I am being bullied by the school. I am a parent trying to ensure my child's safety. My child will be entering kindergarten and is severly allergic to peanuts. The school is trying to tell me it is against the law to take peanut butter out of the school and that my child will have to eat in the office. That is not ok what happens when those children come back to class after eaating it my daughter will still have a severe reaction I have seen it and it could cause her to die. I do not like to be bullied around by the schools.
amy - 14 years ago
For all of you who are such jerks about this....should my son carry a weapon to school to defend himself from your kids because you are so stupid about your reaction to this? Are you one of the parents that is teaching your kid to smear peanut butter on those with allergies? Having peanuts in the school is not just about what you CHOOSE to put in your kids lunch. It is about what is served in the lunch line, what is brought to school for snacks from parents, it is about airborne nut particles, its about whether your kids wash their hands. I certainly hope you don't have to worry about your kids everyday they go to school like these parents do. You can't even imagine the concern that they have. You are selfish, self-centered and don't care about anyone but yourself and your obsession with peanut butter. This has become a huge issue in our society and these kids are no sissy's. They have to be mature and watch what they eat and be prepared to self-inject if necessary. The kids I know with peanut or nut allergies are smart, tough, football playing, soccer playing strong kids who get a bad wrap. They are not weaklings you idiot ,WOW!!! These kids could probably beat you up! Shame on all you parents who have no compassion for others. Now I see why our country is know for their rudeness and narcissism. Teaching starts young. What a sad society we live in that someone wouldn't give up their peanut butter sandwich for someone else's LIFE THREATENING condition!!
Christiana - 14 years ago
There seems to be a lot of misinformation here. A severe peanut allergy is not a like a milk allergy or a sensitivity to a dye. Peanut allergies can, and do, kill. Often, the nuts do not need to be ingested- the allergens are airborne. I am surprised by the lack of real knowledge on the subject, and by the fact that parents would rather threaten their neighbor's kids' lives than delete a simple food item. I am ashamed to be part of such an uncaring society.
I write this in memory of Penny, a friend's daughter, who died from a nut allergy; the victim of careless labeling. If I could save one family from the grief that I have seen Penny's family experience, I gladly would. Wouldn't you?
Wow - 14 years ago
ONLY IN THE US. I hear about these problems. lead, peanut,and the list go on and on.
weaklings as one called it.
Derek - 14 years ago
Bikerman... How is it punishment to home school your children if you're so scared that they will die if the come in contact with whatever they're allergic too. I call it protecting your child from harm... or do you not believe in that? Home schooling in my opinion is the ONLY option if my child is that susceptible to something that may make them ill or even kill them. I cruel of a parent to be so thoughtless subjecting their children to such harm! Does that answer your question?!?
bob - 14 years ago
Im addressing this article because it has been one that has always angered me. I do not have children of my own but as it stands im very against the ban. Reason being as many others have stated, its not the parents issue to not pack thier children peanut butter but the schools. The schools should be accomidating the kids with the allegies. (i.e Give them thier own lunch room or have them eat somewhere else other than the said lunch room). I know it is between life and death but if the parents of the allergic child do not educate them on the fact that if billy gives you nuts and you eat them you will potentially die. Having your kid informed would be way more important then having all schools ban peanut butter. The schools should also enfource a hand washing after eating up until certain grades or until students can acknowledge that this person has an allergie if you ate peanut butter then you have to wash your hands. Im on both sides but banning it all togther is retarded.
Doctor - 14 years ago
I am a physician and father of a child with peanut allergy. This is a complex issue and I'm reading both well informed and ignorant comments. The bottom line is that each community must decide to what lengths it will protect the vulnerable. After reasoned discussion, it becomes quite clear that we are weighing life/death vs. Food preference. Aside from an outright ban, the most reasonable compromise has been a nut table with all others nut free. That way, any stray nut contamination is easier to contain.
Elissa - 14 years ago
The argument seems 2 fold 1) ban all peanuts so kids don't die...ok, this seems reasonable. 2) We can't make reasonable accomodations (nut-free lunch room/table), as required under the ADA, because kids will be made fun of. WHAT?! Kids will ALWAYS make fun of each other. This is the nature of kids. They make fun of someone who's too tall, to short, to fat, to thin, to smart, to dumb, to loud, to quiet, some one who smells funny, some one who talks funny, some one who laughs funny, someone who likes broccoli, and someone who wears pink socks on purple sock day, or who isn't wearing the right kind of pink socks. My point is that saying all nuts must be banned from an establishment, not because it makes the place safer, but because we wouldn't want kids to get made fun of is INSANE and unreasonable. Kids will make fun of eachother for reasons adults cannot fathom. The debate needs to focus on keeping kids safe, not making sure their feelings don't get hurt because that will never happen. Bullying is a seperate problem and needs to be addressed outside the context of the peanut allergy debate.
Paul - 14 years ago
my comment is simple, I refuse to be responsible for the death or harm of a child over a food product. Ban it. The life of an innocent is way more important. No other opinion matters.
KiDw/PeanutAllergy! - 14 years ago
I am a 17 year old who has a peanut allergy! For all of you who are ignorant enough to say "Tough Luck" i hope one day while your eating that peanut butter cookie you choke on a shell. Sorry bout my temper but im so beyond pissed at the moment! I have been to the "NO NUTS" table and back and guess what? I have been made fun of ever since then! To a child its not worth having your whole life being a downer just because some ADULTS raise their children to be insignificant peices of trash! Peanut Butter was my torment growing up... Being chased around with Peanut Butter cups is not the highlight of my day just to let you know! Oh and yeah the school never did anything bout any of that besides going no no (Insert Bullies name here) thats not nice. Im That Peanut Kid and i VOTED to BAN peanut butter from schools!
audrey - 14 years ago
This is an issue parents should address. Your child will encounter this allergy in the real world. Teach them how to avoid it and if exposed, what to do. Heaven forbid YOU must act like a parent and actually do something instead of passing the buck for the school, society, or other parents to take care of the issue. No reason to deprive a child who can enjoy PB & J sandwiches the pleasure of this tried and true lunch.
John C - 14 years ago
Where I live in B.C. Canada, all peanut products have been banned in the schools for several years. There is no problem, everyone just accepts it for what it is. From reading many of these comments this is just one more reason that I'm happy to be Canadian.
Trina - 14 years ago
Thank you Susan...I agree that education is the key. However, I think it would be appropriate for the school or any facility where children are under the care of other individuals, to enforce a restriction simply based on age. A younger child may not realize how harmful or even how to avoid looking for certain ingredients in food. I feel if the school has a sex Ed involvement for the family, then it would be appropriate to have a Dietary and education modual for kids early in elementary school and after that point allow the kids to regulate it for themselves. (I also feel the family has responsibility to educate on both, so please don't get hung up on this last statement) This goes for all the Nut (including soy which is in practically everything), Dairy, Gluten(which is on the rise) and other common food allergies. At some point they have to 'survive in the wild' so lets not just push them out of the nest, lets teach them how to fly. (Yes that was corny, but you get the point).
Sheryl - 14 years ago
So many of you are missing the point and are misinformed......peanut butter STICKS! You can't remove it with hand sanitizer. You have to WASH it off. This is one of the reasons why schools choose to eliminate it. And I have news for all of you people who think the allergy was caused by something "weak" within the child or something the parents did/didn't do.....you are all at risk of developing food allergies yourselves. I work in a college environment and teenagers and adults with no history of food allergies are now developing them. If you or your loved ones don't have any food allergies - be thankful and show some compassion for those that do.
Danielle - 14 years ago
Having worked with children for over 20 years, I understand both sides of this issue. However, the reality is that the term "peanut free" when used in a school situation only provides a false sence of security for those parents who have children with peanut allergies (unless the school it's self prepares all food and no outside food is allowed). It requires the parents of every student to police their own child's food, therefore the school can not guarentee a peanut free environment. Ex. Was the leftover Chinese food in Johnny's lunch cooked with peanut oil? Does Amy's granolla bar have trace amounts of peanuts? Etc. I believe that accomidations can and should be made for children with severe allergies, but banning a food like peanuts will only cause more problems in the long run for the school and other parents. If a child is exposed and has a reaction in a peanut free school, who is responsible? The school? The parent who didn't know there were trace amounts in their child's lunch item? It's just much to difficult to enforce and police.
Susan - 14 years ago
Education is the key. Educating a child's classmates and peers as to what a food allergy is, what the symtoms are, and what to do to keep their friends safe, in kid appropriate language. Kids will keep their friends safe. They will refuse to take food in their lunch or for snacks that could harm their friends. The food allergy and anaphylaxis network has a program called P.A.L., protect a life. It is an education program for kids. It works in our school. My son has life threatening allergies, but sits at a lunch table with his classmates. The keep a buffer around him, only kids with non-peanut/tree nut lunches sit directly beside or accross from him. The kids monitor it themselves. His friends keep him safe.
With the severity that a nut allergy can have, it is wise to simply do without. I've heard cases of ill-intentioned children taunting nut allergy sufferers with peanut butter. One child knowingly smeared peanut butter on a child's forehead, who became a fatality due to his sensitivity.
James - 14 years ago
No one has managed to come up with a response: What do you do when your child gets older? Do you ban peanuts from their friends houses? Highschool? College? Work?
Again, my child would die from any kind of dairy product. ANY. That includes simple things like mashed potatos with butter and/or milk. Am I to ban these things from school?
Thousands of children with severe peanut allergies go to school every day where peanuts are present, with no problems because the staff is aware of the condition. Teach those around your child the dangers...don't take away from them.
I'm a pediatric dietitian who has worked with children with special diet needs for over ten years. I see so much ignorance, hyperbole, and intolerance here it is saddening. Peanuts or peanut butter are not a necessary nutritional staple for children by any long shot, and indulging your child's preference for peanut could actually take another child's life in a school setting. The constant terror and anxiety that allergic children and families endure is unimaginable to "normal" families. These children are eager to grow, play, be safe, and just plain be, just like your kids.
If your child likes and tolerates peanuts, be grateful - not judging of others less fortunate. Let your child expand and try options like sesame butter, cashew butter, or almond butter, which all work well in jelly sandwiches. Or, let your child eat other types of lunches at school altogether! If your peanut-able child is so rigid in food choices that s/he will not eat anything but peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, then you need to make an appointment to come see me for nutrition care. This degree of rigidity is not healthy for kids. In my experience, it often spells nutrition deficits.
Joe Motiflochy - 14 years ago
Kids are required to go to school, and we are required to protect them. There are diffrent levels and types of peanut, tree nut and food allergies. Someone might just have an ingestion issue meaning they simply do not eat the allrgen and they are fie. Some can't touch the oils (meaning eating surfaces must be cleaned) and some can't smell the allergen. My daughter has the tri-fecta and it is a real challenge to keep her safe and the school does a good job helping us. For some, bringin a PB&J sandwich is like bringing a gun. No one wants to hurt a child and if we know what to do and not to do we can keep everyone safe. I think we can all agree that keeping nuts out of the schools won't deprive anyone. If so then our society has much bigger problems. Ban the nuts...keep the kids!
Flybaby - 14 years ago
Of course parents who don't have children with allergies think it is up to the parents to figure out a solution because they are too ignorant to realize the severity of the allergic problem with some children. My advice to you is to be a first count witness to a peanut allergy THEN make an educated decision. There are too many other foods out there for a peanut ban to cause such turmoil.
Angela - 14 years ago
I totally understand the viewpoint of parents with allergic kids but i have a question..........What about kids like my 5 year old daughter who has a life threatening dairy allergy?...........We have to give her peanut butter and other nut products. We have no other choice. Its very difficult to give her any readymade snacks. Once you start reading labels you would be surprised that most kids products have dairy in it. Eating out in restaurants is a nightmare for us. If the schools ban peanut butter and other nuts then where does that leave us.............Please have a little concern for other allery groups too. My daughters school very kindly offered us a choice to have a seperate table in the cafeteria for her. I think thats the right way to deal with this ......not by making the schools nut free.............
By the way my daughter is also allergic to cats, dogs , cows , pollen etc.......... a 4 page long list. I can't just kill all dogs, cats and plants so that my child can live. So let us be grownups about this problem amd find a way which lets everyone live.
Bikerman - 14 years ago
Derek real nice comment so we punish our kids because they have an allergy. My son has a severe peanut allergy that can kill him and he is only 3. How do you educate a 3 year old he can't have peanuts because he can die! Derek you have kids? With all the crap that is in our food and water the majority of kids in the future will have allergies so it will become MAJORITY not MINORITY!.
Derek - 14 years ago
@Tina... call it what you want, but you're expecting the MAJORITY of people to pander to the needs of the MINORITY. If you're that worried about your child being exposed, maybe you should consider home schooling instead of making everyone else change their lives and eating habits. You can stick to your sunflower butter and tell yourself it tastes like peanut butter.
James - 14 years ago
Tina...Why does it have to be banned? Are you going to ban it Highschool? When your daughter goes to college, are you going to call the dean and have it banned there? What about when they begin their career? Call the boss and have it banned there? Your daughter is allergic to peanuts, albeit, fatally allergic...my son can't have anything, and I mean anything that has milk products in it. It could kill him just as easily as peanuts can kill your daughter, but much slower. Should I ban milk products?
Tina Cockburn - 14 years ago
My daughter has a severe allergy to peanuts and nuts in general. Watching a child suffer through an anaphylactic episode is not something I would wish on anyone's child, and I sure wish parents and schools would not wish it on mine. This cavalier attitude toward this allergy could mean death to my child or someone else's. How tragic and horrific would it be if your child witnessed the allergic reaction of another child because your child brought peanut butter to school?
