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.
As usually is the case, many comments here seem to be by people who dont quite understand what the rules are (at least from my perspective being a kid with peanut allergy who knows fully he cannot eat it).
In the Grand Forks ND public school districts case...there is nothing banning a child from having Peanut butter at home. Please understand this...this is an example of taking banning peanut butter at school and then stretching it to beyond normal comprehension. I certainly dont know what other bans at other school districts are like but I just know what is locally.
Case in point....at our daycare that our son goes to there are about 2 kids in his preschool 1 class with peanut allergies. And I think one or two others in other age groups. The ban is just on having parents bring in treats with peanuts in them to daycare or having the daycare's kitchen feed the kids P & J sandwiches for lunch. That's it. There is no provision whatsoever that the kids cannot have peanut butter crackers, etc at home before they arrive at daycare. We are perfectly fine with this and no reactions have ever occured and we feel our kid is in a safe environment. All daycare teachers are certified in use of the EPI pen if needed.
We see an allgergist to treat our son's food allergies every 6 months and he takes 3 drops daily containing minute portions of the allergen in hopes of his body at some point having enough resistance to reduce the life threatening nature of a reaction. And our son knows full well what he can or cannot eat.
So we are fully responsible parents.
Now...from our allergist information when we last spoke to her (and she is an expert in food allergies)...it would require a direct contact from skin to skin of the peanut butter. A child is not likely to go to school with actual peanut butter on his hands if he eats at home or in the car before arriving. At least I hope we would try to at least clean their hands some with a paper towel. We know how sticky kids hands can be. There is limited to no danger from this.
What there is danger from is the time when the kid eats peanut butter sandwich or crackers and gets it on his hands and before he wipes his hands touches my son before he goes to the restroom after lunch period.
To me the above two paragraphs are much much different with the second case a much higher chance of occurrence.
If the school district wants to serve P&J sandwiches then they can use an alternative SUNBUTTER. Locally there is someone in Fargo ND that manufactures it and cut a deal with the local school district to save on costs.
Sunbutter tastes every bit like peanut butter. But our son still wont eat it even though it is safe for him because it looks like PB and it is engrained in his head he cannot have it.
So at least locally all that is being asked is to not have the parents send the kids to school with peanuts, or Peanut butter foods. School districts can use sunbutter to substitute for PB for school lunches if they want. It is not costing you anything. You can use your own PB at home as you wish.
Sorry for the long post..but some info presented in this threat seems out of hand. There is no Nazi police out there saying you cannot feed your kids PB at home. If your kid cannot survive 8 hours at school without it...well...
There are a few kids who are extremely allergic to peanuts, such that breathing in residue can send them over into reaction. That is much more severe and I dont know how to react to that situation.
As usually is the case, many comments here seem to be by people who dont quite understand what the rules are (at least from my perspective being a kid with peanut allergy who knows fully he cannot eat it).
In the Grand Forks ND public school districts case...there is nothing banning a child from having Peanut butter at home. Please understand this...this is an example of taking banning peanut butter at school and then stretching it to beyond normal comprehension. I certainly dont know what other bans at other school districts are like but I just know what is locally.
but would it just stop at peanut butter? these kids don't have an allergy to peanut butter, they have an allergy to PEANUTS! so isn't it safe to assume they would suffer a reaction to any item containing a certain amount of peanuts? so does your school district allow granola bars w/ peanuts in them? peanut butter cookies? foods cooked in pure peanut oil? how about actual peanuts? where does it end if a child can have a reaction to the smallest trace of peanuts in a product? (there is a reason why items now say "made in a facility that process peanuts". there have been cases of people suffering a reaction from foods you wouldn't think had peanuts at all!)
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaninEGF
Case in point....at our daycare that our son goes to there are about 2 kids in his preschool 1 class with peanut allergies. And I think one or two others in other age groups. The ban is just on having parents bring in treats with peanuts in them to daycare or having the daycare's kitchen feed the kids P & J sandwiches for lunch. That's it. There is no provision whatsoever that the kids cannot have peanut butter crackers, etc at home before they arrive at daycare. We are perfectly fine with this and no reactions have ever occured and we feel our kid is in a safe environment. All daycare teachers are certified in use of the EPI pen if needed.
