To go with the Peanut Butter thread: Do you think that PBJs should be banned...

[perdidochas]

But what about if a different child is allergic to milk? eggs? etc? Is all that going to be banned too? I have very strong opinions on this subject.

Those allergies usually aren't as severe as peanut allergies.

 

[disneyandme]

On theory of why there are so many more allergic kids is that they are exposed much earlier to certain ingredients. The use of peanut oil became very popular in the late 80's and early 90's as a healthier alternative and therefore kids were exposed to peanuts at 1 or 2 instead of the usual 4/5 as they started school. One (of many) of my DD3 allergies is to corn-- unheard of not too long ago, but becoming more and more common since kids are exposed to it very early in life-- formula, baby foods/cereals, soap, lotion, etc. There are some who believe that it will be the next big allergen.

 

[allaboutmm]

I am a Nursery school teacher and about 3 yrs ago we went to a "nut free" school. Yes, this has been difficult for parents( myself a parent) when sending in lunches, b'day snacks or everyday snack to share. If a food package says," may be processed on the same equitment as a nut item", its a no go. I have had children bring in store bought cupcakes for their b'day read the package..sorry its a no go. Or items decorated with M&M's...no go.Which you hate to break their little hearts( kind of wished the parents read it first so that I didn't have to be the bad guy!). But I will do anything to protect the children in my room. This year I have a little boy coming into my room with a ton of allergies. One of his allergies is to eggs, ya think not so serious, oh no, anaphylactic reaction to them. So there will no mayo in my room. Also all the teachers at my school, with many classrooms(2 infant rms, todder rm, twos room, Pre-N, Nursery, and Pre-K)on staff day get a list of epi-pen children that are in the whole school, where they( epi-pens) are located, and how to administer it. Out of all my years teaching at this school(it will be 14 this Sept) I have only seen a teacher have to use one once (bee sting), and I hope I NEVER have to see that again! Not a fun site to see an ambulance pull up to a school!

 

[minniebeth]

There is a lot of talk about epipens in discussions about allergies, and truly they are the lifeline to children (and adults) with severe and life-threatening allergies. I think it needs to be put in perspective, though, that it's ok for them to be around their allergens because they have their epipens as a backup. If you've ever witnessed a child being administered an epipen in a state of emergency, you might understand. It's not like giving them an inhaler or Benydryl and then they would be ok. Some situations might be easier than others, but there can be serious consequences to using the epipen. The adrenaline in itself have a potentially life-threatening reaction. Therefore the need for 911 backup when it is used. It is a horrible experience for anyone, both physically and emotionally. Not to mention the costs that are involved are astronomical...the epipens in themselves are not always covered by insurance and the ambulance ride/emergency room and follow up visits can easily add up to a very high cost easily.
Just food for thought....thanks for reading, and having compassion for anyone who suffers with the thought that this could happen to them at any time.

 

[disneyandme]

I like your response Minniebeth-- epipens are made to buy time in order to get someone to the hospital-- in and of itself it is not meant as a lifesaving devise.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Some situations might be easier than others, but there can be serious consequences to using the epipen. The adrenaline in itself have a potentially life-threatening reaction. Therefore the need for 911 backup when it is used. It is a horrible experience for anyone, both physically and emotionally.

Very true...the epi-pen can cause a person to go into cardiac arrest and kids are more susceptible to that reaction than an adult is. This is definitely an eye opening discussion...glad to see this thread.

 

[mrs.beast]

i just went to work and met with my team and found out that in our classes of 80 students we will have 14 kids with epi-pens. 14, so yes it is becoming much more common. in our K classes the parents have always provided snack for the students to share( i am new to the grade level and this is how it is done.) this year we have to say only fruit and veggies because we have severe milk, wheat, and peanut allergies in all the groups. so, in our rooms if the snack that day is celery and someone does not want it they do not get snack( I had no say in that rule, pre-established before i came.) thank goodness that our K is only 3 hours. i cannot wait to field complaints from parents who are going to complain that their child will starve in 3 hrs. (school doesn't even start for 3 more weeks and our principal has already received 2 emails regarding snack restrictions and parents unhappy about them-wait till they hear that it is now even more strict.

 

[The Disney Bunch]

No I do not think peanut butter should be banned. We have friends with children who have peanut allergies and we adjust for them. Children need to learn how to live with their allergy. If you ban it from their lives, how will they know how to react when encountered with it?

Our school has a peanut-free table where the kids with the peanut allergy have their lunch. They can bring a friend to sit with them.

 

[disneyandme]

I had to laugh at the comment that parents would complain that their children would starve without a snack. I wonder if these same parents serve breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-day snack, and dinner at home. I have a feeling most don't eat this frequently when they are at home. My DD3 with multiple allergies and other food/eating issues has to eat very often (as told by the doctor) and she eats every 3 hours. Even she could last a whole 3 hour preschool class.