There are alternatives to peanut butter that are just as tasty and are totally peanut-free. Sunflower seed butter is the alternative we use at our house. Unless your child's or another student's allergies include seeds, this may be the way to go.
And yes, cross contamination is a huge issue. Kids are messy and even though there is an allergy table where my daughter sits with others with allergies, water fountains, jump ropes, swings, door handles, crayons, paint brushes, table surfaces, etc. are ripe vehicles for cross contamination. Even at some indoor playgrounds, parents give their toddlers peanut butter and jelly and are appalled when I ask them to please make sure they wash their hands thoroughly because of my daughter's allergy. But what if that child puts their mouth on a toy and then my daughter touches it? Please, people. It's just peanut butter, not the Bible. And peanut butter can be just as deadly to kids with allergies as illegal drugs on our campuses might be to your child. And we're all about just saying "no" to that, right?
We carry an Epi-Pen with us at all times, including in the car, in my purse, at the school and in our home. We read labels and do everything on our end to prevent an allergic reaction. Allergies can be deadly. And we're talking about children here. Children who never asked to have allergies and to be singled out for it at school.
James - 14 years ago
Becky...Now that is very reasonable. I agree with that system.
Becky - 14 years ago
A child in my daughters class has a severe peanut allergy and her school has adopted a careful graduated policy that changes as the child ages. In Kindergarten, no nut (or "may be processed in a facility that also processes nuts") products were allowed in lunches or snacks. This year, in first grade, nuts are allowed in lunches, but a nut free table is provided for the student. Most students bring nut free lunches most of the time so that they can sit with the affected student. This policy protects the student when she is too young to protect herself, but allows her to take more responsibility for her safety as she matures. It seems like the most practical of all of the proposals that the school considered- it acknowledges the danger but also teaches the student that she needs to be aware of her surroundings.
Tracie - 14 years ago
My son is a very picky eater. Peanuts are very important to his diet. He needs the protein. He does not like lunch meat and will waste most of his lunch if he buy's it at school..He could live off ppj's. I feel this is VERY Healthy for him. He Should be able to eat his peanut butter at school.SOMEONE needs to find a compromise where we can have both.
James - 14 years ago
Josh...Also, I understand how fatal a peanut allergy is. I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say. My point was that the child should have a complete and total understanding of what their "weakness" is. Inform them and anyone who has contact with them. I'm all for making the school aware of your child's allergy and making a safer environment. It is a scary thing...I know first hand. What I have a problem with is parents who are blinded by their own childs needs, that they feel the need for EVERYONE to change their lifestyle. Banning it at school only temporarily fixes things. What about when they go to a friends house? Is their family now banned from peanuts? How about college? How about the work environment? Why not instead, teach them how to live with the allergy and adapt to an environment where peanuts will never be completely removed?
Christin - 14 years ago
We are a sad country if this is a topic for discussion. What's next? I can't feed my kids peanut butter in the morning before school because they may breathe on another child?
shlepster - 14 years ago
Im pretty sure no kid is going to suffer by banning them from not eating peanut butter at school lets be serious people. Eveyone is so opinionated here for either one side or the other. Make your kid(s) something else for lunch. If peanut butter is the only thing you can come up with then your a pretty lazy parent if you ask me.
Those that say its up to the parent to protect their kids, im pretty sure they are doing eveything they can. I wonder if those that say that have a child with an allergy where they have to carry an epi-pen around with them. Unless you walk in someone elses shoes for a day I wouldnt comment. Did anyone ever consider cross contamination? Kids play with each other and dont think of washing up. A teacher cant be on the look out 24/7.
Why do so many people suffer from this? We dont know, its not like they chose this is it? An open mind would help in areas like this.
Rich - 14 years ago
Ignorance is Bliss!
bearfoot - 14 years ago
i read years ago that PB(peanuts&salt) bread and milk was the minimum a human could live on indefinetly and be able to keep the body growing.
pb - 14 years ago
Are we somehow missing the fact that peanuts are a legume and not a NUT! It is a different plant entirely. So, someone allergic to peanuts is not necessarily allergic to nuts. There is no need to ban all nuts in lunches when we are talking about a peanut allergy.
There are all kinds of allergies present in children these days, some never heard of until a few years ago. There are those with a gluten allergy. Should we, therefore, ban all wheat products in school lunches? Try to make a sandwich with something that does not contain wheat. Not an easy task, believe me. There are too few gluten-free products available as of now.
It should be the responsibility of each parent to educate their child on what they can and cannot eat, learn to read lables, and for goodness sake ... eat ONLY what is in the lunch provided for them from home. If it is a life threatening issue, then that child may have to eat in a quarantined environment. It is not right to punish others for ones own health issues. We must each take care of our own.
James - 14 years ago
Josh...While I do mostly agree with your response, in my sons case it is completely different. Earlier I posted the condition he has. While it is not an allergy to milk, he does have Galactocemia which means his body cannot break the enzyme down. What this means is that eating anything with galactose, lactose, or casein can have a much bigger affect the simply an upset stomach; such as: mild to severe retardation, cataracts and even death in many cases. What makes his condition different is that he will never have an immediate reaction, so if he were to come in contact with it for a month, we wouldn't notice much. As time progresses, after a year he could be dead. I'm not saying one is worse than the other (peanut allergy or galactocemia) but with the allergy there IS an immediate response that can be taken.
Rich - 14 years ago
I can certainly understand how many people have the storng belief for America and the freedoms we are so fortunate to have (why should I have to sacrafice my lifestyle for your kid with peanut allergies)...however what we seemed to have lost is the sence of community. My neighborhood is extremely compassionate to my daughters food allergies and so are the kids, because they have been educated about this health condition and want to see that my child, which is part of their community live a safe life and enjoy the company of thier kids. Somehow when this tranlsates to the masses, community and compassion to see children grow up in a safe enviornment diminish greatly.
Finn's Dad - 14 years ago
I think a lot of people are confused.
First, for whatever reason, severe peanut allergies are more prevalent today and the reactions to peanuts are often more severe than with other food allergies. Kids die from peanut allergies. Period.
Second, many kids only find out they are allergic to something when they are exposed to it (and the degree of reactivity can evolve over time) so better to assume ALL kids are potentially allergic to the most severe allergens and take appropriate precautions.
Third, it is not a matter of kids with allergies being untrained to the point that they accidentally ingest something that they're allergic to. The issue is that many people can have allergic reactions simply by coming in contact with an allergen on their skin or by breathing in particles in the air. What 6-year old kid doesn't end up with peanut butter on his/her hands after eating a PB&J sandwich? Kids with severe allergies are trained from a young age how to identify/avoid certain foods - if not, natural selection takes over. But are all the other kids trained to wash their hands with the same degree of diligence before playing with other kids on the playground?
Fourth, let's consider cost vs benefit. The benefit of creating peanut bans is that kids don't die. The cost is that other kids don't eat foods that really aren't good for them anyway. Maybe I'm a little fuzzy on why exactly that is a cost worth complaining about.
Fifth, my 6-year old boy, Finn, is severely allergic to many things, including peanuts. Anyone who thinks Finn is a "weakling" is just an idiot - not only can he kick your kids' asses, he can kick yours. So shut up.
Josh - 14 years ago
James... You're clearly blinded by illogical thoughts. Peanut allergies are not the same as milk allergies. Dairy allergies are caused by a lack of an enzyme. The allergic response is, in most cases, diarrhea. Peanut oil gets on fingers and transferred all over the school. Just touching a door handle that was used by someone who had just eaten peanuts can be fatal. If it were your child I doubt you'd have the same, ignorant opinion. You cannot teach a child to "learn" how not to be allergic to something, or teach a child to have a weaker immune response to something their bodies are allergic to. It's impossible James. You can teach them that in life they will need to make accommodations and compromises that they are sometimes not going to be happy with, in this case it would be skipping the peanut butter and jelly for a ham and cheese.
Jim - 14 years ago
FOB - sorry but your comment demonstrates the ignorance that exists. I don't mean that in a pejorative sense, you simply don't know the facts, like most people. As parents of a child with life-threatening allergies to peanuts and many tree nuts, our primary concern is to teach our child to protect herself and to educate as many as possible to the facts of her allergies. If someone with peanut butter on their hand gets some on a door knob; and then my daughter gets some of that on her hand; and then she unknowingly gets even a minute amount in her mouth (sticking her fingers in her mouth, wiping her nose, etc.) she can have a life threatening reaction. The crazy thing is, she might have a very minor reaction one day and a potentially fatal reaction the next - and doctors don't know why. You noted that kids outgrow food allergies. This is true of most - but not peanuts. Peanut allergy is relatively unique in it's potential severity, unpredictability, and the fact that only something like 18% of those with the allergy outgrow it. In fact it gets worse in most with age. And doctors don't know why any of this is true. We are against banning peanuts or other foods from schools. But nut-free tables and a few other policies create a reasonably safe environment for our daughter. WASHING HANDS before entering the classroom in the morning and after lunch is HUGE and benefits everyone else in the classroom greatly as far as colds and flu. A little education goes a long way - that's why our kids are in school.
Sara - 14 years ago
My toddler has autism, and it's very common for kids with autism to have a very limited selection of foods they will eat. Peanut butter is one of the few proteins he will consume. Without peanut butter at his lunchtime and dinner he wouldn't be physically thriving like he is. If he is lucky enough to attend an integrated school when he gets older, I would hope he will be allowed to eat his usual PB&J sandwich to help keep his day going with a modicum of calm and normalcy. Hence, I vote for a nut-free table in the lunch room, maybe even placed at a safe distance from the other tables so that peanut fumes won't even be an issue.
craig - 14 years ago
Every child at every school is more likely to be killed by a car in the parking lot at school or on the way to school. This happens everyday. We see it in the paper and we all know people who have been in serious car accidents because of careless driving. How many of us actually know anyone who has died from a peanut butter sandwich? Very few, it happens but it is VERY rare. We need to get back perspective. We will ban peanut butter because it is a relatively easy pill to swallow. But ban cars, heaven forbid. That would actually be an inconvenience even if it does save thousands of children a year it is not worth it to us. I am not suggesting banning cars, or anything else for that matter, but quit pretending banning peanut butter is an issue of safety. Because if you were really that terrified that your child might be killed at school you would put this much energy into removing things that are statistically way more likely to kill him or her. We all know that is no way to live or raise children. Education and reasonable caution are all that is required. We teach these young children languages, mathematics, musical instruments, science etc. but we can't teach them to be cautious with allergies? Wash their hands after eating and look both ways before crossing the street? Because even a child with allergies is more likely to be hit by a car. Stop treating kids like little idiots because if we had been treated that way as children we may never have made it to be parents in the first place. Be cautious, do not be alarmist.
James - 14 years ago
Josh...It's not about peanut butter, it's like ground breaking trials, once somebody wins, it sets a precedence. If you allow a ban on peanuts/peanut butter, what's next? A ban on food coloring? Sugar? Anything with fat? Banning cheese and milk because someone has a milk allergy? There is always going to be something that someone has a debilitating allergy to. In the end, our children are going to be so sheltered that they can't survive on their own and I can already see it now. There are kids who's parents hover so close over them that they never experience failure, danger, sickness or pain. I'm not saying shove peanuts down their throats, but for God's sake, don't bring everyone down at the same time. Humans have a great ability that is not seen anywhere else in the animal environment to such a great degree; adaptation. Allow your kids to learn and adapt to their "weaknesses".
Pooja Lakhanpal - 14 years ago
I moved from US to Canada. In Canada, schools are most sensitive to allergies. Schools are nut free zone. Teachers and other parents make special effort to create an allergy free environment if the kids are allergic to other things. I never saw this attitude in US. I have two kids with life threatning peanut allergies and it has made a huge quality improvement in my life by just moving to Canada and the changed attitude. For those, who are not sensitive to this problem, may I ask - Are guns, drugs, smoking not health hazards? Should they be allowed in Schools on a case by case basis?
Anything that is a health hazard to children should not be allowed in Schools. Kids who are not allergic will end up being more sensitive, more accomodative and will make life long friends!!! It is upto parents as well to teach their kids the right values and not harbor a It is not my problem attitude!!!
Josh - 14 years ago
I'm surprised that so many people are intolerant of placing restrictions on peanut butter in school. Is a peanut butter sandwich really that special? If there are children in the school who have life-threatening allergies to peanuts or peanut-containing products then that school should accommodate that child. Just as much as they should make ADA accommodations for handicap children.
atho - 14 years ago
Darwinism.
bonnie - 14 years ago
ban peanuts for elementary schools, where kids share everything and the chance of contamination is very high, they are (mostly) not able to understand the reaction and medication requirements
allow peanuts for high schools but provide nut-free area in cafeteria - (most of) these kids know how to prevent a reaction (avoidance, not sharing, washing hands etc) and can self administer epi if needed,
James - 14 years ago
Peter...As I stated above about my son, who absolutely cannot have anything with lactose or galactose or casein (which is most foods), I would never tell the school to ban milk or mashed potatoes or any of the hundreds of items served in school. It is my responsibility as a parent to ensure my child knows exactly what he can and cannot have and to inform the school of his condition. It is NOT however, my responsibility to ban things from other students because my own child cannot have them; that is selfish and teaches my son nothing. He needs to be able to take care of himself when I am not around. That is how we make strong and independent children...not by coddling and sheltering them from the big bad world. Teach.
