Speaking of schools, how do schools now deal with child with peanut allergy?

[npmommie]

I ask because I witnessed a very heated discussion in the gymnastics waiting area last evening between 2 moms.

mom 1 was discussing her 2 yo and how he has a peanut allergy, just diagnosed. She is already concerned about when he goes to school, and peanut products , not just pbandj sandwiches, but all the other stuff like granola bars etc etc.........she voiced how she thinks the school should be completely peanut free.
mom 2 was sitting next to me and jumped into the conversation saying how she thinks you can't make the school completely peanut free, how its not fair to the kids who will only eat peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, etc etc. She is a teacher and she went on to tell how they do it at her school. ( peanut free tables in the lunch room, no outside snacks etc)

mom 1 continued to kind of argue with mom 2, very defensive, and I could tell she was getting very upset. the words were getting sharper. Then thankfully the girls came out of practice and it was over

I understand completely how upset mom 1 would be, it would worry me also, and I would be worrying constantly once my child hit school age. I felt bad for her.

so anyway, how do your schools handle peanut allergies? are all products with peanut banned? what about cross contamination products?

just curious, we homeschool, so I really don't know how our local school deals with it.

 

[kimblebee]

I don't think there has been an official statement from my daughters school regarding peanuts. I just play it safe and don't send peanut butter sandwiches and only buy granola bars that are labelled peanut free.

 

[jodifla]

I ask because I witnessed a very heated discussion in the gymnastics waiting area last evening between 2 moms.

mom 1 was discussing her 2 yo and how he has a peanut allergy, just diagnosed. She is already concerned about when he goes to school, and peanut products , not just pbandj sandwiches, but all the other stuff like granola bars etc etc.........she voiced how she thinks the school should be completely peanut free.
mom 2 was sitting next to me and jumped into the conversation saying how she thinks you can't make the school completely peanut free, how its not fair to the kids who will only eat peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, etc etc. She is a teacher and she went on to tell how they do it at her school. ( peanut free tables in the lunch room, no outside snacks etc)

mom 1 continued to kind of argue with mom 2, very defensive, and I could tell she was getting very upset. the words were getting sharper. Then thankfully the girls came out of practice and it was over

I understand completely how upset mom 1 would be, it would worry me also, and I would be worrying constantly once my child hit school age. I felt bad for her.

so anyway, how do your schools handle peanut allergies? are all products with peanut banned? what about cross contamination products?

just curious, we homeschool, so I really don't know how our local school deals with it.

My son's classroom is peanut free, as someone has an allergy, but he can have peanut products at lunch. There are peanut free tables in the lunchroom.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Well, here in Germany they do not do anything special--they just expect the kids to handle it on their own (at least in 5th grade on up).

In MIchigan DD had several kids with allergies in the class. They put all of the serious allergies into one class together (there were three classes in her grade) and did not have food at parties in that class. A note was sent home at the start of each month asking parents not to send in snacks (eaten mid morning in class at desks) that were likely to get a peanut, nut, egg, or dairy product onto hands which may then touch batheroom doorknobs, etc. There was no "rule" just an asking to be considerate and I think the teachers kept an eye out and tried to whipe down doorknobs and sink faucets, etc.
At lunch there was a paenutfree table and a dairy free table. I am not sure where the kid with dairy, nut, and peanut allergies ate His were the most servere of any of them. I think he ate at the paenut free table and was just careful about what he touched otherwise.
We used to eat at a steakhouse that had peanut shells on teh floor and I used to always scrub the soles of DDs shoes when we got home because I was afraid she would track something into class that could be dangerous to one of the kids.

In DD's grade alone there were severa allergies to eggs, dairy, nuts and peanuts--I do not see how you could ban all the allergens from the school and have much of anything left

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

We go to Catholic school. Last year they sent a note home saying that all birthday or other party snack foods had to be purchased from the store and have a list of ingredients. Yahoo!!! No more late night baking for mommy!!!

Other than that we have no other restrictions.
In DD's preschool, the kids that were allergic had their own table. There was also one little boy that was so allergic that he would react if he came in contact with any residual oils. It was a half day pre-school and they supplied the snacks. However if your child at pb before coming to school you need to ensure that their teeth were brushed and hands and face washed to remove any oils. I was fine with this because DD still hates the smell of pb. However, it did annoy me when the teacher told the mother that she needed to send in her own snack and the mother refused. She told the teacher to read the back of the package and look for anything that might trigger a reaction! Umm, nope. Teacher told her she refused to take that risk because the kid was soooooo sensitive.