 

[robertsmom]

I guess my question about all this is - what is going to happen when these kids are grown?? Will workplaces suddenly have to become "peanut-free"? Will we all have to walk around wearing masks after we eat peanut butter because we might breathe it into the air? I'm not trying to be mean (my DS wouldn't touch peanut butter so it makes no difference to me) but I honestly don't understand. Is this particular allergy worse in kids than it is in adults? Is that why this particualr problem seems to be confined to schools?

 

[minniebeth]

No I do not think peanut butter should be banned. We have friends with children who have peanut allergies and we adjust for them. Children need to learn how to live with their allergy. If you ban it from their lives, how will they know how to react when encountered with it?

Our school has a peanut-free table where the kids with the peanut allergy have their lunch. They can bring a friend to sit with them.

I'm not saying this to start contraversy, but to have some see it from a different point of view...children/adults become educated about their life-threatening allergies. It doesn't mean that they should have to directly cope with it everyday where it could potentially put them at jeopardy. This IS a disability as equal to any other that by most laws entitle children to a safe educational environment. I'm on the fence about "banning" peanut/nut/etc. products because I am a teacher and a parent, so I see both sides of it. But I also have a DD with a life-threatening peanut/tree nut allergy and it makes me sad to think that a child having PB for lunch is more important than a child's health and LIFE. My DD's school (private) has not officially banned all foods relating to peanuts/tree nuts at lunch, but has with snacks/birthday treats, etc. It might be headed that way, but for now, so many parents are voluntarily not sending in lunches with these products since there are quite a few children in this situation. It is very heart warming.
I don't know the answer, it will be interesting to see what more and more schools do down the line, but I wouldn't want tragedy to have to be what sets precadence(sp?).

 

[mrs.beast]

I had to laugh at the comment that parents would complain that their children would starve without a snack. I wonder if these same parents serve breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-day snack, and dinner at home. I have a feeling most don't eat this frequently when they are at home. My DD3 with multiple allergies and other food/eating issues has to eat very often (as told by the doctor) and she eats every 3 hours. Even she could last a whole 3 hour preschool class.

you laugh but it has happened. the Kinder teachers have gotten them before. in fact, my teaching partner says she gets them for about the first month every year. i agree, 3 hrs is not too long. but according to some parents, their children have always had snack and will not be able to do their best if they are hungry. but to be honest, in this area all the kids have gone to preschool and all the local preschools do have midmorning snack and lunch at school and they are only there for 3-4 hrs. my DD4 goes from 9-12 and has snack and lunch

 

[disneyandme]

robertsmom-- I think you asked a very good question. A child handling a food allergy and an adult having the same allergy are very differnt. An adult is mature enough to not touch things that haven't been clean, to get up and leave if the allergen is being served not go to places that serve the allergen-- a child in school does not have that option. Kids in school are a captive audience and many lack the maturity and experience to speak up when something makes them uncomfortable or sick.

I have a friend with a son with a peanut/tree nut allergy. He was 6 when this incident occurred and is very articulate-- A parent brought in treats for a birthday. She gave him one and he checked the packaging which stated it was processed in a plant with nuts. He handed it back and said no thank you I am allergic to the nuts. She shoved it back and said just eat it, it's fine. The teacher did nothing to intercede and he took the food back to his desk. He was aware enough not to eat it, but stated later that the parent glared at him the whole time. What is a 6 yr old supposed to do? We teach our kids to be respectful and not to argue with adults. If his mother hadn't taught him to not take the word of an another adult about food, then he would have eaten it and ended up in the hospital. And, yes, this school was supposed to have a no nuts for snack rule.

I agree that the ban on nuts is a good first step( I can understand the alternative tables also) but the education of the children and ESPECIALLY OF THE PARENTS/ADULTS is more important. Things will slip through and the allergic kids have to be ready to address it. Teachers have to be more informed about allergies and the issue has to be addressed to all involved parents-- not just a mandate sent home in a letter.

 

[chobie]

I guess my question about all this is - what is going to happen when these kids are grown?? Will workplaces suddenly have to become "peanut-free"? Will we all have to walk around wearing masks after we eat peanut butter because we might breathe it into the air? I'm not trying to be mean (my DS wouldn't touch peanut butter so it makes no difference to me) but I honestly don't understand. Is this particular allergy worse in kids than it is in adults? Is that why this particualr problem seems to be confined to schools?

No, but we can expect adults to take care of themselves. Not small children. Yes they have to be educated and learn to take care of themselves, but the odds of an accidental exposure to peanuts happening to a small child are a lot greater. I don't expect a 5 year old to have to same ability to take care of themselves as an adult, do you?

Let's put it this way. We expect adults to be able to cross a street by themselves, but we don't expect that of small children do we? Yes, from the time they are very little we teach them how to do it safely, but we don't just let them go it alone until they are older. We don't let children swim unattended in pools even when there are lifeguards around do we? Yes, they are taught the safety rules, but I don't know many people who would just drop 5 year old off at a public pool and hope that if an accident occurs the lifeguard will save their life.

The problem with schools is that kids run into each other, they touch each other, they get in each others faces. Adults don't tend to do that in the work place, do they?