I 100% support schools banning parents from bringing in any class treats. I'm not sure when it become customary for the birthday girl/boy to bring in a cake or cupcakes for the class, or even for the school to provide it. IMHO, food should not be brought into school to be dispensed to other students (this coming from the girl whose parents couldn't afford to provide such treats, and lots of other families can't and won't; yet another reason to stop the custom). I'm not even 100% ok w/ bake sales where people are baking these goods from scratch (bake sales where packaged goods are being sold is ok w/ me since an ingredient list can be provided). also fine w/ a daycare choosing not to provide peanut butter, though I believe larger schools that provide lunches should leave it as an option
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaninEGF
What there is danger from is the time when the kid eats peanut butter sandwich or crackers and gets it on his hands and before he wipes his hands touches my son before he goes to the restroom after lunch period.
this is where peanut free tables are more than adequate. provides the distance needed to keep scenarios like the above from happening (lunch room monitors would have to watch closely to make sure kids were following the rules and washing their hands)
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaninEGF
If the school district wants to serve P&J sandwiches then they can use an alternative SUNBUTTER. Locally there is someone in Fargo ND that manufactures it and cut a deal with the local school district to save on costs.
Sunbutter tastes every bit like peanut butter. But our son still wont eat it even though it is safe for him because it looks like PB and it is engrained in his head he cannot have it.
So at least locally all that is being asked is to not have the parents send the kids to school with peanuts, or Peanut butter foods. School districts can use sunbutter to substitute for PB for school lunches if they want. It is not costing you anything. You can use your own PB at home as you wish.
at the moment, sunbutter is still very expensive when compared to peanut butter. all allergen free foods are more expensive than their counterparts (Lactaid is still pretty pricey compared to regular milk and it's been on the market for years. soy milk, wheat free bread, and other similar foods are still priced higher b/c of the costs to produce them). USDA approved peanut butter can be bought super cheap by a school district, far cheaper than the prices we see in stores b/c it's a cheap, easy to get source of food. at the moment, sunbutter is only being produced by a few smaller companies, so it isn't at all cost effective for the majority of school districts to use it, at least not now. your school district is fortunate since you have a sunbutter manufacturer close by, but not everyone is that fortunate, and the costs to procure and ship this stuff will be reflected in the school's budget, and that means something will either have to be cut, or taxes will have to go up to sustain this extra cost. so yes, in one way or another, it will cost parents, even if only indirectly
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaninEGF
Sorry for the long post..but some info presented in this threat seems out of hand. There is no Nazi police out there saying you cannot feed your kids PB at home. If your kid cannot survive 8 hours at school without it...well...
no one is saying they can't, people are asking WHY should they. why should the majority give up a major food item many people eat and feed their kids for the sake of a small minority, especially when it would easier to just separate that small minority during lunch to reduce the risk? it may work well in your district since it may be a bit smaller, but I don't see this happening in the NYC or Chicago school district, or even in a good sized town/small city
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaninEGF
There are a few kids who are extremely allergic to peanuts, such that breathing in residue can send them over into reaction. That is much more severe and I dont know how to react to that situation.
Dan
these are the kids that would benefit the MOST from a peanut free school, the kids who probably couldn't even be in the same room as a peanut butter sandwich so peanut free tables wouldn't work for them. but these are the same exact kids we just can't help fully b/c the dangers are literally all around them. these are the kids whose families may need to consider alternative schooling and keep a good eye on them b/c a school ban on peanuts isn't going to help them in the long run when the same dangers can be found in restaurants, playgrounds, and other public places
You made a very intelligent and thought out reply and I thank you for that!
Yes it is peanuts....I was using peanut butter as it is used more so I guess for lunches, etc at school. I personally havent seen the letter from the Grand Forks school district as our son is too young and we live just across the river in East Grand Forks MN. So forgive me if I dont know exactly what was stated. The local letters to the paper were all about peanut butter.
You made good points for a peanut-free table. Because my son is not old enough to be in school...not sure how workable that is. I did a search one night and there are stories of kids who know someone is allergic to peanuts spreading peanut butter onto kids during school (outside of the lunchroom) knowing full well that that kid has an allergy. Now those kids were disciplined of course just like any other act of harm to another....but it is stuff like that that worries us (our family). Getting rid of peanuts would be the safer alternative for just those few hours a day of a kids life.
My neice has a child now about 10 or so in school outside of Louisville KY and they have an allergy table. But he would cry and cry because of not being able to sit with his friends and singled out. She has a 504 plan with the district as food allergies are covered under the Disibility act.
