innocent.

At first it may sound out of left field, but there was an article in people last week that talked about this same thing. Little particles of peanuts causing severe issues.

If they are doing it to protect themselves, different story.

My kid though would starve without peanut butter

 

[Hillbeans]

I really don't know what I would do then because my son's favorite food is Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches?

While I do respect the stand that you should not bring anything peanut into the classroom, if your allergy is that strong where you can't be around anyone who has ingested peanuts in that day, it sounds almost impossible to avoid. There are other people throughout the day whom you may come into contact with who may have eaten peanuts like the bus driver, attendant a the supermarket, etc.....personally I do think that note is going to far but I really don't know what i'd do if my child was that allergic???

My BIL is allergic and he carries around benadryl with him 24/7 - and he's a school teacher. I don't think it'd be fair to ask everyone in his class not to eat peanut butter during the week.

This is a tough one.

 

[LBAK]

I also have a child with a peanut allergy and yes I think it is going too far to invade your life at home. They have no right to tell you what you can do in your own home. I would not expect any of my DD's classmates to refrain from eating peanut butter in their own home. I also would never expect them to not have peanut butter for lunch at school. My DD knows not to sit near anyone who has PB&J for lunch and she always has her epi-pen. She is 10 yo now and has known how to use her epi-pen since she started elementary school.

 

[clarabelle]

If the child is that sensitive I think he/she should stay home with a teacher visiting his home.
It is one thing to ask for no peanut products to be sent to the school -anything else is unreasonalbe in my opinion. Also unreliable- there are so many instances where that system could fail.

 

[pumba]

my three year old neice at the time.......she was kissed by a person that had a peanut butter cup a few hours before hand.....and her face swelled up.......If a person has a peanut butter breakfast .....then all they have to do (according to my nieces mom) is brush their teeth and wash their face very good........and don't go kissing other kids.......seriously it is a very dangerous situation and it is hard to call the shots for all these kids..

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Thankfully, my kids don't have allergies. If they did, I would hope that everything that could be done would be done to allow my child to grow up as normally as possible, including going to school and having friends and being away from home every day.

Having said that, on the surface, the new requirement seems over the top. I'd ask some questions...I would think that someone already has (every school has those parents that don't let ANYTHING slide). Perhaps check with YOUR pediatrician for an opinion, to a least satisfy your own mind.

My kids were never real big on peanut butter. I was very careful with what foods I introduced to them when they were litte because of allergies, so they weren't those kids that would only eat peanut butter (or any other one item). If I had to tho...really had to...then I'd make them adjust. Just one of the many inconviences of life. On the other hand, if the child is that allergic, how in the world can they be sure that EVERYONE would follow the rule??

I don't know...but I really sympathize with parents and kids dealing with kids' health issues. Makes me feel very grateful.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I so feel for the child and their family when there is that serious of an allergy. There was a boy in our middle school who had a serious allergy. They didn't restrict what the students had at home, but I'm betting that it would have ended up that way. He didn't go to the school long. If it were my child and the allergy were that serious I would homeschool. Too much of a chance that someone wouldn't be careful enough, even if everyone was trying to take precautions.

 

[robinb]

My kid though would starve without peanut butter

Oh oh. Duck !

 

[Ava83]

Oh oh. Duck !

Why? what did I do?

 

[Annette_VA]

Wow, telling parents what they can and can not do in their own home is going a bit too far, IMO

 

[robinb]

Why? what did I do?

I got reamed out big-time for saying the same thing (word for word) in the last peanut discussion.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Take the "too far" further...

So I would say a fair amount of parents would ignore this, to be reasonable in your thinking.

So a child has breakfast with peanut butter, allergy kid has a reaction, now what?

I don't think you that the "school rule" can legally extend to the home, right?

 

[Ava83]

I got reamed out big-time for saying the same thing (word for word) in the last peanut discussion.

That is wrong to get reamed for that! And we have added crackers to the peanut butter, she used to eat if from the jar.

Your daughter is soooo cute BTW! (peanut butter agrees with her )

 

[disneysteve]

What I don't understand, and please don't flame me, is how do these kids function in the world at large. Peanuts exist. Lots of restaurants at Disney, for example, have PB+J on the kids menu. Heck, we go to Food and Wine every year where there is a booth handing out little packs of peanuts. That means thousands of people walking around the parks munching on peanuts as they go.

Having a peanut-free classroom is one thing. A nut-free table in the cafeteria is also reasonable. But what about other kids the allergic child comes in contact with? What about his scout troop or her dance class or his football team or her soccer team? They may be made up of kids from multiple schools. What about family gatherings? It just isn't possible to avoid any and all possible exposures.

I think the request that families avoid consuming peanut products in their own homes is over the top. A suggestion to have kids wash up and brush their teeth before coming to school isn't unreasonable, but expecting parents to ban peanuts at home is ridiculous.

 

[Christine]

I don't think you that the "school rule" can legally extend to the home, right?

I don't believe that the school can actually make this a rule either. All they can do is request. I don't believe anyone has to comply. The best they can and should do is just nicely ask if people would brush teeth and wash hands well after consuming peanut products in the morning.

This would be a bit more difficult for those that go to daycare centers in the morning (the teeth brushing part).

 

[Christine]

What I don't understand, and please don't flame me, is how do these kids function in the world at large. Peanuts exist. Lots of restaurants at Disney, for example, have PB+J on the kids menu. Heck, we go to Food and Wine every year where there is a booth handing out little packs of peanuts. That means thousands of people walking around the parks munching on peanuts as they go.

disneysteve,
My guess is that for this particular family, they just don't go and do things like this. The child *has* to go to school, the child doesn't have to go to Disney World, or a baseball game, or be a scout member. I'm not saying I agree with how they are handling this, just that they probably choose to opt out of these things if the allergy is that severe.