Wendy - 14 years ago
It digusts me to read the majority of the above comments. As a parent of a child with many severe food allergies I deal with the fear of watching my 8 year old leave our home each day to attend school. And while she has many food allergies (24 to be exact) her peanut allergy is the most worrisome because of the ease of cross contamination of peanut products. Peanut butter is oil based and traces can easily be left on another childs hands after they have consumed a PBJ sandwhich. Peanuts have a dust that can become airborne. Inhalation of this dust is deadly. Until recent years, it was almost impossible to find an airline that would provide a peanut free flight for my daughter to travel on. One time, we were told we could not board a flight that I had previously made peanut free arrangements with the airlines because they goofed and were planning on serving peanuts. The pilot actually had the audacity to tell us to find another means of travel because we could not expect other passengers to NOT eat peanuts at the risk of my daughter's life. Unfortunately, this was the only airline that flew into my home time (we were returning from vacation to our home in Alaska which is a landlocked city). Flying via that airline was the ONLY option to return. Thankfully I stood my ground and the pilot agreed to not serve the peanuts after much argueing on my part.
Yes, my daughter is allergic to eggs, wheat, garlic, etc etc etc... but none of these allergies pose the same type of risk for exposure as peanuts do. And while I do not feel that peanut butter has to be banned from schools, I also feel that if parents are sending thier children to school with this potentially fatal item, they need to educate their child as much as I educate mine on her allergy. The child should know to thoroughly and carefully clean their hands and anything that may have come into contact with the peanut butter.
Also- having a peanut free table for lunches is wonderful and I am grateful for schools that take this step of caution. But it does isolate the peanut allergy children and they are never allowed to eat with thier friends. I much prefer a peanut table and making the rest of the cafeteria peanut free, thus allowing peanut allergy children to socialize with their peers. If a child CHOOSES to bring a peanut product to school, then they have chosen to eat at the peanut table. My daughter did not choose her allergies. Why should SHE be punished. Make peanut butter a choice with consequences, not the unchosen allergies.
Susan - 14 years ago
oh you poor souls who just can't imagine what your little one will eat if he can't have peanut butter! What a horrible thing to live through!
The difference is that peanuts can kill. Your child will not die if he cannot have a pb&j sandwich for lunch. I assure you that they will not stop breathing if they cannot have a peanut product for the, what, 8 hours they're at school. But mine will. Shame on you all. Try putting yourself in someone else's shoes. This isn't about trying to make life harder on any of you. It's about trying to protect our children.
I would hate to be the one who killed someone bc I was too lazy to fix my kid something besides a PBJ.
Peter - 14 years ago
(Posted by Rich on September 28th 2010, 5:26pm)
"Again, your comments show your ignorance and inability to grasp the magnitutude of the situation...Peanuts will kill children with severe peanut allergies, not give them a rash or intestinal problem, but kill them. Its a difference of opinion on whether to ban peanuts in school, but if there was something that would potentially kill another child at school, I would do what I could as a responsible person to be sure I did not create an unsafe situation for that child."
As Rich stated!
Peter - 14 years ago
(Posted by Brooke on September 28th 2010, 5:06pm)
BROOK again you are so not educated and or understand the allergy. Please go back under a rock.
James - 14 years ago
My son is Galactocemic; while not technically an allergy, any sort of lactose or galactose he eats can eventually build in his system which causes anything from mild retardation and cataracts to death. So...would I want all or any milk based products banned from school? Of course not! I teach my child about his condition and the things he is allowed to eat and the things (most food) that he cannot eat. Take responsibility for your child, don't expect everyone else to.
Alex - 14 years ago
I'm allergic to food coloring and im not accomodated so how is this fair to ban peanuts when not food coloring. a lot more people are allergic to it and don't even know but it makes you feel like crap all the time. On the other hand i love peanuts. so not, don't ban them. be smarter about what you eat and read before you buy something. it's what i've been doing for the last 13 years.
FOB - 14 years ago
The myth that there are people who will DIE if they just touch a doorknob that has been touched by someone who ate peanut butter at some time in the past is just silly. There might be, perhaps, a dozen such people in the world--but there are not that many. There are people who will have a reaction--perhaps a rash, perhaps hives.
About 1% of the population (check it out--this comes from the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology) have an allergy to peanuts and tree nuts. About 100-150 people (out of 300 *million*) die from food allergies each year. Most people outgrow the allergy. And, one means of treating it is to expose the child to peanuts in tiny increments, gradually increasing them. Isolating the child from peanuts AGGRAVATES the condition just as making your house overly clean can CAUSE asthma (and possibly also Type I diabetes).
There are just as many people allergic to bee stings, perfume, milk products, etc. If we start cocooning all children because a few *might* become ill, we really have gotten to the point of being ridiculous. By all means, if there is the very rare severely allergic child--everyone should know about it and be cautious around that child--just as one would with a child allergic to bee stings or an asthmatic child or a child whose bones are easily broken. Most parents who freak about their child's allergies, however, are freaking for no good reason.
Oh, and by the way, the likelihood that your kid will get kidnapped by a stranger is so close to zero that it's hardly worth worrying about.
D.O. - 14 years ago
Some of the comments in this section make me ill. What kind of country have we become? How about a little compassion for others? Or even just courtesy? Would any of you say "Too bad, weakling!" to someone in a wheelchair? They need some extra help and consideration just like someone with a severe allergy. Seriously, the callousness of some comments here are appalling. You people should be ashamed of yourselves.
Dan - 14 years ago
If we start banning foods based on allergies, we might as well just stop providing lunches at school,
somebody will be allergic to something on the menu.
BTW how did we adults survive our school lunches? They never banned anything when we were kids.
We as kids KNEW we couldn't eat certain things, if we ate them anyway, no one blamed the school.
This current generation of "parents" (the kids WE raised) always wants someone else to take the blame for their kids.
'why didn't the school protect our kids, bringing candy to school at halloween when they should have known my kid is diabetic" (BTW the school never was told about the kid's condition until after the incident - result no more candy in school)
Take responsibility for your own kid!
HMcMillan - 14 years ago
For all those that think they can't live without peanut butter, here is an alternative. There is a Canadian company, NoNuts Golden Peabutter (www.peabutter.ca) that makes a peanut butter substitute from a specific variety of peas. It has the same color and texture of peanut butter, and is very close in taste, just without the peanuts. I have not had real peanut butter in my house since I was pregnant with my first child, and noone has noticed the difference. And as an added bonus, my kids get a serving of vegetables without even realizing it!
AJ - 14 years ago
Why peanut allergy alone ? There are lots of kids who are severely allergic to other food items like milk, egg, gluten, etc. It would be good if schools can have a dining area for those kids who are allergic to food items. It could be a few tables set aside for those kids. And if they are under the supervision of teachers or parent volunteers, then allergic incidents could be avoided.
A special, cordoned off room could be setup to where the children are not exposed to the peanuts or peanut air particles. It would be like restaurants having smoke-free areas and hotels having no smoking rooms.
quori - 14 years ago
@Christine....BULL! You would have learned to eat SOMETHING other than PBJ. Children don't starve to death because they don't like XYZ, or like ABC best. Children starve because they don't have anything aat all to eat. Again, my kids love PBJ and PBFs....but their opportunity to learn in a classroom will not in ANYWAY be hindered by being in a nut free environment. As adults, we smoke, drink, gamble, we certainly have sex....most (MOST) employers ban smoking in the building and some do on the grounds entirely. very few employers allow drinking on the job (if any!!!). You aren;t allowed to have an afternoon poker game at my work, I am willing to bet thats the case in most places. And as for sex...I DO NOT WANT most of the people I work with doing that AT WORK! Yet somehow...some way....we all manage to get jobs and work in these places nonetheless. And we do those things on our personal time. We continue to go on without finding our lives to be hindered because of it. Translate that to kids in school. No Peanut Butter and Jelly...No Soda....No sugary snacks/candy....kids will be fine.
Atho - 14 years ago
Your health issue, your problem! Don't expect the world to drop their lives and come to your rescue. We all have certain issues to deal with. I'm tired of this country adhering to every single little nuance about people. We're a bunch of babies.
Elissa - 14 years ago
Where does it end? Some of the posters have talked about how a child can have an allergic reaction by touching something that someone else touched who had peanuts on their hands or through the smell of peanuts. If this is the case, is it reasonable to ban peanut butter at breakfast because a kid may not brush their teeth or wash their hands before they get to school and may contaminate the handle? Do we ban peanuts from vehicles because someone may give a ride to a kid with allergies and a crust of PB&J from last week may be hiding under the seat? What about rental vehicles? What about the jacket that was worn at a picnic with PB cookies and now has cookie crumbs in the pocket? The list goes on and on. While I sympathize with parents who have to deal with this (or any other allergy/illness) it is not possible to provide a totally allergy free environment. As the poster who sends her child to a peanut free daycare mentioned, accidents and incidents still happen.
The best offense in this situation is a good defense. Educate your kids to protect themselves, inform the school and make a plan, get a peanut sniffing dog, have your kids wear gloves or a mask (what? that's worse than wheelchairs or crutches, or hearing aids, or glasses? At least gloves and a mask can be taken off when the coast is clear). Lobby the FDA to require better labeling (Maybe a picture of a peanut to warn the kids instead of words?), but don't expect the many to cater to the needs of the few. Doing so is dangerous and puts your kids at the mercy of others to play by the rules.
Rich - 14 years ago
America is great and so is evolution, kidness and compassion.
Horvath - 14 years ago
Thank you, Joe for demonstrating one of the fatal flaws of secular humanist and the consequence of its subjectivist philosophy.
I have to acknowledge Dee above and the training she has offered her child.
There are those who are lactose intolerant, we are not talking about eliminating milk from the school program. A simple awareness of peanut allergies, indicating ingredients and making sure teacher now the special needs of their younger student who cannot watch out for themselves and appropriate emergency medical services would be enough and allow the vast majority to enjoy their own diets.
School is training for life. Assuming these special students survive their formative years they will be faced with this allergy for their whole life and in this structured environment they can lean to cope. The world will not eliminate peanuts for the few who are allergic, neither should the schools.
When we start dictating policy based on the lowest common denominator we give up free will, personal responsibility and all aspect of our life becomes dictated by safety. America was discover with risks, settled with risks, developed with risks. It is the very fabric of hat make America great. here are allergies for all kinds of things. we don't make everyone avoid them.
Jim - 14 years ago
The comment about the ADA is important. Parents of allergy sufferers can simply sue the district to force accommodations. Many have. Simply stated, it is a real, life-threatening issue and a growing problem.
It is also a complicated issue and many who have made comments are clearly ignorant of the medical facts and every-day realities. Example: a child can easily sit at a nut-free table, mere feet away from others eating PB and J, and be safe from the risk of accidently getting peanut butter on a sleeve that they later wipe their mouth with, which might result in a severe reaction. In a classroom, however, a child with a snack containing nuts is pretty much guaranteed to get crumbs, goo, etc. on toys, books, tables, floor, shelves - you name it. That classroom is now unsafe for any allergic child. Nuts and other foods kids are allergic to are healthy for most and should not be banned. But the allergies are real and life threatening for a growing number of children. Schools should create policies and procedures to protect children with serious allergies.
The ones who need to stop whining are the people to lazy and uncaring to understand the issue and comply with policies required by law - for good reason. And if your kid will only eat peanut butter sandwiches, it's because you were too lazy to teach them good eating habits. I have kids and have been through it.
Finally, teaching kids how to be aware of and careful about, the safety of their classmates has large implications for teaching them to be responsible members of a civil society - something sorely lacking in our country. Way too many of us simply want life to be easy for us. If it was their child who could die from accidental ingestion of a bit of a nut, they would feel differently.
I have very little patience those too selfish to educate themselves about issues within their community. Such behavior perpetuates ignorance, and our communities and society are the worse for it.
Rich - 14 years ago
Again, your comments show your ignorance and inability to grasp the magnitutude of the situation...Peanuts will kill children with severe peanut allergies, not give them a rash or intestinal problem, but kill them. Its a difference of opinion on whether to ban peanuts in school, but if there was something that would potentially kill another child at school, I would do what I could as a responsible person to be sure I did not create an unsafe situation for that child.
Brad - 14 years ago
Separation at lunch is no longer enough. All it takes is some kid who came in contact with the PB during lunch and later on touches your kid, and BOOM - 15 minutes later you're looking for an epi-pen and a $2500 hospital bill from the ER
Lauren - 14 years ago
I have an allergy to red food dye and growing up I had to learn what I could and could not eat. I feel that it's the parent's responsibility to educate their children about the severity of allergy health issues in the home, and then guide them in making safe choices in their diet. Banning peanut butter at schools is downright silly (and will open up the door for countless other healthy food's to be tossed out) and quarantining children in the lunchroom will only make them feel more alienated. While bullying is a serious issue, I believe it is a separate one. Bullies will always find means to terrify others; we must control and punish the bad behavior, not the means.
Brooke - 14 years ago
After posting my comment, I read a comment posted by Nate. Thank you for explaining what you have to do in such clear language. I do not have kids, but was a kid with food allergies, and never once expected the school district/community to watch out for me. It was up to me and my parents. Of course my parents spoke with the school administrators and teachers, but after that I was responsible for what I put in my mouth. I feel sorry for the people who get so angry about banning peanut butter in schools and start blasting everyone who suggests the idea. Settle down! We are not talking about banning something super important. The correct peanut butter provides children with many health benefits and tastes good, but in the long run is it really worth getting super pissed off about. Not really.
