why don't parent's listen ?

[bsblady01]

only the classroom is peanut free

 

[sk!mom]

why don't parent's listen to what the school/teacher says. I just got a note home in my k daughters backpack that a child came to school with peanut butter crackers for snack today, this is a nut free class. parents were told this at meet the teacher day and again on the first day of school.


had the teacher not seen this the little boy could have had a big issue. the teacher has decided that she will provide snack for all of the kids for the rest of the year so there are no more issues.

Instead of just complaining, maybe help the teacher out and organize a snack sign up. Each parent bring enough for the class once every 3 weeks. It would be delivered to the teacher who could check to be sure that it was OK. Then the teacher could just keep a stash for the occasional day when someone forgets but she wouldn't be out the daily expense.

 

[LilyWDW]

If this is such a huge deal, then maybe the parents of the allergic child should offer "safe" snacks to the teacher themselves.

 

[bsblady01]

Instead of just complaining, maybe help the teacher out and organize a snack sign up. Each parent bring enough for the class once every 3 weeks. It would be delivered to the teacher who could check to be sure that it was OK. Then the teacher could just keep a stash for the occasional day when someone forgets but she wouldn't be out the daily expense.

I am going to ask her about doing that tomorrow. I do that with my first grade class

 

[bsblady01]

Instead of just complaining, maybe help the teacher out and organize a snack sign up. Each parent bring enough for the class once every 3 weeks. It would be delivered to the teacher who could check to be sure that it was OK. Then the teacher could just keep a stash for the occasional day when someone forgets but she wouldn't be out the daily expense.

and who was complaining. I feel bad for this little boy

 

[Kellykins1218]

I'm confused. If it's not your child, why are you making such a bug deal about it? It seems like that would be between the kid's parents and the school. They should be the ones handling it.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I'm confused. If it's not your child, why are you making such a bug deal about it? It seems like that would be between the kid's parents and the school. They should be the ones handling it.

Well the teacher has made it about ALL the kids by saying she is going to provide snack to all--so I could see being upset about that (seriously, I would not want my kids having either goldfish or animal cookies every day--way too much processed junk; though I find it really surprising that specifically was communicated). So, I could understand the OP being upset about that--though she does not appear to be and her anger seems very misplaced aimed at the parent who accidentally sent in a banned treat for her own child and not at the overreacting teacher

 

[aprilchem]

She should talk to the principal. She is creating a bigger liability issue by doing this. And if she doesn't have the blessing of those in charge she could be in for a world of hurt. Is she planning on send a copy of the ingredient list home? My kids don't have allergies and I would be emailing the principal about this. A teacher does not get to decide what I feed my kid.

This is actually very common in my kids' school - I think we've had at least one or 2 of my 3 kids have "class snack" provided by the teacher or parent volunteers rather than each parent send in an individual snack every school year so far. No "world of hurt" occurred, although sometimes my kids eat something that they wouldn't be allowed to eat at home. That's not the hill I'm willing to die on, though, so I just let it go.

And my DH would have NO idea whether our kids are allowed to pack peanut products or not (they're allowed to pack for lunch, not for snack). He didn't go to back to school night, doesn't read any of the papers that come home (I take care of all of that) and has not packed a lunch or a snack for several years now. So yeah, if I was really sick or incapacitated I can see him sending peanut butter crackers to school. He just wouldn't know not to.

 

[aprilgail]

I have a feeling it will be gold fish and animal cookies which most kids love

My daughter would not eat either of those, I don't se how a teacher could provide snacks for an entire class and make it things each kid would eat.

All 3 of the schools I worked in were K-8...none banned peanut butter.

Our schools "suggest" no peanuts but they won't go so far as banning them as it gives a false sense of security and opens them up for a lawsuit if someone does bring it. It was pretty much what my daughter brought every day in grade school, if it was banned we would have found something else but it was not. They have a table in the cafeteria where kids with peanut allergies sit to have their lunch and the only year we had an issue with a snack was 4th grade where my daughter had the peanut allergy kid in her class so we just sent non peanut snacks for snack time.

