Peanut Allergy

[mommy*RN]

I can't believe I just read this whole post. Whew!

My 2 cents...I have no problem keeping peanuts out of the classroom. When we bring snacks they are all peanut and tree nut free per the request of the classroom teacher. However I also know the teachers keep peanut and tree nut free items in the classroom so if someone brings a treat containing a no-no item the teacher can offer the allergic child an alternative that they can enjoy.

On the flip side...my DS is a picky skinny little eater. PB&J are his sandwich of choice. No, he won't starve if he doesn't have a PB&J sandwich for lunch, but he also needs to fuel his body to stay on task and learn in the afternoon. If I could find an alternative for him that he would eat I'd be happy to leave the peanut butter at home...so far everything I've tried has come back home (meat sandwiches, plain jelly, cheese, etc)

I wouldn't mind if someone made a "peanut" table at his school. I doubt he would be sitting alone there...peanut butter has been a child lunch staple for forever and a day.

I do think it would be near impossible for a school to go completely peanut free. I'm shocked there are schools out there that can label themselves that. There is no way on any given day there are not peanuts in those schools...a rogue snickers or an illicit pack of Ritz peanut butter crackers...there are peanuts in those schools. Kinda like those "Drug Free" schools that are on the evening news for a huge drug bust. I'd worry that the label of "peanut free" would give parents and children a false sense of security.

Good luck to the OP. I hope your childs sensitivity gets better and your school works with your family to an agreement both parties can live with.
Natalie

 

[Planogirl]

Asking a whole school to change for 1 child will never compute if you think with your head.

If you think with your heart, it makes perfect sense.

I wouldn't want myself or my child to have to live with knowing my lunch caused someone elses harm or possibly worse.

I think that the vast majority of us would react that way. However, I think that there will always be those who don't care or who just forget.

 

[lukenick1]

I just came across this thread and I don't really have time to read all 250 posts but I wanted to add my 2 cents.
I am going thru this right now myself. My DS in Kindergarten is also peanut and tree nut allergic. I brought in a notice to be handed out to all parents. It basically told them that my child had a life threatening allergy and asked that they not send in snacks with peanuts or treenuts. Well the principle refused to send them out because she felt it would do no good seeing our school is not "peanut free". As a matter of fact pb&j sandwiches are served at lunch. My son seems to only be affected by ingestion only, so I'm not ready to start a ruckus. Although I did become very irate recently when my other DS's 2nd grade class was not allowed to have a Halloween Party. Apparently the school will cater to Jehova's but yet allow the peanut allergy kids be exposed to a life threatening condition. Does that make any sense???? I don't mean any offense to Jehova's because your belief is your business, but it really shakes me up that a personal choice is more important than a life. BTW....my son is very cautious of what he will eat if he isn't sure it is safe so educating your allergic child is the best you can do.

 

[monsterkitty]

I just came across this thread and I don't really have time to read all 250 posts but I wanted to add my 2 cents.
I am going thru this right now myself. My DS in Kindergarten is also peanut and tree nut allergic. I brought in a notice to be handed out to all parents. It basically told them that my child had a life threatening allergy and asked that they not send in snacks with peanuts or treenuts. Well the principle refused to send them out because she felt it would do no good seeing our school is not "peanut free". As a matter of fact pb&j sandwiches are served at lunch. My son seems to only be affected by ingestion only, so I'm not ready to start a ruckus. Although I did become very irate recently when my other DS's 2nd grade class was not allowed to have a Halloween Party. Apparently the school will cater to Jehova's but yet allow the peanut allergy kids be exposed to a life threatening condition. Does that make any sense???? I don't mean any offense to Jehova's because your belief is your business, but it really shakes me up that a personal choice is more important than a life. BTW....my son is very cautious of what he will eat if he isn't sure it is safe so educating your allergic child is the best you can do.

Not having Halloween parties is not caused by a student or two being Jehovah's Witness. Each school has its own reason for not having a Halloween party : takes time away from learning (thanks, NCLB), it is a huge disruption to the day, it is against school board policy, etc. Long before we stopped doing Halloween parties at my middle school, we had many children who didn't attend school that day because of religious purposes. 99% of those children were not Jehovah's Witness, but Christian.

I asked a peanut allergy 6th grader if he could cut down on the Axe he showers in before coming to school. Axe is one of many scents that can cause my eyes to swell and the wheezing to start. He laughed and said no, that that was stupid. His mom informed me he would not stop using Axe because he likes the smell and no one can be so allergic to a scent that it causes them to wheeze.

We are a peanut free school for this child.