Dee - 14 years ago
My daughter has a severe nut allergy, and she is very well educated on it. When we go to restaurants she (at the age of eight) is the one who questions the waitress about the use of peanuts and peanut oil, asks them to check with the chef, etc. We believe she should be very comfortable doing so, and she is.
However as a younger child things were not so simple. In pre-K and K, we had to beg and scream at our district to get them to allow a peanut-free table. She spent the first three months sitting all by herself in a corner at this table until a fellow student asked his mother to begin packing peanut-free lunches so he could sit with her (what a blessing). We fought for nearly a month to get the district to allow her emergency shot kit to be kept in the classroom rather than locked in the nurses office (what happens if the nurse if off on lunch?). In all, it has been a battle. Despite all our precautions, she has been exposed twice at school and been rushed to the hospital.
While I think it's unfair for an entire school to have to do without--and would never ask for such a thing--working with parents on the individual needs of the child and taking age-appropriate steps to ensure their safety shouldn't be a battle. Rest assured that most parents of children with a peanut allergy don't expect everyone else to do the work for them, but a little assistance in keeping them away for a substance that could kill them is appreciated.
Lisa - 14 years ago
Unfortunately I have too many friends with children with this allergy and they represent themselves and their children as if the allergy is life threatening (only 1 in the 6 I know are really that). The others in fact are rash, vomiting etc. I have a allergy that causes hives, I don't misrepresent myself. I don't know why those parents overreact or misrepresent themselves, but I think there is a lot of overreaction/extreme reaction to this issue in general.
William - 14 years ago
Maybe your kids are allergic to peanuts was because you waited too long to feed them peanuts! Only in America are there all these food allergies. There are less in Asia because we start eating nuts, eggs, and shell fish early in our life. Americans buy into the hype of all the allergies and tried not to feed their kids allergic food early in their life. Stop the non-sense of trying to ban everything everywhere. If it can kill your child, make sure he/she KNOWS it. We are not your baby sitters!
While I understand the severity of peanut allergies, it is true that most of the population is NOT allergic to peanuts. I don't think it is fair that peanuts should be banned from schools. There are plenty of people with allergies to other foods, like gluten for example, and it is the parents that have to accommodate for this. Imagine everything being peanut free, then gluten-free. Plenty of people have Celiac disease, meaning they can't come into any contact with gluten, which is in many commercial foods. I think if you start singling out one food allergy, then you have to start thinking about accommodating for ALL food allergies.
The other problem I see with eliminating peanut products is that many people, myself included, rely on peanut butter for healthy and inexpensive lunches. We don't have the option of participating in free lunches at my daughter's school, although, we would qualify. There is no lunch service there--it is a sack lunch every day. If you eliminate peanut butter, then I feel it personally. I sympathize with peanut allergy sufferers, but I also want the right to send my daughter to school with a peanut butter sandwich. There are alternatives to peanut butter, but when you have a very tight budget, it doesn't feel good to be forced to buy something that isn't budget-worthy. I think there should be a peanut-free table. One of my daughter's best friends used to sit at the peanut-free table at her old school and it worked just fine. I think it's all about parents educating their children, and schools being sympathetic to the needs of the relatively small few with allergies.
Christine - 14 years ago
As a child who grew up eating ONLY peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, if peanut butter was banned at school, I'd never have eaten. I appreciate the fact many children have allergies, but peanut butter is a cheap form of protein many children need, and a easy sandwich for school lunchs. I think having a nut-free table is perfectly acceptable, I also believe that lunchroom monitors need to be more vigilant in seeing to this. However, banning peanut butter totally is too drastic a measure.
Rich - 14 years ago
The problem is an awareness and education issue, regarding Food Allergies. Unfortuately food intolerance can be mistaken for food allergies, which does not correctly project the magnitude and sevarity of this very real and deadly health condition. For those of you that do not have children with food allergies or asthma or some other health condition that can be triggered by another persons habits (eating peanut butter, smoking, etc.) I pray that you never have to expierence that worry that takes years off your life, for those of you that do I encourage you to spend your efforts raising awareness of the issue through community events or raise money for orgnizations such as FAAN to help educate and lobby to keep our kids safe.
Brooke - 14 years ago
I, unfortunately, have many food allergies and completely understand how aggressive reactions can be. However, I do not expect a restaurant to change a menu, or when in school, the school to stop serving something to accommodate me. A food allergy should be treated like any other allergy. Let the school know your son or daughter has the allergy, how sever it is, and then teach your child to watch for peanuts. If your child is too young to understand, send them with a lunch. The solution is not complicated, it will just take a bit more work on the side of the parent. When I say a bit, it really comes down to packing a lunch, informing the school, and educating the child on the allergy. Not tough.
Bonnie - 14 years ago
I find it so sad that there is so much resistance to banning peanuts in school. In this great country where we have countless choices of foods to eat on a daily basis why is it so difficult to give one up when it might mean saving the life of an innocent child? Walk a mile in my shoes as the grandmother of a precious grandchild whose peanut allergy is so severe it is "off the charts" and any contact with that allergen can almost certainly be fatal. Count your blessings.............
Nero - 14 years ago
As the parent of a child with a severe peanut allergy, my life will always be filled with anxiety over nuts. We have to read every label, and not just once, as sometimes these change or are packaged differently. I do not expect the world to go peanut free, but I do expect caution to be taken by the schools. Peanut free zones, allergy awareness amongst the staff, that sort of stuff is needed. To my child, peanuts can be deadly, almost like letting someone bring a gun to school - it may not kill him, but it is a high risk with him being around it. Accomodations are needed to keep allergic children safe, as it is a growing problem. Eliminating the nuts is not the solution I see as possible, but accomodaye to keep kids safe.
Summer - 14 years ago
My 6 year old son has a severe peanut/tree nut allergy. We educate him and everyone close to him about his condition. Despite this, he ended up spending time in ICU after touching a child who didn't properly wash his hands after eating something with peanut butter. You can't tell a 6 year old child not to play with other kids at school.
He currently goes to all day Kindergarten and sits at his own little table at lunch. They have all of the kids clean their hands after eating and that's great. However, I insisted that snack time inside the classroom be peanut free. I didn't get any push back because our district purposely groups allergy kids together, so there are 4 peanut allergy kids in his class.
quori - 14 years ago
@Peter...
We are not talking about a handicap that does not hinder or change how another student goes about their day. The non wheelchair bound student can also walk up the ramp. It does not hinder any one's school activity.
Additionally, you mention entitlement to a fair and safe education. There are numerous circumstances where our children are not safe in school, not the least of which is being in school with OTHER KIDS! Bullying, peer pressure, teasing, etc etc create an incredibly unsafe and unfair environment for our kids. Normally we tell them, hey, life lesson. Get up, brush off the dirt and get back on the horse. We have schools and districts where AC/Heat do not function right. they ride on buses that have NO seatbelts or restraining devices to keep them safe in the event of an accident. I could go on. Life is not without risk. And life is seldom fair.
Again...I am all for banning Nut products if its best for all. No child is deprived or injured by not having a PBJ for lunch. But is banning Nut products the right thing to do? Is it a good precendent? What happen when the good of the few outweigh the many and your child is part of the many? Will you support THAT decision?
Peter - 14 years ago
Nate well said! (Posted Nate on September 28th 2010, 4:50pm)
Gillian - 14 years ago
To all of those who comment and don't have children. I was a much better parent before I had kids. I had everything figured out and knew all the answers and then my kids showed me how little I actually knew. Banning of peanut butter is extreme because in most classes, there is at most 1 and maybe 2 with such severe allergies. I do understand because of liability why most schools are taking this stance. It is really up to the parents to educate their child and the child's class. My child is diabetic. I have educated her class on the basics of diabetes so they understand her situation and do not ostracize her out of fear. In the end, she understands that her diet and care is up to her.
Nate - 14 years ago
Did you know that food allergies are covered under the Americans with Disabilies Act (ADA)? I have a daughter with severe food allergies, one of those being peanuts. She has been to several different schools due to me moving with my job on a regular basis. She has dealt with this allergy since she was diagnosed at 8 months. My wife and I teach her about her allergies and what she can and cannot eat. She is now in middle school and has done very well. My wife and I, at the beginning of each school year, talk with the school administrators and the school nurse to see what kind of plan we can put in place to ensure that my daughter has a safe enviornment in which to learn. We understand that we cannot make is 100% safe but want to ensure that we can put safeguards in place to minimize the risks. I DO NOT believe that peanut butter should be banned but an allergy free table be available and safeguarded. For the parents with children that have severe food allergies, it is the responsibility of the parents, child, and the school to come up with a solution to best (not 100%) safeguard your children. For those of you that don't have children with food allergies and don't fully understand the severity and the overprotectiveness of parents with children with food allergies, please, think about what it would be like to have to deal with this on a daily basis. Peanut allergies can be fatal. Please take that into consideration before you blast a parent that wants to ensure that their child has a safe learning enviornment called public school.
quori - 14 years ago
Here's the problem....
In my children's school (I have 3) they have a nut free table for lunch. That table is sitting not 3 feet from a nuts allowed table. Seems like a reaosnable and simple enough solution.
BUT...when my kids go to their classrooms and they have snack...NO NUTS ALLOWED. In and of itself..seems reasonable again, but mind you. The child with the allergy could be sitting further away in the 20x20 classroom, than when in the cafeteria where the tables are merely 3-4 ft apart. That now seems off to me. AND, the students who have a nut based snack then are sent to the Principal's office to eat the snack!!!
NOW, this seems off. You are sending the kid who is perfectly healthy to the principal? They are made to feel segregated and as if something is wrong with them because they have no allergy?
I have 2 perspectives here. If you want to say no nuts in the school...fine. Then its NONE, ANYWHERE!!! And my children can enjoy peanut butter and crackers, PBJs, and PB and Fluff at home. Not a real issue there, they are not deprived of anything, and no one suffers. Additionally....if your child has such a severe allergy that they could die if they are within 10 ft of Peanut Butter; then why are you sending them to public school?!? I would be terrified every day that some other kid on the playground had some peanut M&Ms or something and my kid ate them; unaware of the extreme potential risk.
Not having peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches doesn't hinder a child's development. But bending everyone's day to the few with the allergy is against what our country is founded on: Democracy. It is about the good of the many, not the one. That may seem harsh, it may seem insincere, it may seem mean. Its not. Its life. And we have shown that this way of life, this socio-political stance...well, it works!
Derek - 14 years ago
According to the last studies that were complied in 2008, only 1.4 % of children had peanut allergies. Although the data has shown to triple between 1997 and 2008, they also state that many children have been misdiagnosed. So tell me this... why is it that such a tiny percentage of children should make the majority of normal healthy children suffer?!? IF (and that's in caps on purpose) those children are so deathly allergic to something, why are they out in public? They should be home schooled if the parents are so scared that their child will come in contact with peanuts.
A question may also be asked... why is it that this allergy that was practically unheard of when I was a child now on the rise. Is it what we're feeding our children or where we're feeding them (to you fast food on the go parents)??? Its time to look at the cause instead of forcing others to live how you have to just because your child has an allergy.
Peter - 14 years ago
It's funny that everyone here is commenting on a subject they know nothing about or how it might affect a child in kindergarden or per-school. (Peanut Allergy's) (We're talking about someone who may be 3 years old) It's also funny that everyone here expects that child to be able to stay away from any contact with peanut butter at school. Door handles, pens, markers, desks, balls, tables, sinks; just about every surface at that school that a child can and will touch. And lets not forget about the laws that gives every child the "right" to get a good and "safe" education. This includes not quarantining (as Dawn stated) that child from any school activity. I would hate to live in any town where any of the above responders live. Just think if a child there was in a wheel chair and needed a ramp to get into school. You would have some reason for that child not going to school as well.
Sad.
Carolyn - 14 years ago
I live in British Columbia, Canada and peanut butter and anything with nuts has been banned in my children's schools and in my daughter's dance studio for years now. In both cases, there are people who are so allergic they can't even touch a door handle if someone has had peanuts and touched the door handle previously. Even just the smell can cause a serious reaction. The ambulance has been called in many occasions from students bringing somethng by mistake and easily these people could lose their lives. In these cases, a seperate table won't do the trick. One of these happen to be our daughters teacher. I don't know of very many other allergies where it is this severe. I believe it should be on a school to school basis pending how severe the allergy. Come on people, there are a lot of peanut free granola bars now and other foods that surely your children won't mind eating. My children have had no issues with this situation...isn't the lives of others more important then depriving your children of Peanut butter for a 6 hour period?
Tom - 14 years ago
I would hope that any child who has a peanut allergy knows this. If schools want to serve food with peanut products, then the school should post this fact in very simple and plain language where these products are available. Teachers should also inform children of this fact. I think that if schools banned every product that could cause an allergic reaction, very little food could be served.
Dora - 14 years ago
If there is something in the school that can cause the death of a child than it should be banned. My child does not have any allergies to peanuts or anything else thank goodness. He is enrolled in a peanut free day care. I would want another parent to care about whether or not my child lives or dies just as I care for their child. If something so simple as banning peanuts from a school can save the life of a child why wouldn't you do it?????????
Kimberly Spain - 14 years ago
I think this is ridiculous, Peanut Butter is a staple in most children's lives... It's already difficult to feed a child, but to take peanut butter away, takes away so many other food options for them. I believe a child should be taught at home how to deal with it, not to sit next to a child that is eating it, etc... Seems like the problem would be solved. Many children are allergic to many things... why not take them all away, so there are no problems at all...
