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I don't want to speak for the poster but I agree that the child with the allergy is the only one who can really save themselves. Not that a 5 year old SHOULD need to bear the sole responsibility, but that it is the only way to try to be safe. And seeing how the peanut situation was handled in public school, there is absolutely no way I would send my child with a life threatening allergy until they were older. I can't even imagine the stress because that's certainly not a choice everyone can make. Look at what's being said in some of these posts. Even people who actually care could make a life ending mistake. And most people DO NOT CARE if it's not their child.
I absolutely do care about other children. My goodness, who wouldn't?? But you are right - honest mistakes are made. I can easily see a grandparent or neighbor making a sandwich for a student and being totally ignorant about the peanut butter rule. I honestly feel for parents having to deal with that level of allergy where such easy mistakes could put their child at risk.
And every single child with an allergy that I have come across (and being a teacher, that's a lot) has been EXTREMELY vigilant when it comes to what they eat. They would never accept food from someone else that they didn't know was "safe" (like a parent, etc.). But these kids can not control what other parents send to school. Yes, some kids can really have a life-threatening reaction just by being NEAR peanuts. They have no control over the kid next to them decides to bust open a bag of peanut butter crackers or granola bar.
And like another poster mentioned with the cake example, people will actually lie and say something is dairy or gluten free or whatever. I guess they figure that if someone doesn't just drop dead on the spot, that it's not that big a deal. What they don't see is that person vomiting, having diarrhea, and in so much pain they go to the emergency room a few hours after ingesting something they were TOLD was safe.
I have a friend (in his 40s) who has a legit gluten allergy - like can stop breathing, needs to carry an epi-pen allergy. He has had people tell him that something was gluten free when it really wasn't. And more than once. Because they thought it wasn't that big a deal.
As several posters here feel regarding other allergies. Just because something doesn't cause death doesn't mean it should be taken lightly either.
I don't want to speak for the poster but I agree that the child with the allergy is the only one who can really save themselves. Not that a 5 year old SHOULD need to bear the sole responsibility, but that it is the only way to try to be safe. And seeing how the peanut situation was handled in public school, there is absolutely no way I would send my child with a life threatening allergy until they were older. I can't even imagine the stress because that's certainly not a choice everyone can make. Look at what's being said in some of these posts. Even people who actually care could make a life ending mistake. And most people DO NOT CARE if it's not their child.
Don't you think itching, sneezing, swollen eyes, feeling out of it, etc. is unfavorable to the educational process?
I do.
The school I work in has an allergen plan that includes plans for dealing with children with allergies. Since these tend to be case by case and classroom by classroom due to the nature of the exposure, it is not made know to parents far and wide. Many if not most schools have plans whether or not you are made aware.
For example we have a student who is allergic to one of the chemicals in dry erase markers. His classes have been moved to rooms that only have chalkboards. I had a student who liked to wear patchouli oil whose base is primarily sandalwood. He was given the option of transferring into a different elective or not wearing the oil on the days he has my class. Other kids allergies are handled the same way. It is just unlikely that anyone knows about them as they are not school wide policies.
But the point is that is not how the real world works. That is a big part of the premise of this thread. The other part of it is how many people would support a full ban on perfumes, hairsprays, flowers, etc. inside and keeping kids in from recess during warm weather months due to those allergic to bee stings (which kill much more than a peanut butter allergy does).
Do you actually think schools ignore things like bee sting allergies? Really?
Those children with bee sting allergies have plans in place to limit their exposure. But as he do not need to be applied schoolwide, that information is not broadcast to everyone in the school. There are procedures in place for students who have reactions to other allergens, including giving kids who have seasonal allergies access to the gym or other areas during recess. But those are allergies whose nature does not benefit from a schoolwide response UNLIKE nut allergies.
I have a friend (in his 40s) who has a legit gluten allergy - like can stop breathing, needs to carry an epi-pen allergy. He has had people tell him that something was gluten free when it really wasn't. And more than once. Because they thought it wasn't that big a deal.
That's a horrible thing to do. But, trying to be totally fair, going "gluten-free" has become a Thing for lots of people who are not allergic. I myself have seen people who claim to be gluten-free, suddenly able to eat standard cookies or cupcakes when they feel like it. So I can sort of see people rolling their eyes and thinking, "Oh sure, another of those 'gluten-free' freaks. What a lot of bull." It's not right, but the trendiness of going gluten-free for no reason at all has unfortunately desensitized people to the fact that some folks are actually seriously allergic.
Honest to God, if my child had an allergy that severe (which sounds downright horrifying), I'd homeschool him or her. I know this is a personal choice but I simply would not trust anyone else with such a fragile child.
Oh yay! Now instead of just blaming children for no taking care of themselves we are blaming their parents!
He went to a school that touted itself as nut free. All parents signed an agreement that they would not bring in nut based foods. And one parent who knew about the rule choose to ignore it and then asked other parents to not tell that they broke the rule.
Yes, stupid reckless parents to send their net allergic child to a specific nut free school. No blame for the other parent just the ones whose child died.
First a rant and then my thoughts on peanuts in the classroom.
Rant: people need to stop with the "snowflake" perjorative. It's language that longs for the good old days when children were seen and not heard,birthrates were high, and infant and child mortality rates were so high that roughly half of kids didn't make it to 5. If you've lost 7 of your 12 with little more than a stoic grimace, feel free to keep interjecting about people worried about their "snowflakes". Otherwise, perhaps recognize that kids have gone from roughly interchangeable future farm help to unique individuals who have value in their own right. Ok. Rant over.
There's a reasonable explanation for why schools implement a zero tolerance policy toward certain allergens and not others. It's got nothing to do, except in the rarest of rare cases, with someone actually being sensitive to airborne peanut oil two zip codes away. It's because it's easier for teachers and administrators. It's not that a ban eliminates the risk, it just makes it a little easier to manage. Parents still have to drill it in to kids heads not to eat peanuts. They still have to be responsible and understand their symptoms.
Of course some peanuts will make it through the total ban, but a ban will reduce the prevelance. Imagine each step in the chain making it tougher for a kid to end up dead. Reducing the amount of peanuts through a ban reduces the number of times a kid gives someone with a peanut allergy something's with peanuts, which reduces the number of times said kid screws up and eats the peanut, which reduces the number of times a severe reaction occurs, which reduces the number of times some poor kid ends up dead.
Now I know that peanuts are awesome, so I understand why someone would not want to inconvenience for the benefit of someone else. We make those sorts of choices all the time. We could save countless lives by strictly enforcing a 25 mph speed limit nationwide. We prefer going fast. Not 100mph fast, but faster than would be the absolute safest. Same with peanuts in schools. We have to make a compromise.
I think it's the concept of, wow we are really going through a lot of trouble/accommodation for one person. It's like 500 kids in a school cant bring any peanut products because of 1 kid. But yet parents still want to ***** about their special snowflake. What more do you want.
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But you are right - honest mistakes are made. I can easily see a grandparent or neighbor making a sandwich for a student and being totally ignorant about the peanut butter rule. I honestly feel for parents having to deal with that level of allergy where such easy mistakes could put their child at risk.