 

[Dis703]

As a mom of children with life threatening food allergies, I don't typically blame the parents for the occasional slip-up. I know for myself mornings are completely chaotic getting ready for the school day. Sometimes the kids grab what they want and put it in their bags, sometimes DH does snack, sometimes it's me, sometimes it's the nanny. And if you don't live with food allergies it's really easy to forget. When you have kids with allergies, it's always on your mind. When you don't, it's just not something you think about every day.

I miss a lot of the stuff coming home from schools and I forget a lot of stuff too. Nobody is perfect.

 

[Dawnlight]

Why don't parents listen? Because they're not your children. They are not the school's children.

There could be a whole host of innocent and forgivable reasons why the forbidden peanut snack made its way to school, but it could be that the parents don't care.

I, personally, would take issue with anyone feeding my kids without my permission. There are people who observe religious dietary restrictions such as kosher and hallel. Is the teacher able to accommodate their needs, or is it just the needs of peanut-allergy kid that gets covered?

 

[Gracie09]

This is actually very common in my kids' school - I think we've had at least one or 2 of my 3 kids have "class snack" provided by the teacher or parent volunteers rather than each parent send in an individual snack every school year so far. No "world of hurt" occurred, although sometimes my kids eat something that they wouldn't be allowed to eat at home. That's not the hill I'm willing to die on, though, so I just let it go.

And my DH would have NO idea whether our kids are allowed to pack peanut products or not (they're allowed to pack for lunch, not for snack). He didn't go to back to school night, doesn't read any of the papers that come home (I take care of all of that) and has not packed a lunch or a snack for several years now. So yeah, if I was really sick or incapacitated I can see him sending peanut butter crackers to school. He just wouldn't know not to.

If the teacher without permission from the Administration organized a snack rotation and a child had an an allergic reaction or child who kept kosher or other special diet ate the snack and they shouldn't have, she has opened herself and the school district up for Potential lawsuits. She could possibly be disciplined or fired.

 

[Dis703]

And that is the problem. If you start banning foods from a school due to a few student allergies (even if those allergies are life threatening) you leave very little for the rest of the students to eat. I have worked at 3 different school. All schools had students with peanut or egg or nut or wheat or....the list goes on...allergies. No food groups were banned from our school - ever! We had peanut free tables at lunch. Any child who ate peanut butter had to wash their hands before returning to class. If a peanut snack was eaten by a student in class, the student's desk was wiped down with a Clorox wipe, and the student had to wash hands. I think all these actions are reasonable. I do not think banning peanut butter from an entire classroom, lunch room or school is reasonable.

As a food allergy mom I despise blanket bans. My kids are allergic to dozens of foods when you combine them. Their diets are quite limited compared to other kids. There's no way the school would ever ban the list of foods they are allergic to because there are so many and they are such common foods. But they are able to eat nuts and peanuts and in fact, they are a big part of their daily diet because of all the other restrictions. We can work around the snack in the classroom, but when it comes to a ban on nuts/peanuts in the entire school there just aren't enough options for lunches and treats for my kids to be able to still eat at school.

Classroom bans are reasonable to me "if" they know the child has serious reactions and "if" they don't only ban nuts/peanuts but consider all life threatening food allergies.

 

[mjkacmom]

Are you serious?! Of course the teacher would pick a back up snack that is appropriate for ALL children in the classroom.... She's already taken on the task of providing them for everyone.

Last years my kids went on the annual camping trip. To make things fair, the PTO made up snack bags for all of the students. Those of us with kids with food allergies came to a meeting, to come up with a list of snacks everyone could eat. It was hysterical! I think we came up with jolly ranchers and potato chips. Finally, we came up with a (small) list, where some of the snacks could be switched out with safe versions (I packed gluten free rice Krispy treats, cookies, and pretzels for dd).

 

[PollyannaMom]

Also, I think they should just provide back up snacks that are allergen safe. If you don't want your kids eating the back up animal crackers, then follow the instructions and don't pack peanut butter. If you forgot one day, you likely had enough other stuff going on that you don't mind if your kid ate animal crackers for one snack.

Parents can still provide the snacks and the teacher and assistant can just go through and check the snacks for safety.

I substitute teach, and this has been the policy in many pre-K and K rooms I was in. The aide and I were to check snacks, and we had "trades" in the cabinet if necessary.