Derek - 14 years ago
Ray, how nice of you to be so shrewd directly toward Alicia. I'll play the same game just as you have. More than likely, you are probably one of the wussy parents she has pointed out! Just because a person has chosen to not have kids doesn't mean they don't know what is correct or not for a child in this type of situation, and your a moron for not thinking so. I would highly suspect that if she did have children, she would be a much better parent than you.
How do you like those peanut butter and crackers buddy!
Ned - 14 years ago
My mom has been teaching for over 30 years and allergies have become a lot more severe in the last ten. Since many peanut allergies can be DEADLY, it seems quite trivial for parents to complain that their children are "going without" to accomodate others. How'd you feel if someone at your child's school engaged in behavior that could kill them? Taking things on a case by case basis is important; some years there may be more children with allergies and others less. However, keeping all children safe, while providing them with an enriching environment to learn is of paramount importance.
Judy - 14 years ago
It isn't fair to ban a food because a few are allergic to it. Educate the child not to eat peanut butter or products that contain peanuts. Maybe better labeling geared to the younger child, "contains peanuts" in larger bolder lettering.
I have multiple food allergies that trigger migraines, should I expect artificial sweeteners to be taken off the market for me?? Common sense and logic are not as common to everyone as they used to be. Wake up people and start thinking for yourself.
Jennie - 14 years ago
As a vegetarian, my child gets much needed protein from peanut butter in his lunch. Agree that a special table may be needed but parents should arrange this with the school and the school administrators should not make sweeping decisions that impact all students. This is a one-on-one need and should be dealt with as such with the parent in the leadership role.
Lady D - 14 years ago
Parents should be able to advise their children's school of their childs allergic reaction to peanuts. The school in turn should create a different meal/menu for those kids only. Because of unemployment issues, parents are struggling to make ends meet and cannot afford to buy meals for their kids. The schools should be able to feed the kids no matter what.
Kris - 14 years ago
My son's elementary school is struggling with this. While I have compassion for kids and parents of kids with allergies, I don't think my son's eating habits should have to change. The reason I like to pack PBJ for my son is that I do not have to worry about keeping it cool with an ice pack. If I send a sandwich with meat, I need to send an ice pack with it. After losing a few ice packs because my son left them on the table or threw them away (he's a young boy, it's to be expected), I started packing ice in ziploc bags that my son could throw away. I received a polite note from the kitchen asking me not to do that anymore because it was causing a mess as it melted. So after that, we went back to PBJ, which the school is also frowning upon. They have a PBJ table, and the rest of the cafeteria is nut free, so my son does not get to eat lunch with his friends because he's sent to the PBJ table.
I am totally ok with nut free snacks sent to the classroom, but I do want to know where this will end. PBJ is a fairly healthy, fairly economical lunch that kids love. I'd have to see that go away for the kids that love them.
I want to marry Alicia I agree with her so much! How bout you tell your kid, ' johnny- you are allergic to peanuts, so don't eat any or you can die. Not to worry son because I PACK YOUR LUNCH EVERYDAY SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT'......jezus H christ ppl it's that easy. Don't forget Alicia, the parents (or whats left of them) are tea cups and wussies themselves.
Jillian - 14 years ago
As a (barely) out-of-college (severe!) peanut allergy sufferer... my parents and pediatrician educated me at an extremely young age about how to deal with my allergies. I was taught to read food labels and to always ask if there were nuts in anything I ate. I also learned how to take each one of my medications (benadryll, hydroxyzine, epipen) as were each of my teachers. Every year, my teachers were given a small red suitcase full of each medication I might need, as was the school office. There was the one incident involving madelines during class movie day, but everything turned out fine.
I think that a peanut free table sounds like an interesting idea. Kids can trade parts of their lunches (and you know they do) without having to worry and there's little concern over someone accidentally touching some peanut butter that dropped out of someone's sandwich. Having a completely separate lunch for those "afflicted" is just ridiculous, as is banning peanut butter from the whole school. How would you like to be known as the kid that got everyone's favorite sandwich banned?!
While a separate lunch table may help with lunchtime, what happens when there is food being consumed away from the lunch table? We certainly weren't allowed to eat on the blacktop or playground when I was a kid... but we definitely did.
I am being bullied by the school. I am a parent trying to ensure my child's safety. My child will be entering kindergarten and is severly allergic to peanuts. The school is trying to tell me it is against the law to take peanut butter out of the school and that my child will have to eat in the office. That is not ok what happens when those children come back to class after eaating it my daughter will still have a severe reaction I have seen it and it could cause her to die. I do not like to be bullied around by the schools.
For all of you who are such jerks about this....should my son carry a weapon to school to defend himself from your kids because you are so stupid about your reaction to this? Are you one of the parents that is teaching your kid to smear peanut butter on those with allergies? Having peanuts in the school is not just about what you CHOOSE to put in your kids lunch. It is about what is served in the lunch line, what is brought to school for snacks from parents, it is about airborne nut particles, its about whether your kids wash their hands. I certainly hope you don't have to worry about your kids everyday they go to school like these parents do. You can't even imagine the concern that they have. You are selfish, self-centered and don't care about anyone but yourself and your obsession with peanut butter. This has become a huge issue in our society and these kids are no sissy's. They have to be mature and watch what they eat and be prepared to self-inject if necessary. The kids I know with peanut or nut allergies are smart, tough, football playing, soccer playing strong kids who get a bad wrap. They are not weaklings you idiot ,WOW!!! These kids could probably beat you up! Shame on all you parents who have no compassion for others. Now I see why our country is know for their rudeness and narcissism. Teaching starts young. What a sad society we live in that someone wouldn't give up their peanut butter sandwich for someone else's LIFE THREATENING condition!!
There seems to be a lot of misinformation here. A severe peanut allergy is not a like a milk allergy or a sensitivity to a dye. Peanut allergies can, and do, kill. Often, the nuts do not need to be ingested- the allergens are airborne. I am surprised by the lack of real knowledge on the subject, and by the fact that parents would rather threaten their neighbor's kids' lives than delete a simple food item. I am ashamed to be part of such an uncaring society.
I write this in memory of Penny, a friend's daughter, who died from a nut allergy; the victim of careless labeling. If I could save one family from the grief that I have seen Penny's family experience, I gladly would. Wouldn't you?
ONLY IN THE US. I hear about these problems. lead, peanut,and the list go on and on.
weaklings as one called it.
Bikerman... How is it punishment to home school your children if you're so scared that they will die if the come in contact with whatever they're allergic too. I call it protecting your child from harm... or do you not believe in that? Home schooling in my opinion is the ONLY option if my child is that susceptible to something that may make them ill or even kill them. I cruel of a parent to be so thoughtless subjecting their children to such harm! Does that answer your question?!?
Im addressing this article because it has been one that has always angered me. I do not have children of my own but as it stands im very against the ban. Reason being as many others have stated, its not the parents issue to not pack thier children peanut butter but the schools. The schools should be accomidating the kids with the allegies. (i.e Give them thier own lunch room or have them eat somewhere else other than the said lunch room). I know it is between life and death but if the parents of the allergic child do not educate them on the fact that if billy gives you nuts and you eat them you will potentially die. Having your kid informed would be way more important then having all schools ban peanut butter. The schools should also enfource a hand washing after eating up until certain grades or until students can acknowledge that this person has an allergie if you ate peanut butter then you have to wash your hands. Im on both sides but banning it all togther is retarded.
I am a physician and father of a child with peanut allergy. This is a complex issue and I'm reading both well informed and ignorant comments. The bottom line is that each community must decide to what lengths it will protect the vulnerable. After reasoned discussion, it becomes quite clear that we are weighing life/death vs. Food preference. Aside from an outright ban, the most reasonable compromise has been a nut table with all others nut free. That way, any stray nut contamination is easier to contain.
The argument seems 2 fold 1) ban all peanuts so kids don't die...ok, this seems reasonable. 2) We can't make reasonable accomodations (nut-free lunch room/table), as required under the ADA, because kids will be made fun of. WHAT?! Kids will ALWAYS make fun of each other. This is the nature of kids. They make fun of someone who's too tall, to short, to fat, to thin, to smart, to dumb, to loud, to quiet, some one who smells funny, some one who talks funny, some one who laughs funny, someone who likes broccoli, and someone who wears pink socks on purple sock day, or who isn't wearing the right kind of pink socks. My point is that saying all nuts must be banned from an establishment, not because it makes the place safer, but because we wouldn't want kids to get made fun of is INSANE and unreasonable. Kids will make fun of eachother for reasons adults cannot fathom. The debate needs to focus on keeping kids safe, not making sure their feelings don't get hurt because that will never happen. Bullying is a seperate problem and needs to be addressed outside the context of the peanut allergy debate.
my comment is simple, I refuse to be responsible for the death or harm of a child over a food product. Ban it. The life of an innocent is way more important. No other opinion matters.
I am a 17 year old who has a peanut allergy! For all of you who are ignorant enough to say "Tough Luck" i hope one day while your eating that peanut butter cookie you choke on a shell. Sorry bout my temper but im so beyond pissed at the moment! I have been to the "NO NUTS" table and back and guess what? I have been made fun of ever since then! To a child its not worth having your whole life being a downer just because some ADULTS raise their children to be insignificant peices of trash! Peanut Butter was my torment growing up... Being chased around with Peanut Butter cups is not the highlight of my day just to let you know! Oh and yeah the school never did anything bout any of that besides going no no (Insert Bullies name here) thats not nice. Im That Peanut Kid and i VOTED to BAN peanut butter from schools!
This is an issue parents should address. Your child will encounter this allergy in the real world. Teach them how to avoid it and if exposed, what to do. Heaven forbid YOU must act like a parent and actually do something instead of passing the buck for the school, society, or other parents to take care of the issue. No reason to deprive a child who can enjoy PB & J sandwiches the pleasure of this tried and true lunch.
Where I live in B.C. Canada, all peanut products have been banned in the schools for several years. There is no problem, everyone just accepts it for what it is. From reading many of these comments this is just one more reason that I'm happy to be Canadian.
Thank you Susan...I agree that education is the key. However, I think it would be appropriate for the school or any facility where children are under the care of other individuals, to enforce a restriction simply based on age. A younger child may not realize how harmful or even how to avoid looking for certain ingredients in food. I feel if the school has a sex Ed involvement for the family, then it would be appropriate to have a Dietary and education modual for kids early in elementary school and after that point allow the kids to regulate it for themselves. (I also feel the family has responsibility to educate on both, so please don't get hung up on this last statement) This goes for all the Nut (including soy which is in practically everything), Dairy, Gluten(which is on the rise) and other common food allergies. At some point they have to 'survive in the wild' so lets not just push them out of the nest, lets teach them how to fly. (Yes that was corny, but you get the point).
So many of you are missing the point and are misinformed......peanut butter STICKS! You can't remove it with hand sanitizer. You have to WASH it off. This is one of the reasons why schools choose to eliminate it. And I have news for all of you people who think the allergy was caused by something "weak" within the child or something the parents did/didn't do.....you are all at risk of developing food allergies yourselves. I work in a college environment and teenagers and adults with no history of food allergies are now developing them. If you or your loved ones don't have any food allergies - be thankful and show some compassion for those that do.
Having worked with children for over 20 years, I understand both sides of this issue. However, the reality is that the term "peanut free" when used in a school situation only provides a false sence of security for those parents who have children with peanut allergies (unless the school it's self prepares all food and no outside food is allowed). It requires the parents of every student to police their own child's food, therefore the school can not guarentee a peanut free environment. Ex. Was the leftover Chinese food in Johnny's lunch cooked with peanut oil? Does Amy's granolla bar have trace amounts of peanuts? Etc. I believe that accomidations can and should be made for children with severe allergies, but banning a food like peanuts will only cause more problems in the long run for the school and other parents. If a child is exposed and has a reaction in a peanut free school, who is responsible? The school? The parent who didn't know there were trace amounts in their child's lunch item? It's just much to difficult to enforce and police.
Education is the key. Educating a child's classmates and peers as to what a food allergy is, what the symtoms are, and what to do to keep their friends safe, in kid appropriate language. Kids will keep their friends safe. They will refuse to take food in their lunch or for snacks that could harm their friends. The food allergy and anaphylaxis network has a program called P.A.L., protect a life. It is an education program for kids. It works in our school. My son has life threatening allergies, but sits at a lunch table with his classmates. The keep a buffer around him, only kids with non-peanut/tree nut lunches sit directly beside or accross from him. The kids monitor it themselves. His friends keep him safe.
With the severity that a nut allergy can have, it is wise to simply do without. I've heard cases of ill-intentioned children taunting nut allergy sufferers with peanut butter. One child knowingly smeared peanut butter on a child's forehead, who became a fatality due to his sensitivity.
No one has managed to come up with a response: What do you do when your child gets older? Do you ban peanuts from their friends houses? Highschool? College? Work?
Again, my child would die from any kind of dairy product. ANY. That includes simple things like mashed potatos with butter and/or milk. Am I to ban these things from school?
Thousands of children with severe peanut allergies go to school every day where peanuts are present, with no problems because the staff is aware of the condition. Teach those around your child the dangers...don't take away from them.
I'm a pediatric dietitian who has worked with children with special diet needs for over ten years. I see so much ignorance, hyperbole, and intolerance here it is saddening. Peanuts or peanut butter are not a necessary nutritional staple for children by any long shot, and indulging your child's preference for peanut could actually take another child's life in a school setting. The constant terror and anxiety that allergic children and families endure is unimaginable to "normal" families. These children are eager to grow, play, be safe, and just plain be, just like your kids.