I still want to know how on earth the people with a child with such a severe allergy to peanut butter that someone's breath can send them to an ER take them out of the house?
I am sorry, but a child whose allergy is so bad that "the smell of peanuts sends them into shock" is not safe in a peanut free school or anywhere else. No way, no how.
To answer your question about "smell of peanuts" on the breath sending them into shock...I do not have allergies to peanuts but I have SEVERE allergies to shellfish and mushrooms and I was once in a very large kitchen when saran wrap was peeled off a bowl of raw shrimp. I was on the other side of the room and my throat swelled shut and I had to use my Epi pen.
My children go to private schools and while they do not have "allergy" classrooms, there are special precautions made for these kiddos. There are special tables for the allergic children, a list of foods that have peanuts are sent out to all the parents (invaluable!!) and all children have to have Clorox wipes in their bags. Also, the children that have Epi pens are given the little cases that can clip on to their clothing so they always have them with them.
I really feel for the children with the peanut allergies and the parents who fear for their health every day.
I disagree with peanut free schools and classrooms.
Reason: Your child is allergic to peanuts and peanut products and you don't trust that child to be careful enough to stay away from said products. But you put your trust in other children of the same age, even younger, to not have anything relating to peanuts anywhere near your child or even in the school????
You don't give your own child the responsibility of avoiding the products, but you give ALL the other children the responsibility of making sure THEY don't have any peanut products around your child so your child doesn't have to be so careful.
So, the little 6 year old who inadvertantly wipes the peanutbutter off her finger from breakfast on her dress, pants or shirt is responsible for the life of your child????
Nothing will convince me that my child should be MORE responsible for the life of your child than your child is for himself.
Not my problem if someone else's kid has a medical issue. That issue should be dealt with by the parents. Peanut-free schools are asinine. Peanut-free table, or a special peanut-free classroom, those are good options.
Peanut free table in the lunch room and a peanut free classroom is reasonable, but the schools can not create a "special" classroom just for kids with peanut allergies as it is illegal to segregate based on disability.
I know that you probably want the kid to grow up as normal as possible, but sorry, peanuts are everywhere, it should be you and your family who changes their lives to accommodate this, not 99% of the population.
I would hardly call sending your child to school with a cheese sandwich to eat at noon and giving that same child peanut butter when they got home 2 1/2 hours later, a LIFE CHANGING EVENT!
How do the people with children with these "deathly" peanut allergies leave the house?
Do they not play on public playgrounds? (because if there's kids, and there's a picnic, then there's bound to be peanut butter sandwiches, all without a sink to disenfect)
I was stupidly going to honestly answer your questions because I thought you were truly interested.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommytotwo
I am really curious to know the answer to this question.
How do they even leave the house?
When will the mall become peanut free? Or the library? Or anyplace else?
Then I realized you are not REALLY interested in the answers. Too bad.
It isn't even an inconvenience. It's expecting a community and/or school to cut out what is a staple in most homes to accomodate one child. If they ban peanut products from the entire school, next they will be banning them from grocery stores.
Don't you think you are exaggerating just a bit? No one is telling you to completely eliminate a staple from your child's diet. I'm sure he/she can wait a couple of hours to eat his/her peanut butter at home.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 925mine
T I'm sorry, but nobody is going to dictate to me what groceries I'm allowed to buy and what foods my child is allowed to eat because of someone else's alergy.
There you go again. No cares what you buy at the grocery store or what your child eats. The school is making an accommodation for those kids that are severely allergic to peanuts and not allowing it in school. The school does not allow me to send in candy for my child to eat as snack. IT IS NOT ALLOWED! Am I griping about my child's God given right to eat candy? Give me a break. You sound absolutely ridiculous.
Don't you think you are exaggerating just a bit? No one is telling you to completely eliminate a staple from your child's diet. I'm sure he/she can wait a couple of hours to eat his/her peanut butter at home.
There you go again. No cares what you buy at the grocery store or what your child eats. The school is making an accommodation for those kids that are severely allergic to peanuts and not allowing it in school. The school does not allow me to send in candy for my child to eat as snack. IT IS NOT ALLOWED! Am I griping about my child's God given right to eat candy? Give me a break. You sound absolutely ridiculous.
There YOU go again. No one cares that YOUR child cannot have peanuts. It isn't up to YOU to decide that my child goes without peanuts during the course of the day. YOU CANNOT DICTATE WHAT MY CHILD IS ALLOWED TO EAT.
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.