 

[zachnsamsmommy]

Our elementary school is totally peanut free. Nothing serving in the cafeteria with peanuts/peanut oil, and no one is allowed to bring anything in with any peanut/peanut product/peanut oil in it. It became peanut free about 5 years ago b/c they had several kids that would have anaphylactic rxns just being NEAR peanuts.

But it has been that way since ODS started in K, and now he is 3rd grade. So we are used to it. It may be difficult, however, when my younger DS starts school b/c he is so picky.

 

[mom2travel]

our elementary school has peanut-free tables in the lunchroom. And all tables get wiped down after each class finishes. DD had someone in her class a year or two ago who was allergic and she(DD) would make sure she didn't bring anything w/ nuts for snack that they ate in the classroom.

When DD was in pre-school, there was a girl w/ a sever allergy in her class. The mom sent in a list at the beginning of the school year with brands that are ok (i.e., nuts not manufactured in same place as non-nut products). I remember making cupcakes for DD's birthday and making sure to use the approved nut-free brands and sending in a note to that effect, so the little girl wouldn't need to sit and watch the other kids having a special snack; only recall because her mom called to thank me - I guess she had to skip alot of questionable treats.

 

[Motherofboys]

Our elementary is totally nut free. My DS7 does get a little bummed that he can't have a pb&j for lunch, but I don't want to have to deal with the thought of some small child going into an attack b/c he was exposed to pb. It's just safer to be totally nut free.

I am more concerned with how I went through 13 years of school without knowing anyone with a nut/pb allergy but now there are several in each grade. Something isn't right, I wish they would figure out what it is!

 

[mjkacmom]

We have a peanut free table, and food sent in for birthdays and bake sales are not supposed to have peanuts. However, there is no mention of making sure baked goods are manufactured in peanut free plants, so the peanut allergy kids have their own snacks.

 

[nmrgrl55]

My sons Kinder was peanut free and it kinda freaked me out at first cause he eats a lot of PB & Fluff. When we had our kinder orientation they mentioned Sunbutter as an alternative. It is more expensive but he loved it. He knew he wasn't alowed peanuts at school and would always remind me cause kids could get sick We moved this year and his new school is definately not peanut free. PB & J is on the lunch menu every day so I assume there are no Peanut allergies.

It was a pain always checking lables for what he brought to school but we were able to deal with it just fine (and my kid is a massively picky eater with sensory issues).

 

[TheZue]

Our school is a nut free zone. Honestly it isn't that bad....and this is coming from a mom who has an autistic kidlet who started off school with some severe food aversions. All he'd eat before he started school for sandwiches was grilled cheese or peanut butter, but we adapted. When it came down to it he needed to learn to eat other foods anyways, and when you actually put a face to the peanut allergy you really realize how petty it is to complain your child can't have one specific type of sandwich when there are TONS of other options for lunches.

Anyways we are two years out now and Adam brings a salami sandwich to school every day, I'm actually glad that ban was there because it forced us to be persistant on new foods...mainly because I got sick of sending cold grilled cheese or nuggets with him

 

[PollyannaMom]

Ours has a peanut-free table in each cafeteria. Classrooms are individual. - If there is an allergic child in your child's class, you get a letter saying snacks eaten in the classroom must be peanut free.

This is actually the first year since preschool that I haven't had to check for "manufactured in the same plant as..." warmings, but I still don't send things like peanut butter crackers. I figure anything goopy could get on DS's hands, then on some piece of playground equipment, then on an allergic friend's hand...

 

[mickeylove2]

My DDs' school has a peanut free section in the lunch room and all snacks to the classrooms have to be unopened store bought product listed. I think that all schools should be completely peanut free. A relatives 9 year old son died a few years ago because there was a kid eating pb across the lunch room from him and he went into anaphylaxis and by the time the nurse made it to him, he was dead. In a lunch room full of kids this little boy died because we, as a society, don't want to make it hard on little Johnny who only eats pb and j sandwiches for lunch.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

My DD has a peanut allergy and will begin K in the fall. It is only half day K, so I am thankful for that, but this means that she will be sitting at a table for snack time with 5 other kids. I don't know what that school's policy is yet as I will discuss it at registration, but I will tell you how the school I student taught at handled it.
....they really did nothing. Which upset me more! A little girl in my K class that I was student teaching in had both peanut and milk allergies. Everyday she sat across from a child with PB crackers. She was a bright girl and knew not to share. BUT every week the "Star of the Week" got to bring in a snack to share, this little girl could not have the snack. which I understand, she doesn't know what it is in, but at the same time, teacher should have sent mom a note home saying "someone brings snacks in once a week to share, we also have birthday parties, if you would like, please send in a box of safe food for your DD that I can distribute at this time" something to that effect. I know it would not offend me as a parent with a child with a food allergy.