If your child likes and tolerates peanuts, be grateful - not judging of others less fortunate. Let your child expand and try options like sesame butter, cashew butter, or almond butter, which all work well in jelly sandwiches. Or, let your child eat other types of lunches at school altogether! If your peanut-able child is so rigid in food choices that s/he will not eat anything but peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, then you need to make an appointment to come see me for nutrition care. This degree of rigidity is not healthy for kids. In my experience, it often spells nutrition deficits.
Kids are required to go to school, and we are required to protect them. There are diffrent levels and types of peanut, tree nut and food allergies. Someone might just have an ingestion issue meaning they simply do not eat the allrgen and they are fie. Some can't touch the oils (meaning eating surfaces must be cleaned) and some can't smell the allergen. My daughter has the tri-fecta and it is a real challenge to keep her safe and the school does a good job helping us. For some, bringin a PB&J sandwich is like bringing a gun. No one wants to hurt a child and if we know what to do and not to do we can keep everyone safe. I think we can all agree that keeping nuts out of the schools won't deprive anyone. If so then our society has much bigger problems. Ban the nuts...keep the kids!
Of course parents who don't have children with allergies think it is up to the parents to figure out a solution because they are too ignorant to realize the severity of the allergic problem with some children. My advice to you is to be a first count witness to a peanut allergy THEN make an educated decision. There are too many other foods out there for a peanut ban to cause such turmoil.
I totally understand the viewpoint of parents with allergic kids but i have a question..........What about kids like my 5 year old daughter who has a life threatening dairy allergy?...........We have to give her peanut butter and other nut products. We have no other choice. Its very difficult to give her any readymade snacks. Once you start reading labels you would be surprised that most kids products have dairy in it. Eating out in restaurants is a nightmare for us. If the schools ban peanut butter and other nuts then where does that leave us.............Please have a little concern for other allery groups too. My daughters school very kindly offered us a choice to have a seperate table in the cafeteria for her. I think thats the right way to deal with this ......not by making the schools nut free.............
By the way my daughter is also allergic to cats, dogs , cows , pollen etc.......... a 4 page long list. I can't just kill all dogs, cats and plants so that my child can live. So let us be grownups about this problem amd find a way which lets everyone live.
Derek real nice comment so we punish our kids because they have an allergy. My son has a severe peanut allergy that can kill him and he is only 3. How do you educate a 3 year old he can't have peanuts because he can die! Derek you have kids? With all the crap that is in our food and water the majority of kids in the future will have allergies so it will become MAJORITY not MINORITY!.
@Tina... call it what you want, but you're expecting the MAJORITY of people to pander to the needs of the MINORITY. If you're that worried about your child being exposed, maybe you should consider home schooling instead of making everyone else change their lives and eating habits. You can stick to your sunflower butter and tell yourself it tastes like peanut butter.
Tina...Why does it have to be banned? Are you going to ban it Highschool? When your daughter goes to college, are you going to call the dean and have it banned there? What about when they begin their career? Call the boss and have it banned there? Your daughter is allergic to peanuts, albeit, fatally allergic...my son can't have anything, and I mean anything that has milk products in it. It could kill him just as easily as peanuts can kill your daughter, but much slower. Should I ban milk products?
My daughter has a severe allergy to peanuts and nuts in general. Watching a child suffer through an anaphylactic episode is not something I would wish on anyone's child, and I sure wish parents and schools would not wish it on mine. This cavalier attitude toward this allergy could mean death to my child or someone else's. How tragic and horrific would it be if your child witnessed the allergic reaction of another child because your child brought peanut butter to school?
There are alternatives to peanut butter that are just as tasty and are totally peanut-free. Sunflower seed butter is the alternative we use at our house. Unless your child's or another student's allergies include seeds, this may be the way to go.
And yes, cross contamination is a huge issue. Kids are messy and even though there is an allergy table where my daughter sits with others with allergies, water fountains, jump ropes, swings, door handles, crayons, paint brushes, table surfaces, etc. are ripe vehicles for cross contamination. Even at some indoor playgrounds, parents give their toddlers peanut butter and jelly and are appalled when I ask them to please make sure they wash their hands thoroughly because of my daughter's allergy. But what if that child puts their mouth on a toy and then my daughter touches it? Please, people. It's just peanut butter, not the Bible. And peanut butter can be just as deadly to kids with allergies as illegal drugs on our campuses might be to your child. And we're all about just saying "no" to that, right?
We carry an Epi-Pen with us at all times, including in the car, in my purse, at the school and in our home. We read labels and do everything on our end to prevent an allergic reaction. Allergies can be deadly. And we're talking about children here. Children who never asked to have allergies and to be singled out for it at school.
Becky...Now that is very reasonable. I agree with that system.
A child in my daughters class has a severe peanut allergy and her school has adopted a careful graduated policy that changes as the child ages. In Kindergarten, no nut (or "may be processed in a facility that also processes nuts") products were allowed in lunches or snacks. This year, in first grade, nuts are allowed in lunches, but a nut free table is provided for the student. Most students bring nut free lunches most of the time so that they can sit with the affected student. This policy protects the student when she is too young to protect herself, but allows her to take more responsibility for her safety as she matures. It seems like the most practical of all of the proposals that the school considered- it acknowledges the danger but also teaches the student that she needs to be aware of her surroundings.
My son is a very picky eater. Peanuts are very important to his diet. He needs the protein. He does not like lunch meat and will waste most of his lunch if he buy's it at school..He could live off ppj's. I feel this is VERY Healthy for him. He Should be able to eat his peanut butter at school.SOMEONE needs to find a compromise where we can have both.
Josh...Also, I understand how fatal a peanut allergy is. I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say. My point was that the child should have a complete and total understanding of what their "weakness" is. Inform them and anyone who has contact with them. I'm all for making the school aware of your child's allergy and making a safer environment. It is a scary thing...I know first hand. What I have a problem with is parents who are blinded by their own childs needs, that they feel the need for EVERYONE to change their lifestyle. Banning it at school only temporarily fixes things. What about when they go to a friends house? Is their family now banned from peanuts? How about college? How about the work environment? Why not instead, teach them how to live with the allergy and adapt to an environment where peanuts will never be completely removed?
We are a sad country if this is a topic for discussion. What's next? I can't feed my kids peanut butter in the morning before school because they may breathe on another child?
Im pretty sure no kid is going to suffer by banning them from not eating peanut butter at school lets be serious people. Eveyone is so opinionated here for either one side or the other. Make your kid(s) something else for lunch. If peanut butter is the only thing you can come up with then your a pretty lazy parent if you ask me.
Those that say its up to the parent to protect their kids, im pretty sure they are doing eveything they can. I wonder if those that say that have a child with an allergy where they have to carry an epi-pen around with them. Unless you walk in someone elses shoes for a day I wouldnt comment. Did anyone ever consider cross contamination? Kids play with each other and dont think of washing up. A teacher cant be on the look out 24/7.
Why do so many people suffer from this? We dont know, its not like they chose this is it? An open mind would help in areas like this.
Ignorance is Bliss!
i read years ago that PB(peanuts&salt) bread and milk was the minimum a human could live on indefinetly and be able to keep the body growing.
Are we somehow missing the fact that peanuts are a legume and not a NUT! It is a different plant entirely. So, someone allergic to peanuts is not necessarily allergic to nuts. There is no need to ban all nuts in lunches when we are talking about a peanut allergy.
There are all kinds of allergies present in children these days, some never heard of until a few years ago. There are those with a gluten allergy. Should we, therefore, ban all wheat products in school lunches? Try to make a sandwich with something that does not contain wheat. Not an easy task, believe me. There are too few gluten-free products available as of now.
It should be the responsibility of each parent to educate their child on what they can and cannot eat, learn to read lables, and for goodness sake ... eat ONLY what is in the lunch provided for them from home. If it is a life threatening issue, then that child may have to eat in a quarantined environment. It is not right to punish others for ones own health issues. We must each take care of our own.
Josh...While I do mostly agree with your response, in my sons case it is completely different. Earlier I posted the condition he has. While it is not an allergy to milk, he does have Galactocemia which means his body cannot break the enzyme down. What this means is that eating anything with galactose, lactose, or casein can have a much bigger affect the simply an upset stomach; such as: mild to severe retardation, cataracts and even death in many cases. What makes his condition different is that he will never have an immediate reaction, so if he were to come in contact with it for a month, we wouldn't notice much. As time progresses, after a year he could be dead. I'm not saying one is worse than the other (peanut allergy or galactocemia) but with the allergy there IS an immediate response that can be taken.
I can certainly understand how many people have the storng belief for America and the freedoms we are so fortunate to have (why should I have to sacrafice my lifestyle for your kid with peanut allergies)...however what we seemed to have lost is the sence of community. My neighborhood is extremely compassionate to my daughters food allergies and so are the kids, because they have been educated about this health condition and want to see that my child, which is part of their community live a safe life and enjoy the company of thier kids. Somehow when this tranlsates to the masses, community and compassion to see children grow up in a safe enviornment diminish greatly.
I think a lot of people are confused.
First, for whatever reason, severe peanut allergies are more prevalent today and the reactions to peanuts are often more severe than with other food allergies. Kids die from peanut allergies. Period.
Second, many kids only find out they are allergic to something when they are exposed to it (and the degree of reactivity can evolve over time) so better to assume ALL kids are potentially allergic to the most severe allergens and take appropriate precautions.
Third, it is not a matter of kids with allergies being untrained to the point that they accidentally ingest something that they're allergic to. The issue is that many people can have allergic reactions simply by coming in contact with an allergen on their skin or by breathing in particles in the air. What 6-year old kid doesn't end up with peanut butter on his/her hands after eating a PB&J sandwich? Kids with severe allergies are trained from a young age how to identify/avoid certain foods - if not, natural selection takes over. But are all the other kids trained to wash their hands with the same degree of diligence before playing with other kids on the playground?
Fourth, let's consider cost vs benefit. The benefit of creating peanut bans is that kids don't die. The cost is that other kids don't eat foods that really aren't good for them anyway. Maybe I'm a little fuzzy on why exactly that is a cost worth complaining about.
Fifth, my 6-year old boy, Finn, is severely allergic to many things, including peanuts. Anyone who thinks Finn is a "weakling" is just an idiot - not only can he kick your kids' asses, he can kick yours. So shut up.
James... You're clearly blinded by illogical thoughts. Peanut allergies are not the same as milk allergies. Dairy allergies are caused by a lack of an enzyme. The allergic response is, in most cases, diarrhea. Peanut oil gets on fingers and transferred all over the school. Just touching a door handle that was used by someone who had just eaten peanuts can be fatal. If it were your child I doubt you'd have the same, ignorant opinion. You cannot teach a child to "learn" how not to be allergic to something, or teach a child to have a weaker immune response to something their bodies are allergic to. It's impossible James. You can teach them that in life they will need to make accommodations and compromises that they are sometimes not going to be happy with, in this case it would be skipping the peanut butter and jelly for a ham and cheese.
FOB - sorry but your comment demonstrates the ignorance that exists. I don't mean that in a pejorative sense, you simply don't know the facts, like most people. As parents of a child with life-threatening allergies to peanuts and many tree nuts, our primary concern is to teach our child to protect herself and to educate as many as possible to the facts of her allergies. If someone with peanut butter on their hand gets some on a door knob; and then my daughter gets some of that on her hand; and then she unknowingly gets even a minute amount in her mouth (sticking her fingers in her mouth, wiping her nose, etc.) she can have a life threatening reaction. The crazy thing is, she might have a very minor reaction one day and a potentially fatal reaction the next - and doctors don't know why. You noted that kids outgrow food allergies. This is true of most - but not peanuts. Peanut allergy is relatively unique in it's potential severity, unpredictability, and the fact that only something like 18% of those with the allergy outgrow it. In fact it gets worse in most with age. And doctors don't know why any of this is true. We are against banning peanuts or other foods from schools. But nut-free tables and a few other policies create a reasonably safe environment for our daughter. WASHING HANDS before entering the classroom in the morning and after lunch is HUGE and benefits everyone else in the classroom greatly as far as colds and flu. A little education goes a long way - that's why our kids are in school.
My toddler has autism, and it's very common for kids with autism to have a very limited selection of foods they will eat. Peanut butter is one of the few proteins he will consume. Without peanut butter at his lunchtime and dinner he wouldn't be physically thriving like he is. If he is lucky enough to attend an integrated school when he gets older, I would hope he will be allowed to eat his usual PB&J sandwich to help keep his day going with a modicum of calm and normalcy. Hence, I vote for a nut-free table in the lunch room, maybe even placed at a safe distance from the other tables so that peanut fumes won't even be an issue.
Every child at every school is more likely to be killed by a car in the parking lot at school or on the way to school. This happens everyday. We see it in the paper and we all know people who have been in serious car accidents because of careless driving. How many of us actually know anyone who has died from a peanut butter sandwich? Very few, it happens but it is VERY rare. We need to get back perspective. We will ban peanut butter because it is a relatively easy pill to swallow. But ban cars, heaven forbid. That would actually be an inconvenience even if it does save thousands of children a year it is not worth it to us. I am not suggesting banning cars, or anything else for that matter, but quit pretending banning peanut butter is an issue of safety. Because if you were really that terrified that your child might be killed at school you would put this much energy into removing things that are statistically way more likely to kill him or her. We all know that is no way to live or raise children. Education and reasonable caution are all that is required. We teach these young children languages, mathematics, musical instruments, science etc. but we can't teach them to be cautious with allergies? Wash their hands after eating and look both ways before crossing the street? Because even a child with allergies is more likely to be hit by a car. Stop treating kids like little idiots because if we had been treated that way as children we may never have made it to be parents in the first place. Be cautious, do not be alarmist.