 

[sha_lyn]

Not having Halloween parties is not caused by a student or two being Jehovah's Witness. Each school has its own reason for not having a Halloween takes time away from learning (thanks, NCLB), it is a huge disruption to the day, it is against school board policy, etc. Long before we stopped doing Halloween parties at my middle school, we had many children who didn't attend school that day because of religious purposes. 99% of those children were not Jehovah's Witness, but Christian.

I asked a peanut allergy 6th grader if he could cut down on the Axe he showers in before coming to school. Axe is one of many scents that can cause my eyes to swell and the wheezing to start. He laughed and said no, that that was stupid. His mom informed me he would not stop using Axe because he likes the smell and no one can be so allergic to a scent that it causes them to wheeze.

We are a peanut free school for this child.

I believe she has 2 children at the school one in K who is allergic to peanuts, and she wasn't even allowed to ask for a peanut/nut free party so her son had to miss it. Also I don't believe she pulled the Jehovah reason out of a hat.

 

[KATHINOWA]

Asking a whole school to change for 1 child will never compute if you think with your head.

If you think with your heart, it makes perfect sense.

That was beautiful!

 

[sorul82?]

Not having Halloween parties is not caused by a student or two being Jehovah's Witness.

Uh, yes, not having Halloween and other parties IS because of a Jehovah Witness. I have twins in 3rd grade. DS has parties in his class, but DD does not because of one child.

Ugg, but I hear you on the Axe! That stuff is potent.

I wonder if we can start having the school vacuum all children before entering the school to remove cat hair. I don't want my child sneezing all day because someone has cat hair all over them.

 

[lukenick1]

Not having Halloween parties is not caused by a student or two being Jehovah's Witness. Each school has its own reason for not having a Halloween party : takes time away from learning (thanks, NCLB), it is a huge disruption to the day, it is against school board policy, etc. Long before we stopped doing Halloween parties at my middle school, we had many children who didn't attend school that day because of religious purposes. 99% of those children were not Jehovah's Witness, but Christian.



thanks sha lyn
Your right I did not pull the jehova reason out of a hat. Thats what we were told. We could not have halloween parties or christmas parties or birthday celebrations because of the Jehova witnesses and for other religous beliefs. Thats BOLOGNA! Who cares that we're endagering childrens lives but we don't want to upset the jehovas! Give me a break! There are probably more peanut allergic children in schools today than jehovas.
How about the children who are missing precious learning time because of a child in the classroom eating a peanut snack which forces them to leave the room??? Thats ok though? It takes a parent of an allergic child to realize how dangerous it is. I don't think others understand the magnitude of it. JMO

 

[lukenick1]

Uh, yes, not having Halloween and other parties IS because of a Jehovah Witness. I have twins in 3rd grade. DS has parties in his class, but DD does not because of one child.

MY peanut allergic kindergartener does have parties in his class, my second grader does not because of jehova's.
We rest our case.

 

[Talking Hands]

MY peanut allergic kindergartener does have parties in his class, my second grader does not because of jehova's.
We rest our case.

That is an excuse that is used when the admin doesn't want to take the blame. JW kids are often given time in the library or in another type of classroom activity like a movie while the rest of the school has their parites. Been there and done that and the JW are usually with me because I do not do Halloween myself (not JW but Christian) I know one teather who is JW, who takes the day off and allows the parents and sub do the party for the kids. That is one day I do not sub for her.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

I assisted in my DS10's 1st grade class years ago, and they sent the JW kid off to the library-per his mother's insistence- every time there was a celebration in the room. They had a Halloween party..without Carlos, of course.

When my DS got into 2nd grade at a different school-they allowed a small snack in the afternoon of Halloween. The preK and Kindergartener's all got to dress up, the rest of the school could have a snack, but they had too much work to do for a big party. And depending on the strictness of the teacher, they could have a cupcake brought in at lunch for the kids for birthdays. Nothing to do with JW, the kids were just too busy.

 

[lukenick1]

"I wonder if we can start having the school vacuum all children before entering the school to remove cat hair. I don't want my child sneezing all day because someone has cat hair all over them."

I hope you were joking......your not comparing apples to apples. You can't die from sneezing due to cat hair. You can die from anaphylactic shock from nuts.

 

[sunnyday123]

I asked a peanut allergy 6th grader if he could cut down on the Axe he showers in before coming to school. Axe is one of many scents that can cause my eyes to swell and the wheezing to start. He laughed and said no, that that was stupid. His mom informed me he would not stop using Axe because he likes the smell and no one can be so allergic to a scent that it causes them to wheeze.

We are a peanut free school for this child.

I would be right in somebody's office about that. The entire school changed policy because of his allergies and he refuses to acknowledge someone elses? Not right, or fair.
I am so allergic to cigarette smoke that my eyes swell shut and I can't breathe. Only took two times of me getting up and going home and refusing to take a vacation day for the powers to be at work to move some seats. ( after I had repeatedly asked nicely)
I am also ( and yes I am ) allergic to cold. If I get really cold, I break out in hives and it's hard for me to warm up. Something about how your blood vessels constrict/don't constrict and something else. They keep the temp at work a balmy 65 degrees, and my seat is under a vent.
When I am home more than I am at work, they'll get a clue.