And this is what really got me! This little girl knew not to share treats with the child next to her and everything, but one day the teacher brought in cheddar cheese balls for Halloween, she gave it to this little girl w/ the milk allergy. I guess she thought that since the teacher gave it to her, it was safe to eat. I ran over to the little girl and said "Honey, IDK, if this is safe." Seriously, I didn't know what to do, but I certainly did not want the girl to go into anaphalactic shock, I also did not want to single her out. But at the same time, I just reacted. I went over to the teacher and whispered "can so and so have this?" (I knew she couldn't, when I met her mom she told me she reacted to yogurt on her face, her face blew up). And she said "OOOO Right!!! i'll put it in her bookbag with a note to mom""
Ugh! AND she suggested I do a patterning lesson with them, it was M&Ms with marshmallows and make a pattern with different colors and shapes. Well, this little girl cannot have M&Ms and I told her this and she said, well she could touch them!! Well jeesh! That's not fair that she gets to watch everyone snack on them after, and giving her M&Ms is like giving her a knife to play with. And why all this junk food anyway to teach? I brought in skittles, she handed on the M&Ms while I was teaching.

I also wanted to add that there was no "nut free or allergy table" at the school, well not for the lunch that had kids from K-2 in it.

RANT OVER, but I do see how that childs mom feels, I wish schools would be peanut free, but that just is not going to happen around here.

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

Our school makes no mention of a peanut policy. I don't know if that's because my children has not been in a class with an allergic child. I soppose there could have been an allergic child in their class and nothing was said. We are asked to bring in only store bought baked goods for parties and such but nothing is ever said about nut-free.

Maybe my opinion would change if I had to deal with this in my family but I don't think a whole school should need to go peanut free.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

My DDs' school has a peanut free section in the lunch room and all snacks to the classrooms have to be unopened store bought product listed. I think that all schools should be completely peanut free. A relatives 9 year old son died a few years ago because there was a kid eating pb across the lunch room from him and he went into anaphylaxis and by the time the nurse made it to him, he was dead. In a lunch room full of kids this little boy died because we, as a society, don't want to make it hard on little Johnny who only eats pb and j sandwiches for lunch.

How sad, how awful! Seriously, Johnny can eat his PBnJ when he gets home @ 3.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Before my kids were born, I worked as a pre-k teacher. One year we had a boy with a severe nut allergy. His mother brought in 2 epi pens that I had to keep locked in my cabinet. I was a maniac about keeping the tables clean. Wiping them down at least several times a day. I kept this boy at the end of one of the less crowded tables in my room. Let me tell you, I lived in fear of him going into an anaphalatic reaction. His mom told me he'd been to the ER numerous times and she'd had to use the epi pen lots of times as well. It was really difficult to run a classroom and be sure that all the kids weren't harboring some kind of peanut or granola bar, this little kid was severely allergic (nut dust, oil or particles would send him into anaphalitic shock). I always feel for the teachers who have a nut allergy child in their class, it's a lot of stress and responsibility.

 

[jrmasm]

I am not aware of any restrictions at either of my children's schools.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

Ours has a peanut-free table in each cafeteria. Classrooms are individual. - If there is an allergic child in your child's class, you get a letter saying snacks eaten in the classroom must be peanut free.

This is actually the first year since preschool that I haven't had to check for "manufactured in the same plant as..." warmings, but I still don't send things like peanut butter crackers. I figure anything goopy could get on DS's hands, then on some piece of playground equipment, then on an allergic friend's hand...

Thank you for being so considerate!!!

 

[puffkin]

I am more concerned with how I went through 13 years of school without knowing anyone with a nut/pb allergy but now there are several in each grade. Something isn't right, I wish they would figure out what it is!

I agree

My DS is only in Daycare but it is PB free even though none of the kids currently enrolled at the school have a nut allergy. It actually makes weekend lunches super easy because all he wants is PB&J's since he can't have them in school. They do have hotdogs at least once a week though, which I think is horrid and a bigger risk than the PB (considering there are no allergies). He gets the alternate cheese sandwich those days.

We also cannot send in anything homemade. I make/decorate cakes and DS was disappointed I couldn't a special one in for him and his friends. I sent in fudge bars instead. They fit all the allergy restrictions, but boy did they make a mess I wouldn't have a problem if there was a kid in his class but considering not a single kid has an allergy in the entire school, I think it is a bit excessive.