Josh...It's not about peanut butter, it's like ground breaking trials, once somebody wins, it sets a precedence. If you allow a ban on peanuts/peanut butter, what's next? A ban on food coloring? Sugar? Anything with fat? Banning cheese and milk because someone has a milk allergy? There is always going to be something that someone has a debilitating allergy to. In the end, our children are going to be so sheltered that they can't survive on their own and I can already see it now. There are kids who's parents hover so close over them that they never experience failure, danger, sickness or pain. I'm not saying shove peanuts down their throats, but for God's sake, don't bring everyone down at the same time. Humans have a great ability that is not seen anywhere else in the animal environment to such a great degree; adaptation. Allow your kids to learn and adapt to their "weaknesses".
I moved from US to Canada. In Canada, schools are most sensitive to allergies. Schools are nut free zone. Teachers and other parents make special effort to create an allergy free environment if the kids are allergic to other things. I never saw this attitude in US. I have two kids with life threatning peanut allergies and it has made a huge quality improvement in my life by just moving to Canada and the changed attitude. For those, who are not sensitive to this problem, may I ask - Are guns, drugs, smoking not health hazards? Should they be allowed in Schools on a case by case basis?
Anything that is a health hazard to children should not be allowed in Schools. Kids who are not allergic will end up being more sensitive, more accomodative and will make life long friends!!! It is upto parents as well to teach their kids the right values and not harbor a It is not my problem attitude!!!
I'm surprised that so many people are intolerant of placing restrictions on peanut butter in school. Is a peanut butter sandwich really that special? If there are children in the school who have life-threatening allergies to peanuts or peanut-containing products then that school should accommodate that child. Just as much as they should make ADA accommodations for handicap children.
Darwinism.
ban peanuts for elementary schools, where kids share everything and the chance of contamination is very high, they are (mostly) not able to understand the reaction and medication requirements
allow peanuts for high schools but provide nut-free area in cafeteria - (most of) these kids know how to prevent a reaction (avoidance, not sharing, washing hands etc) and can self administer epi if needed,
Peter...As I stated above about my son, who absolutely cannot have anything with lactose or galactose or casein (which is most foods), I would never tell the school to ban milk or mashed potatoes or any of the hundreds of items served in school. It is my responsibility as a parent to ensure my child knows exactly what he can and cannot have and to inform the school of his condition. It is NOT however, my responsibility to ban things from other students because my own child cannot have them; that is selfish and teaches my son nothing. He needs to be able to take care of himself when I am not around. That is how we make strong and independent children...not by coddling and sheltering them from the big bad world. Teach.
It digusts me to read the majority of the above comments. As a parent of a child with many severe food allergies I deal with the fear of watching my 8 year old leave our home each day to attend school. And while she has many food allergies (24 to be exact) her peanut allergy is the most worrisome because of the ease of cross contamination of peanut products. Peanut butter is oil based and traces can easily be left on another childs hands after they have consumed a PBJ sandwhich. Peanuts have a dust that can become airborne. Inhalation of this dust is deadly. Until recent years, it was almost impossible to find an airline that would provide a peanut free flight for my daughter to travel on. One time, we were told we could not board a flight that I had previously made peanut free arrangements with the airlines because they goofed and were planning on serving peanuts. The pilot actually had the audacity to tell us to find another means of travel because we could not expect other passengers to NOT eat peanuts at the risk of my daughter's life. Unfortunately, this was the only airline that flew into my home time (we were returning from vacation to our home in Alaska which is a landlocked city). Flying via that airline was the ONLY option to return. Thankfully I stood my ground and the pilot agreed to not serve the peanuts after much argueing on my part.
Yes, my daughter is allergic to eggs, wheat, garlic, etc etc etc... but none of these allergies pose the same type of risk for exposure as peanuts do. And while I do not feel that peanut butter has to be banned from schools, I also feel that if parents are sending thier children to school with this potentially fatal item, they need to educate their child as much as I educate mine on her allergy. The child should know to thoroughly and carefully clean their hands and anything that may have come into contact with the peanut butter.
Also- having a peanut free table for lunches is wonderful and I am grateful for schools that take this step of caution. But it does isolate the peanut allergy children and they are never allowed to eat with thier friends. I much prefer a peanut table and making the rest of the cafeteria peanut free, thus allowing peanut allergy children to socialize with their peers. If a child CHOOSES to bring a peanut product to school, then they have chosen to eat at the peanut table. My daughter did not choose her allergies. Why should SHE be punished. Make peanut butter a choice with consequences, not the unchosen allergies.
oh you poor souls who just can't imagine what your little one will eat if he can't have peanut butter! What a horrible thing to live through!
The difference is that peanuts can kill. Your child will not die if he cannot have a pb&j sandwich for lunch. I assure you that they will not stop breathing if they cannot have a peanut product for the, what, 8 hours they're at school. But mine will. Shame on you all. Try putting yourself in someone else's shoes. This isn't about trying to make life harder on any of you. It's about trying to protect our children.
I would hate to be the one who killed someone bc I was too lazy to fix my kid something besides a PBJ.
(Posted by Rich on September 28th 2010, 5:26pm)
"Again, your comments show your ignorance and inability to grasp the magnitutude of the situation...Peanuts will kill children with severe peanut allergies, not give them a rash or intestinal problem, but kill them. Its a difference of opinion on whether to ban peanuts in school, but if there was something that would potentially kill another child at school, I would do what I could as a responsible person to be sure I did not create an unsafe situation for that child."
As Rich stated!
(Posted by Brooke on September 28th 2010, 5:06pm)
BROOK again you are so not educated and or understand the allergy. Please go back under a rock.
My son is Galactocemic; while not technically an allergy, any sort of lactose or galactose he eats can eventually build in his system which causes anything from mild retardation and cataracts to death. So...would I want all or any milk based products banned from school? Of course not! I teach my child about his condition and the things he is allowed to eat and the things (most food) that he cannot eat. Take responsibility for your child, don't expect everyone else to.
I'm allergic to food coloring and im not accomodated so how is this fair to ban peanuts when not food coloring. a lot more people are allergic to it and don't even know but it makes you feel like crap all the time. On the other hand i love peanuts. so not, don't ban them. be smarter about what you eat and read before you buy something. it's what i've been doing for the last 13 years.
The myth that there are people who will DIE if they just touch a doorknob that has been touched by someone who ate peanut butter at some time in the past is just silly. There might be, perhaps, a dozen such people in the world--but there are not that many. There are people who will have a reaction--perhaps a rash, perhaps hives.
About 1% of the population (check it out--this comes from the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology) have an allergy to peanuts and tree nuts. About 100-150 people (out of 300 *million*) die from food allergies each year. Most people outgrow the allergy. And, one means of treating it is to expose the child to peanuts in tiny increments, gradually increasing them. Isolating the child from peanuts AGGRAVATES the condition just as making your house overly clean can CAUSE asthma (and possibly also Type I diabetes).
There are just as many people allergic to bee stings, perfume, milk products, etc. If we start cocooning all children because a few *might* become ill, we really have gotten to the point of being ridiculous. By all means, if there is the very rare severely allergic child--everyone should know about it and be cautious around that child--just as one would with a child allergic to bee stings or an asthmatic child or a child whose bones are easily broken. Most parents who freak about their child's allergies, however, are freaking for no good reason.
Oh, and by the way, the likelihood that your kid will get kidnapped by a stranger is so close to zero that it's hardly worth worrying about.
Some of the comments in this section make me ill. What kind of country have we become? How about a little compassion for others? Or even just courtesy? Would any of you say "Too bad, weakling!" to someone in a wheelchair? They need some extra help and consideration just like someone with a severe allergy. Seriously, the callousness of some comments here are appalling. You people should be ashamed of yourselves.
If we start banning foods based on allergies, we might as well just stop providing lunches at school,
somebody will be allergic to something on the menu.
BTW how did we adults survive our school lunches? They never banned anything when we were kids.
We as kids KNEW we couldn't eat certain things, if we ate them anyway, no one blamed the school.
This current generation of "parents" (the kids WE raised) always wants someone else to take the blame for their kids.
'why didn't the school protect our kids, bringing candy to school at halloween when they should have known my kid is diabetic" (BTW the school never was told about the kid's condition until after the incident - result no more candy in school)
Take responsibility for your own kid!
For all those that think they can't live without peanut butter, here is an alternative. There is a Canadian company, NoNuts Golden Peabutter (www.peabutter.ca) that makes a peanut butter substitute from a specific variety of peas. It has the same color and texture of peanut butter, and is very close in taste, just without the peanuts. I have not had real peanut butter in my house since I was pregnant with my first child, and noone has noticed the difference. And as an added bonus, my kids get a serving of vegetables without even realizing it!
Why peanut allergy alone ? There are lots of kids who are severely allergic to other food items like milk, egg, gluten, etc. It would be good if schools can have a dining area for those kids who are allergic to food items. It could be a few tables set aside for those kids. And if they are under the supervision of teachers or parent volunteers, then allergic incidents could be avoided.
A special, cordoned off room could be setup to where the children are not exposed to the peanuts or peanut air particles. It would be like restaurants having smoke-free areas and hotels having no smoking rooms.
@Christine....BULL! You would have learned to eat SOMETHING other than PBJ. Children don't starve to death because they don't like XYZ, or like ABC best. Children starve because they don't have anything aat all to eat. Again, my kids love PBJ and PBFs....but their opportunity to learn in a classroom will not in ANYWAY be hindered by being in a nut free environment. As adults, we smoke, drink, gamble, we certainly have sex....most (MOST) employers ban smoking in the building and some do on the grounds entirely. very few employers allow drinking on the job (if any!!!). You aren;t allowed to have an afternoon poker game at my work, I am willing to bet thats the case in most places. And as for sex...I DO NOT WANT most of the people I work with doing that AT WORK! Yet somehow...some way....we all manage to get jobs and work in these places nonetheless. And we do those things on our personal time. We continue to go on without finding our lives to be hindered because of it. Translate that to kids in school. No Peanut Butter and Jelly...No Soda....No sugary snacks/candy....kids will be fine.
Your health issue, your problem! Don't expect the world to drop their lives and come to your rescue. We all have certain issues to deal with. I'm tired of this country adhering to every single little nuance about people. We're a bunch of babies.
Where does it end? Some of the posters have talked about how a child can have an allergic reaction by touching something that someone else touched who had peanuts on their hands or through the smell of peanuts. If this is the case, is it reasonable to ban peanut butter at breakfast because a kid may not brush their teeth or wash their hands before they get to school and may contaminate the handle? Do we ban peanuts from vehicles because someone may give a ride to a kid with allergies and a crust of PB&J from last week may be hiding under the seat? What about rental vehicles? What about the jacket that was worn at a picnic with PB cookies and now has cookie crumbs in the pocket? The list goes on and on. While I sympathize with parents who have to deal with this (or any other allergy/illness) it is not possible to provide a totally allergy free environment. As the poster who sends her child to a peanut free daycare mentioned, accidents and incidents still happen.
The best offense in this situation is a good defense. Educate your kids to protect themselves, inform the school and make a plan, get a peanut sniffing dog, have your kids wear gloves or a mask (what? that's worse than wheelchairs or crutches, or hearing aids, or glasses? At least gloves and a mask can be taken off when the coast is clear). Lobby the FDA to require better labeling (Maybe a picture of a peanut to warn the kids instead of words?), but don't expect the many to cater to the needs of the few. Doing so is dangerous and puts your kids at the mercy of others to play by the rules.
America is great and so is evolution, kidness and compassion.
Thank you, Joe for demonstrating one of the fatal flaws of secular humanist and the consequence of its subjectivist philosophy.
I have to acknowledge Dee above and the training she has offered her child.
There are those who are lactose intolerant, we are not talking about eliminating milk from the school program. A simple awareness of peanut allergies, indicating ingredients and making sure teacher now the special needs of their younger student who cannot watch out for themselves and appropriate emergency medical services would be enough and allow the vast majority to enjoy their own diets.
School is training for life. Assuming these special students survive their formative years they will be faced with this allergy for their whole life and in this structured environment they can lean to cope. The world will not eliminate peanuts for the few who are allergic, neither should the schools.
When we start dictating policy based on the lowest common denominator we give up free will, personal responsibility and all aspect of our life becomes dictated by safety. America was discover with risks, settled with risks, developed with risks. It is the very fabric of hat make America great. here are allergies for all kinds of things. we don't make everyone avoid them.
The comment about the ADA is important. Parents of allergy sufferers can simply sue the district to force accommodations. Many have. Simply stated, it is a real, life-threatening issue and a growing problem.
It is also a complicated issue and many who have made comments are clearly ignorant of the medical facts and every-day realities. Example: a child can easily sit at a nut-free table, mere feet away from others eating PB and J, and be safe from the risk of accidently getting peanut butter on a sleeve that they later wipe their mouth with, which might result in a severe reaction. In a classroom, however, a child with a snack containing nuts is pretty much guaranteed to get crumbs, goo, etc. on toys, books, tables, floor, shelves - you name it. That classroom is now unsafe for any allergic child. Nuts and other foods kids are allergic to are healthy for most and should not be banned. But the allergies are real and life threatening for a growing number of children. Schools should create policies and procedures to protect children with serious allergies.
