Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I wish anyone with a child in this situation the best of luck with their health and do not wish any harm to anyone, but I do think it's rather presumptuous to expect everyone to arrange their lives for it.
I agree. Anyone without a child with a severe allergy should not have to rearrange their lives, but I hardly call sending your child to school with cheese and crackers versus peanut butter and crackers a rearrangement of one's life. Talk about presumptuous.
I agree. Anyone without a child with a severe allergy should not have to rearrange their lives, but I hardly call sending your child to school with cheese and crackers versus peanut butter and crackers a rearrangement of one's life. Talk about presumptuous.
Agreed... It is a simple adjustment that can actually save the lives of many students in the school...I have seen too many situtations where kids have gone into shock because of the peanut oil and an ambulance has been called to school... If there are parents who are angry about this type of mandate they should do some research on the severity of the situation. I honestly do not know why it has become so wide spread among the children of today... but the fact is that it HAS... and it is serious...As a parent myself, and a child going into first grade and havign lunch at school for the first time, putting other children in danger is not worth it to me just so I can make my daughter a PB&J sandwich for lunch... please do some research on the allergy and what might happen to the child sitting next to a studen who has eaten peanuts/pb... it is scary.
I agree. Nobody is saying that the kid is not entitled to it. It all boils down to choice.
And part of that public education is the responsibility of the schools to keep all children reasonably safe from harm. A common theme among principals and administrators is there is no guarantee that a peanut ban will keep a child with peanut allergy safe, therefore, why impose such a ban? In fact, why do anything at all? It's impossible to eliminate 100%
But, imagine that while enrolling your child in school for the first time you notice there are no fire extinguishers anywhere on school grounds. You point out to the principal that should there be a fire in the school, your child's life would be in danger.
The principal replies that even if they did have fire extinguishers, there is no guarantee that the school wouldn't burn down anyway and many children might die regardless, so why bother placing fire extinguishers throughout the school?
While this is an extreme example, the logic is the same. The only difference is we are not talking about an entire school population of, say, 100, but maybe a handful of children.
However, are you going to tell me that those 5 children's lives are not as important as the other 95 children?
I am not for an entire school wide or district wide ban, but at the very least a peanut free classroom, a cafeteria that doesn't serve peanut butter (as the risk for cross contamination is VERY high), but let children bring peanut butter to eat in the cafeteria if they like, but set aside several tables where peanut butter is allowed. No one will feel isolated as these kids would be making a conscious choice to sit at a peanut allowed table.
I am a parent of a child with a severe peanut allergy. She is 21 now, survived to go to college, but I think some on here don't really understand the allergy.
My child's peanut allergy is so severe, that we almost lost her a couple of times. It was harrowing. A tiny amount put her into anaphalactic shock, and in layman's terms, that is where the muscles of the bronchii tighten, the throat closes up, and basically the person's air supply is cut off. The blood pressure slows down, so if you don't get the epinepherine in quick enough, it rather pools. There can be extravasation of the blood because the major body systems are stopping. The person feels like they are dying, because they are. They did CPR on my daughter and kept her in intensive care because she had a turkey sandwich at a place that served a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and maybe the same knife was used...
When she went to preschool, I explained she had this deadly allergy, and that I would pack her snack everyday. That when it was our turn to bring in for the class, we would. The teachers liked this, because they didn't have to guess whether they were giving her something safe or not. Of course, there was the incident where a mother was angry my daughter would not try her peanut butter on celery ("It's healthy for you!") when my daughter was in elementary school. She did not take it, and insisted it wasn't healthy for her and thanks. It got easier as she got older, believe me.
I never asked the school to do much, except at one school in elementary school where a lot of kids had peanut butter for lunch. She feared them wiping their hands on her, or something happening. Remember, peanut butter is like a loaded gun at her head...so they let her sit at a small table in the cafeteria. She was afraid someone would smear peanut butter, be playing around, etc. and accidently get it on her or in her food. The table situation worked, and there was another kid with an allergy who joined her. She didn't mind this at all, could go play with the others after eating.
When you have a life threatening allergy, you have to live your life to protect yourself. I have given her medical masks to wear on planes that serve peanuts. We cannot expect everyone else to know, understand, or be educated in this.
I think for the schools, it would make it easier to not have peanuts served as snacks. And for the child with the allergy, once they have experienced anaphalaxis, they know how terrible it is. It would be removing a source of stress. I am allergic to shellfish, and I don't want anything with shellfish near my food. I feel the same way. It could kill me.
I don't think anything should be mandated. I was very proactive when my daughter was in school and I remember once being told the Rice Krispy treats would be okay that someone brought in...but then we found out they had peanut butter in them. I couldn't expect every parent in the room to become knowledgeable in this, nor would I trust what went on in everyone's kitchen, no offense intended, but I just made her snacks. When they had birthdays, I had something prepackaged that the teacher could give give to my daughter, and they said they liked that, so she wasn't going without.
Halloween and Easter were hard times. The candies with no ingredients on them...all M&Ms, Raisinettes, etc., had peanut in them. Chocolate products were iffy.
I would suggest to any parent with this...advocate for your kid, but realize it is very hard to get the whole world to understand. Teach your child to say "No thanks" to anything with peanut and that even a little bit can be deadly. There was an Ann Landers letter years ago, where a 4 year old boy got talked into trying this woman's peanut butter cookies, because she insisted her cookies were so good and "just a little bite won't hurt." She killed him.