(Usually, a letter is also sent at the beginning of the year with lots of safe snacks listed, so parents don't have to do all the research either. They can certainly add things they've personally checked out, but it gives them a quick starting point that they can just match to their own child's likes or restrictions.)

As for the teacher providing snack, I don't personally think she should take on the financial responsibility. But I wouldn't worry too much about "junk". I expect she'll actually choose healthier snacks than most I see packed, since she has to deal with the kids' behavior after they eat them.

 

[eh24fan]

I have 2 Kindergartners. We did not find out until the night before school started that the school was peanut free. I literally had to change what was packed in their lunch boxes. I'm sure lots of parents did not get that message that was sent in the evening the night before. We found out at the end of the first week that the kids needed a snack sent (the school had provided it the first week) and it also had to be nut free. We were not told about either food issues at meet the teacher or in any official communications from the school.
The 1st weekly newsletter we received from each teacher did ask for peanut free lunches and snacks. We then received a separate email requesting peanut free.
Fast forward to Monday night (1 month into school) we now receive a letter from the principal and school nurse that the entire school is peanut free. In addition to this we're asked to wipe the kids hands and faces before they come to school in case they may have peanut butter on them.
In the beginning I was disappointed that we weren't told about the nut free issue in enough time to plan for it. Then we weren't told about the snack issue (which also is affected by the nut free policy)...now the kids need to be wiped down in case they have peanut butter particles on them?
I'm all for keeping these kids with allergies safe (I have a shellfish allergy myself) but it seems over the top.

This is excessive and I would be likely to make a formal complaint. I'm all for being sensitive to needs of others, but this is ridiculous. If these children are SO allergic that the entire school has to do all of this, then those children should be in a bubble somewhere.

 

[eh24fan]

I know you are trying to be funny-

My DIL was unbelievably careful during her pregnancy- didn't eat SO MANY FOODS- and So careful of the solid foods slowly introduced to baby

We were all shocked of this allergy- EGGS!
We found out Right before his first birthday- so found a vegan cupcake for him to " blow out" his candle
I actually chuckled to myself- never thought I would be searching for something vegan in my lifetime

I wonder if there has been a study done to determine if women being so limiting in what they ate during pregnancy has any effect on food allergies? I say this because it seems like before women were "banned" from eating or drinking this and that during pregnancy, there were far fewer food allergies.

 

[ELSA711]

I would just like to know why there are so many kids today with food allergies. When I grew up, I didn't know one kid in my school with a food allergy.
I feel for the parents that have this issue with their children and I thank God everyday my kids don't have allergies like that but these bans can be crippling to other parents too.

 

[Hrhpd]

I can easily see this happening by accident. You have several children and only one is in a peanut free classroom. You are not going to limit all your children just because one is in a peanut free classroom. So, you have the lunches lined up and you accidentally put the peanut crackers in the wrong lunch box. Or, the child grabs the wrong lunch bag.

I know one person who had a young son allergic to peanut ingestion, no inhalation issues. She did keep peanut butter in the house because her other children still loved it. One lunch, the second grader took a bite of his sandwich and then jumped up and ran to the nurse's office. He realized that he had just taken a bite of his sister's pb&j sandwich which dad somehow mistakenly put in his lunchbox. The nurse administered the epi pen, another had to be administered in the ambulance and he had an overnight hospital stay.

So, it happens to parents too.

OP, I am surprised that your school still allows parents to bring in snacks for the whole class. Our schools are pretty liberal (they don't have any bans) but this is one thing the lawyers shut down. There are way too many liability issues.

It started with no open packaged like fruit or homemade food because state law said that you could not cook or prepare food for others without a commercial license. The state is was concerned about cleanliness, but the school was concerned about ingredients. Non allergy parents don't always understand the scope of all ingredients that may contain peanuts or gluten or meat products or bananas or strawberries or any of the multiple allergies.

Then it started banning packaged items because not all parents looked at the packaging to see if the item is not only peanut free but also was not produced in a factory that could have cross contamination.

That seems to be a real knee jerk reaction of your daughter's teacher, not to mention it is going to be extremely expensive for her to have to buy all those gluten free snacks to satisfy the gluten free children. Gluten free stuff is still pretty pricey.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

The same reason people don't read signs at amusement park rides, or warning messages on the computer.