Dealing with peanut allergy in western 'burbs (Chicago, Naperville: Valentine's day, home)

[klb3]

We are looking to move to the western suburbs this summer. (We are targeting Downers Grove.) My oldest son is 4 and has a severe peanut allergy. His current preschool is a "nut free" school, which takes away a lot of my worries. I was hoping to find another preschool like this in/near Downers Grove.

Does anyone have any recommendations for preschool that deals with peanut allergies? In addition, what about elementary schools?

I would also love to hear from anyone who is currently dealing with this. Unfortunately, we have just learned that our son has gotten incredibly worse.

Thanks so much!

[nana053]

Almost every school and preschool is dealing with this now. In 2010, Illinois passed legislation with guidelines and the guidelines are available online

The Nut-Free Mom Blog: Food Allergy Guidelines for Illinois Schools Now Available!

Nutrition Programs - Food Allergy Guidelines

There is even a restaurant in Downers Grove that is peanut free

All Aboard Diner - Downers Grove, IL

[klb3]

Thank you so much! I've seen a lot of food allergy websites, but none of these. I'm still new at dealing with this sort of thing, so I appreciate any information.

[whakru]

Originally Posted by klb3

We are looking to move to the western suburbs this summer. (We are targeting Downers Grove.) My oldest son is 4 and has a severe peanut allergy. His current preschool is a "nut free" school, which takes away a lot of my worries. I was hoping to find another preschool like this in/near Downers Grove.

Does anyone have any recommendations for preschool that deals with peanut allergies? In addition, what about elementary schools?

I would also love to hear from anyone who is currently dealing with this. Unfortunately, we have just learned that our son has gotten incredibly worse.

Thanks so much!

I can tell you that Peter Pan Early Learning is peanut free and they have the main school in Naperville but there is also one in Westmont on Cass which is closer to DG for you. My children attended there through Kindergarten and they are wonderful! I think that most preschools are nut free so if these don't work you should be able to find something that works for you.

As a side note, when you get to the public schools they have gotten pretty strict on the nut thing. In Naperville (where my kids attend) there is no home baked food allowed in the school (for parties and such) and kids are not allowed to pass out candy at Valentine's day (or any other holiday for that matter). There is a specific peanut free lunch table because they cannot police what everyone brings in their lunches to school and to be honest, kids still should be able to eat a PB and J sandwich for lunch if they want. No one is allowed at the nut free tables unless their food is deemed acceptable.

Hopefully this will bring you some peace of mind as you move on with this new diagnosis. I wish you and your son the best of luck.

[klb3]

Originally Posted by whakru

I can tell you that Peter Pan Early Learning is peanut free and they have the main school in Naperville but there is also one in Westmont on Cass which is closer to DG for you. My children attended there through Kindergarten and they are wonderful! I think that most preschools are nut free so if these don't work you should be able to find something that works for you.

As a side note, when you get to the public schools they have gotten pretty strict on the nut thing. In Naperville (where my kids attend) there is no home baked food allowed in the school (for parties and such) and kids are not allowed to pass out candy at Valentine's day (or any other holiday for that matter). There is a specific peanut free lunch table because they cannot police what everyone brings in their lunches to school and to be honest, kids still should be able to eat a PB and J sandwich for lunch if they want. No one is allowed at the nut free tables unless their food is deemed acceptable.

Hopefully this will bring you some peace of mind as you move on with this new diagnosis. I wish you and your son the best of luck.

This is great information! It does calm my nerves to know that there are strict policies in place...way more than what I'm currently experiencing. I will definitely start calling preschools in the area to find out exactly what they do. Thanks again! I really appreciate it.

[K98]

I am considering moving to the western suburbs of Chicago this year. My son has a severe peanut allergy and I would like to move to a school district that has good policies and support for handling peanut allergies (understanding principle, teachers, staff..etc) Does anyone know of any specific school districts that meet these needs? How is Downers Grove specifically? Did you ever end up moving there? One of the areas we were considering was the Northern part of Downers Grove.