The Food Allergy Network is a good source of information for parents of allergic kids, and never take risks. Never, ever think a little bit is okay. Never. This is the same reaction that people have with bee stings. And there are no vaccinations for this, don't let anyone tell you that. Stay away from the snake oil peddlers.
My daughter takes care of herself today and takes no risks. I wish you luck too, and remember, if there is not a list of ingredients on it, don't eat it.
Remember, as a parent, do what you need to do to make it safe for your kid. But across the board mandates are really difficult. I would have never wanted my kid in a room for disabled, she wasn't disabled, very bright, only had an allergy, and gosh, this can be dealt with!
Our family has dealt with this issue for 10 years now. Although it might be a civil rights issue sometimes with going completely nut-free...I definitely agree it is a safety issue. This will save a childs life...for all of the people who argue this think about this: What would you do to keep your child alive. All children have a right to an education and being safe.
Parents with Children of the Allergy World:
Have a 504 Plan meeting with the following people at the same time:
Principle, District Nurse, School Nurse, students Teacher and the Food Service Workers.
Have the Allergy Test results, a letter from the doctor as to how severe the allergy is and what the doctor wants done with the medicines.
You will need to have the teacher (depending on the school and age of the child) get a fanny pack with the students name: allergy: and medical alert signage on it. This fanny pack can be woren by the student during switching classes, bathroom runs etc. If they go out to PE with the teacher, than the teacher wears it. The monitors on the playground should also have fanny packs with the students medicines (epi and benadryl on them) because there is no time to run the student to the office while the reaction occurs. The nurse should have meds also locked at their station.
There needs to be a drill plan: Our children's teachers (at each grade level all of the teachers on the campus should know the plan) have peanut-drills like fire drills. If a reaction occurs in the classroom or while in the custody of the teacher w/ the class then the teacher simply says "PEANUT DRILL !!!" and the class immedicately goes to the nearest classroom (with a teacher) and says the same thing...PEANUT DRILL - that teacher then knows that the class will be with her until the situation is over and she is released. The teacher will phone, radio or send a student(s) to the office to let the nurse know to call 911.
You must let the OFFICE know that you want the nurse to ride with the student unless you are there, especially with the student also has asthma, because there are medications that contain peanut that are used for breathing treatments: DuoNeb, Atrovent, Ipratropiumbromide, Comivent,etc.
Field Trips the cafeteria packs lunches for the students that way the lunches are ham sandwiches for something other than PB&J. You can also provide the snacks for the students as a gesture for all of their help.
We also have hand sanitizer in the classroom after recesses and lunch. If the teacher says there is time- they wash their hands. This is actually beneficial to all of the students. The attendance rate went up over 50 % in our childrens classes because the kids were so clean, they weren't spreading germs all the time. The teacher like the fact that she got to take a vacation instead of using her time for sick days.
The biggest thing is to make sure that the school is educated and will know who your child is and where they are at all times. There are teaching tools for K-8 and up like Alexander the Elephant who is allergic to peanuts.
Also, just to let you...allergy testing can be confusing too. You can have a positive reaction one year and two years later be negative, this is a false reading. The peanut nut allergy is one that you have for a lifetime. It grows with intensity with each reaction. That is why it is so necessary to learn all you can, and educate everyone you talk to. The allergy shots just introduce the peanut protein- they are life-threatening reactions waiting to happen. Trust me.
IF the school doesn't want to do their part change schools or get an attorney. YOU are your child's advocate- it will be hard to start, but well worth it.
Good Luck !!!! Everything will be fine....have a safe nut-free day!
Trace Atkins is the Honorary Chairman for the www.faanwalk.org 2008 in San Diego,CA because his child has the allergy. Join the walk in your area and find others who can support you. ~ God Bless.
Change the Schools by introducing it in a profitable way too.
Everyone is all about money today, so have them understand the allergy in a fundraiser. Contact corralee@peanutfreeplanet.com email for all of the schools fundraising ideas that are peanut free, nut free or whatever your needs. This way your child can participate and the PTA makes money. You will be surprised how many parents will thank you for having something different and yummy to buy; instead of the same old stuff.
This I will say: going to public school (K-12) and graduating back in 1975; I never heard about any kids with allergies to peanuts.
As per some of the other posters; sometimes the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. If indeed a kid is that allergic to peanuts..........he needs to be in a sequestered environment----------almost like a 'bubble boy'. Harsh but reality.
For the record: I probably have a slight allergy to peanuts myself-------they tend to upset my stomach.
This I will say: going to public school (K-12) and graduating back in 1975; I never heard about any kids with allergies to peanuts.
As per some of the other posters; sometimes the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. If indeed a kid is that allergic to peanuts..........he needs to be in a sequestered environment----------almost like a 'bubble boy'. Harsh but reality.
For the record: I probably have a slight allergy to peanuts myself-------they tend to upset my stomach.
Believe it or not, the number of children who are allergic to NUTS is rather large... at one of the elementary schools I worked in there was an allergy free class room and these kids would eat lunch there... the room was packed... it is unbelievable... I actually believe a study should be done to determine why they number is so high... Apparently OB's are asking pregnant women NOT to eat peanut butter while they are pregnant in hopes to curb the allergy amoung young children... I have several prego friends who have told me their Dr's have told them no to PB... it isn't like it was in the 70s...I graduated in the 90s and it wasn't this severe then... but it is a different story today... as a teacher you see the whole picture.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I Was a Parent with a Peanut Allergy Child