 

[sunnyday123]

"I wonder if we can start having the school vacuum all children before entering the school to remove cat hair. I don't want my child sneezing all day because someone has cat hair all over them."

I hope you were joking......your not comparing apples to apples. You can't die from sneezing due to cat hair. You can die from anaphylactic shock from nuts.

You can die from an asthma attack, which can be brought on by an allergic reaction to cat hair.

Why is one allergy more important than another? Why can't the person with the allergy become educated about their condition, and adapt for it? The world's peanut growers are not going to plow their fields under, Jiffy is not going to start making peanut free peanut butter. The world does not revolve around one person.

 

[chisnpeke]

You can die from an asthma attack, which can be brought on by an allergic reaction to cat hair.

Why is one allergy more important than another? Why can't the person with the allergy become educated about their condition, and adapt for it? The world's peanut growers are not going to plow their fields under, Jiffy is not going to start making peanut free peanut butter. The world does not revolve around one person.

Exactly! Thank you!!!

No one seems to want to answer this question though, I've asked it a couple of times on this thread.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

"I wonder if we can start having the school vacuum all children before entering the school to remove cat hair. I don't want my child sneezing all day because someone has cat hair all over them."

I hope you were joking......your not comparing apples to apples. You can't die from sneezing due to cat hair. You can die from anaphylactic shock from nuts.

I usually don't post on these threads because I can see both sides but I did have to comment on this. Many people are very allergic to cats. Some are even considered "hospital allergic". So yes, you can die when you cannot breathe and for some, being around cats, people covered in cat hair and dander etc. can cause that reaction to start. I just wanted to point that out.

 

[lukenick1]

I usually don't post on these threads because I can see both sides but I did have to comment on this. Many people are very allergic to cats. Some are even considered "hospital allergic". So yes, you can die when you cannot breathe and for some, being around cats, people covered in cat hair and dander etc. can cause that reaction to start. I just wanted to point that out.

Your absolutely right! My peanut allergic son is also asthma attack allergic to cats. I avoid bringing him to his grandmothers house because she has cats. But the person specifically stated that she didn't want her child "sneezing" all day from sitting next to a person with cat hair on them. Sneezing and having an asthma attack are completely different. Listen, I don't want to sound like my child is more important than anyone, but the fact is, there are more and more anaphylactic allergic children in schools today so we are not asking to change things for one child. You would be surprised how many kids there are who suffer from a life threatening food allergy. Lucky for me my child is extremely educated about it therefore we can avoid it. What about the children who can't even be in the same room as peanut butter. Is it fair to shelter them to the home?? They deserve an education in the puiblic school system too. We did not ask for this to happen to our kids it is just luck of the draw. If we can cater to the handicapped, why not the allergic??? Save the peanut butter sandwiches for home consumption, you could save a life. Also there are other alternatives to peanut butter , my son eats sunflower butter and frankly, it tastes much better than peanut butter and is alot more healthy too. IMO.

 

[Mandychelle79]

If we can cater to the handicapped, why not the allergic??? Save the peanut butter sandwiches for home consumption, you could save a life. Also there are other alternatives to peanut butter , my son eats sunflower butter and frankly, it tastes much better than peanut butter and is alot more healthy too. IMO.

Dont serve milk products and then the children who allergic to milk will be saved, dont serve wheat, fish, nuts, dont have outdoor recess to limit the risk to those who are allergic to bee stings... thats the problem with that thought process. Sure peanuts are not such a big deal, but then you have to worry about the others. Because if you can accomadate a peanut allergy why not a milk allergy.

 

[LisaR]

Dont serve milk products and then the children who allergic to milk will be saved, dont serve wheat, fish, nuts, dont have outdoor recess to limit the risk to those who are allergic to bee stings... thats the problem with that thought procese. Sure peanuts are not such a big deal, but then you have to worry about the others. Because if you can accomadate a peanut allergy why not a milk allergy.

Exactly! My son swells up from touching milk. He can't eat PB but he can touch it without a reaction. My son would be safer in this world if we did away with milk.

 

[castleview]

There will always be the extreme people out there. If schools unilaterally ban PB in their buildings, there will be lunatics that try to take it a step further. Maybe it won't work; maybe it will eventually.

I can attest to that. We had a mom in a nearby town who wanted to be with her child the entire day (was worried about peanut residue on desks, books,staircase railings, etc.) Not only did she want to follow him around all day, she wanted the district to pay her as an aide.