 

[shelly3girls]

A major concern with PB is that is it not easily cleaned up. If pb gets on a lunch table the table must be completely disinfected to be safe for a child with an allergy. Sure, they wipe down the the table but do they completely disinfect them considering how semi-dried pb sticks to the table. Other foods (milk, eggs, etc) clean up much easier and do not leave the residue that pb does. With schools having several lunch periods I would be concerned at how well the tables are cleaned between them.

 

[Girly_Qs]

Eye opening discussion - Thank you. I'm torn about some issues, but certainly not all.

While my dd lurves her some PB&J, that most definitely does not outweigh another child's right to basic safety. We'd find alternatives, no question, complete no-brainer. I might gripe/groan to myself about it initially (when faced with the 'oh crud, what do I pack now? dilemma'), but I'm sure with time it'd become a complete non-issue.

But . . . where does/will the line fall? I am (thankfully only peripherally, as we don't have any allergies in our family) aware that food allergies are on the rise - in terms of numbers, types, and severity. I truly feel for y'all that have to scrutinize every single label of every single item for nuts, wheat, dairy, etc. I can easily find alternatives to nuts - but wheat (also airborne)? That's far more difficult (as I know those of y'all faced with it know) . . ..

Part of me says that if it comes to that, then the schools need to be charged with coming up with/offering several acceptable options (as it would be the only way to assure that these omnipresent allergens don't show up) - but, let's face it, our schools are having a hard enough time just educating our children (that's a whole other conversation!). {side note: I don't mean that in any way to offend our educators on here - y'all are charged with an enormous task, yet given far too little money/support/time to accomplish it, IMO!}

I certainly don't claim to know the answer(s) . . ..

 

[maxtomsmom]

I didn't have time to read through all the posts so sorry if I am repeating. Although I don't have peanut allergy suffers in my family, I feel for those who do and have no problem with banning them from schools. When my older DS was in Preschool we had all sorts of interesting allergies - milk, fish (in a preschool, like who would bring in fish sticks?), peanuts, nuts, soy and my all time favorite Red Dye #40. I personally think our country should solve this problem by offering free lunch for all. They need to come up with healthy and most important delicious choices that will help children learn to develop the idea of a balance meal. Here is one way children can learn nutrition. Peanuts and peanut products could be banned and replaced with other similar choices. As a teacher I saw way too much junk sent in from home. Kids would eat chocolate and chips with a Yahoo for lunch. We're not allowed to stop them if they bring it from home and especially if that is part of their meal. We could tell them no candy but not chips or Yahoo. So when they got back to class they were hyper and then had a major crash. Thanks Mom!

 

[juligrl]

So are beans.

I'd like to see anyone get my DD to eat beans!

I agree. No child will die because they can't have peanut butter.

Very true - and fortunately my DD does eat a lot of things so sending her off to school with other stuff would not be an issue for us.

After reading almost all of this discussion and learning some very interesting thing about peanut allergies and others, I'm left with one question. At what point do you trust your kids to recognize that they have a peanut allergy and have to be vigilant about monitoring what they consume themselves?
I can see where a ban on the elementary school level would probably be in the best interest of the children since sometimes they're just too young to get that not everybody is like them. Do you ban peanuts from every institution of learning your child attends?

 

[mjantz]

I personally think our country should solve this problem by offering free lunch for all. They need to come up with healthy and most important delicious choices that will help children learn to develop the idea of a balance meal. Here is one way children can learn nutrition. Peanuts and peanut products could be banned and replaced with other similar choices. As a teacher I saw way too much junk sent in from home. Kids would eat chocolate and chips with a Yahoo for lunch. We're not allowed to stop them if they bring it from home and especially if that is part of their meal. We could tell them no candy but not chips or Yahoo. So when they got back to class they were hyper and then had a major crash. Thanks Mom!

Considering some of the choices I've seen in public school cafeterias, I don't think I want the government feeding my kids at lunchtime. I can pack a great lunch for my kids thats much healthier than anything I've seen in a school cafeteria.

Also, I have a serious problem with banning candy, chips & soda completely. 99% of the time my kids get healthy, balanced lunches. But on occasion I pack DH a Sunkist orange soda or DD a small tube of Smarties. These are my choices as their parent & I'd be a bit miffed if I couldn't continue to integrate these treats into their lunches.

 

[Tikicampers]

I am on the fence about no PB schools, but I am very concerned that there are schools out there that are keeping epi-pens locked up (doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose?).
I had a student with a peanut allergy, and it was treated very seriously. In our district, PB is allowed, but if a child has a food allergy, the parents, teacher, school nurse, and head nurse meet at the beginning of the year to set up an allergy plan. The teacher must carry the epi-pen at all times, and it is handed off to the music, art, and PE teachers. All staff are trained to use epi-pens. The student has a peanut free table, but any student with a peanut free lunch is allowed to sit with them (checked by staff). All students had to wash up after lunch (which they should really do anyway). For the child in my room, the mother sent in baked goods that she knew were safe, and we put them in a freezer for the days treats were sent in that she couldn't have (the other kids always thought hers looked better).