The ones who need to stop whining are the people to lazy and uncaring to understand the issue and comply with policies required by law - for good reason. And if your kid will only eat peanut butter sandwiches, it's because you were too lazy to teach them good eating habits. I have kids and have been through it.
Finally, teaching kids how to be aware of and careful about, the safety of their classmates has large implications for teaching them to be responsible members of a civil society - something sorely lacking in our country. Way too many of us simply want life to be easy for us. If it was their child who could die from accidental ingestion of a bit of a nut, they would feel differently.
I have very little patience those too selfish to educate themselves about issues within their community. Such behavior perpetuates ignorance, and our communities and society are the worse for it.
Again, your comments show your ignorance and inability to grasp the magnitutude of the situation...Peanuts will kill children with severe peanut allergies, not give them a rash or intestinal problem, but kill them. Its a difference of opinion on whether to ban peanuts in school, but if there was something that would potentially kill another child at school, I would do what I could as a responsible person to be sure I did not create an unsafe situation for that child.
Separation at lunch is no longer enough. All it takes is some kid who came in contact with the PB during lunch and later on touches your kid, and BOOM - 15 minutes later you're looking for an epi-pen and a $2500 hospital bill from the ER
I have an allergy to red food dye and growing up I had to learn what I could and could not eat. I feel that it's the parent's responsibility to educate their children about the severity of allergy health issues in the home, and then guide them in making safe choices in their diet. Banning peanut butter at schools is downright silly (and will open up the door for countless other healthy food's to be tossed out) and quarantining children in the lunchroom will only make them feel more alienated. While bullying is a serious issue, I believe it is a separate one. Bullies will always find means to terrify others; we must control and punish the bad behavior, not the means.
After posting my comment, I read a comment posted by Nate. Thank you for explaining what you have to do in such clear language. I do not have kids, but was a kid with food allergies, and never once expected the school district/community to watch out for me. It was up to me and my parents. Of course my parents spoke with the school administrators and teachers, but after that I was responsible for what I put in my mouth. I feel sorry for the people who get so angry about banning peanut butter in schools and start blasting everyone who suggests the idea. Settle down! We are not talking about banning something super important. The correct peanut butter provides children with many health benefits and tastes good, but in the long run is it really worth getting super pissed off about. Not really.
My daughter has a severe nut allergy, and she is very well educated on it. When we go to restaurants she (at the age of eight) is the one who questions the waitress about the use of peanuts and peanut oil, asks them to check with the chef, etc. We believe she should be very comfortable doing so, and she is.
However as a younger child things were not so simple. In pre-K and K, we had to beg and scream at our district to get them to allow a peanut-free table. She spent the first three months sitting all by herself in a corner at this table until a fellow student asked his mother to begin packing peanut-free lunches so he could sit with her (what a blessing). We fought for nearly a month to get the district to allow her emergency shot kit to be kept in the classroom rather than locked in the nurses office (what happens if the nurse if off on lunch?). In all, it has been a battle. Despite all our precautions, she has been exposed twice at school and been rushed to the hospital.
While I think it's unfair for an entire school to have to do without--and would never ask for such a thing--working with parents on the individual needs of the child and taking age-appropriate steps to ensure their safety shouldn't be a battle. Rest assured that most parents of children with a peanut allergy don't expect everyone else to do the work for them, but a little assistance in keeping them away for a substance that could kill them is appreciated.
Unfortunately I have too many friends with children with this allergy and they represent themselves and their children as if the allergy is life threatening (only 1 in the 6 I know are really that). The others in fact are rash, vomiting etc. I have a allergy that causes hives, I don't misrepresent myself. I don't know why those parents overreact or misrepresent themselves, but I think there is a lot of overreaction/extreme reaction to this issue in general.
Maybe your kids are allergic to peanuts was because you waited too long to feed them peanuts! Only in America are there all these food allergies. There are less in Asia because we start eating nuts, eggs, and shell fish early in our life. Americans buy into the hype of all the allergies and tried not to feed their kids allergic food early in their life. Stop the non-sense of trying to ban everything everywhere. If it can kill your child, make sure he/she KNOWS it. We are not your baby sitters!
While I understand the severity of peanut allergies, it is true that most of the population is NOT allergic to peanuts. I don't think it is fair that peanuts should be banned from schools. There are plenty of people with allergies to other foods, like gluten for example, and it is the parents that have to accommodate for this. Imagine everything being peanut free, then gluten-free. Plenty of people have Celiac disease, meaning they can't come into any contact with gluten, which is in many commercial foods. I think if you start singling out one food allergy, then you have to start thinking about accommodating for ALL food allergies.
The other problem I see with eliminating peanut products is that many people, myself included, rely on peanut butter for healthy and inexpensive lunches. We don't have the option of participating in free lunches at my daughter's school, although, we would qualify. There is no lunch service there--it is a sack lunch every day. If you eliminate peanut butter, then I feel it personally. I sympathize with peanut allergy sufferers, but I also want the right to send my daughter to school with a peanut butter sandwich. There are alternatives to peanut butter, but when you have a very tight budget, it doesn't feel good to be forced to buy something that isn't budget-worthy. I think there should be a peanut-free table. One of my daughter's best friends used to sit at the peanut-free table at her old school and it worked just fine. I think it's all about parents educating their children, and schools being sympathetic to the needs of the relatively small few with allergies.
As a child who grew up eating ONLY peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, if peanut butter was banned at school, I'd never have eaten. I appreciate the fact many children have allergies, but peanut butter is a cheap form of protein many children need, and a easy sandwich for school lunchs. I think having a nut-free table is perfectly acceptable, I also believe that lunchroom monitors need to be more vigilant in seeing to this. However, banning peanut butter totally is too drastic a measure.
The problem is an awareness and education issue, regarding Food Allergies. Unfortuately food intolerance can be mistaken for food allergies, which does not correctly project the magnitude and sevarity of this very real and deadly health condition. For those of you that do not have children with food allergies or asthma or some other health condition that can be triggered by another persons habits (eating peanut butter, smoking, etc.) I pray that you never have to expierence that worry that takes years off your life, for those of you that do I encourage you to spend your efforts raising awareness of the issue through community events or raise money for orgnizations such as FAAN to help educate and lobby to keep our kids safe.
I, unfortunately, have many food allergies and completely understand how aggressive reactions can be. However, I do not expect a restaurant to change a menu, or when in school, the school to stop serving something to accommodate me. A food allergy should be treated like any other allergy. Let the school know your son or daughter has the allergy, how sever it is, and then teach your child to watch for peanuts. If your child is too young to understand, send them with a lunch. The solution is not complicated, it will just take a bit more work on the side of the parent. When I say a bit, it really comes down to packing a lunch, informing the school, and educating the child on the allergy. Not tough.
I find it so sad that there is so much resistance to banning peanuts in school. In this great country where we have countless choices of foods to eat on a daily basis why is it so difficult to give one up when it might mean saving the life of an innocent child? Walk a mile in my shoes as the grandmother of a precious grandchild whose peanut allergy is so severe it is "off the charts" and any contact with that allergen can almost certainly be fatal. Count your blessings.............
As the parent of a child with a severe peanut allergy, my life will always be filled with anxiety over nuts. We have to read every label, and not just once, as sometimes these change or are packaged differently. I do not expect the world to go peanut free, but I do expect caution to be taken by the schools. Peanut free zones, allergy awareness amongst the staff, that sort of stuff is needed. To my child, peanuts can be deadly, almost like letting someone bring a gun to school - it may not kill him, but it is a high risk with him being around it. Accomodations are needed to keep allergic children safe, as it is a growing problem. Eliminating the nuts is not the solution I see as possible, but accomodaye to keep kids safe.
My 6 year old son has a severe peanut/tree nut allergy. We educate him and everyone close to him about his condition. Despite this, he ended up spending time in ICU after touching a child who didn't properly wash his hands after eating something with peanut butter. You can't tell a 6 year old child not to play with other kids at school.
He currently goes to all day Kindergarten and sits at his own little table at lunch. They have all of the kids clean their hands after eating and that's great. However, I insisted that snack time inside the classroom be peanut free. I didn't get any push back because our district purposely groups allergy kids together, so there are 4 peanut allergy kids in his class.
@Peter...
We are not talking about a handicap that does not hinder or change how another student goes about their day. The non wheelchair bound student can also walk up the ramp. It does not hinder any one's school activity.
Additionally, you mention entitlement to a fair and safe education. There are numerous circumstances where our children are not safe in school, not the least of which is being in school with OTHER KIDS! Bullying, peer pressure, teasing, etc etc create an incredibly unsafe and unfair environment for our kids. Normally we tell them, hey, life lesson. Get up, brush off the dirt and get back on the horse. We have schools and districts where AC/Heat do not function right. they ride on buses that have NO seatbelts or restraining devices to keep them safe in the event of an accident. I could go on. Life is not without risk. And life is seldom fair.
Again...I am all for banning Nut products if its best for all. No child is deprived or injured by not having a PBJ for lunch. But is banning Nut products the right thing to do? Is it a good precendent? What happen when the good of the few outweigh the many and your child is part of the many? Will you support THAT decision?
Nate well said! (Posted Nate on September 28th 2010, 4:50pm)
To all of those who comment and don't have children. I was a much better parent before I had kids. I had everything figured out and knew all the answers and then my kids showed me how little I actually knew. Banning of peanut butter is extreme because in most classes, there is at most 1 and maybe 2 with such severe allergies. I do understand because of liability why most schools are taking this stance. It is really up to the parents to educate their child and the child's class. My child is diabetic. I have educated her class on the basics of diabetes so they understand her situation and do not ostracize her out of fear. In the end, she understands that her diet and care is up to her.
Did you know that food allergies are covered under the Americans with Disabilies Act (ADA)? I have a daughter with severe food allergies, one of those being peanuts. She has been to several different schools due to me moving with my job on a regular basis. She has dealt with this allergy since she was diagnosed at 8 months. My wife and I teach her about her allergies and what she can and cannot eat. She is now in middle school and has done very well. My wife and I, at the beginning of each school year, talk with the school administrators and the school nurse to see what kind of plan we can put in place to ensure that my daughter has a safe enviornment in which to learn. We understand that we cannot make is 100% safe but want to ensure that we can put safeguards in place to minimize the risks. I DO NOT believe that peanut butter should be banned but an allergy free table be available and safeguarded. For the parents with children that have severe food allergies, it is the responsibility of the parents, child, and the school to come up with a solution to best (not 100%) safeguard your children. For those of you that don't have children with food allergies and don't fully understand the severity and the overprotectiveness of parents with children with food allergies, please, think about what it would be like to have to deal with this on a daily basis. Peanut allergies can be fatal. Please take that into consideration before you blast a parent that wants to ensure that their child has a safe learning enviornment called public school.
Here's the problem....
In my children's school (I have 3) they have a nut free table for lunch. That table is sitting not 3 feet from a nuts allowed table. Seems like a reaosnable and simple enough solution.
BUT...when my kids go to their classrooms and they have snack...NO NUTS ALLOWED. In and of itself..seems reasonable again, but mind you. The child with the allergy could be sitting further away in the 20x20 classroom, than when in the cafeteria where the tables are merely 3-4 ft apart. That now seems off to me. AND, the students who have a nut based snack then are sent to the Principal's office to eat the snack!!!
NOW, this seems off. You are sending the kid who is perfectly healthy to the principal? They are made to feel segregated and as if something is wrong with them because they have no allergy?
I have 2 perspectives here. If you want to say no nuts in the school...fine. Then its NONE, ANYWHERE!!! And my children can enjoy peanut butter and crackers, PBJs, and PB and Fluff at home. Not a real issue there, they are not deprived of anything, and no one suffers. Additionally....if your child has such a severe allergy that they could die if they are within 10 ft of Peanut Butter; then why are you sending them to public school?!? I would be terrified every day that some other kid on the playground had some peanut M&Ms or something and my kid ate them; unaware of the extreme potential risk.
Not having peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches doesn't hinder a child's development. But bending everyone's day to the few with the allergy is against what our country is founded on: Democracy. It is about the good of the many, not the one. That may seem harsh, it may seem insincere, it may seem mean. Its not. Its life. And we have shown that this way of life, this socio-political stance...well, it works!
According to the last studies that were complied in 2008, only 1.4 % of children had peanut allergies. Although the data has shown to triple between 1997 and 2008, they also state that many children have been misdiagnosed. So tell me this... why is it that such a tiny percentage of children should make the majority of normal healthy children suffer?!? IF (and that's in caps on purpose) those children are so deathly allergic to something, why are they out in public? They should be home schooled if the parents are so scared that their child will come in contact with peanuts.
A question may also be asked... why is it that this allergy that was practically unheard of when I was a child now on the rise. Is it what we're feeding our children or where we're feeding them (to you fast food on the go parents)??? Its time to look at the cause instead of forcing others to live how you have to just because your child has an allergy.
It's funny that everyone here is commenting on a subject they know nothing about or how it might affect a child in kindergarden or per-school. (Peanut Allergy's) (We're talking about someone who may be 3 years old) It's also funny that everyone here expects that child to be able to stay away from any contact with peanut butter at school. Door handles, pens, markers, desks, balls, tables, sinks; just about every surface at that school that a child can and will touch. And lets not forget about the laws that gives every child the "right" to get a good and "safe" education. This includes not quarantining (as Dawn stated) that child from any school activity. I would hate to live in any town where any of the above responders live. Just think if a child there was in a wheel chair and needed a ramp to get into school. You would have some reason for that child not going to school as well.
Sad.
I live in British Columbia, Canada and peanut butter and anything with nuts has been banned in my children's schools and in my daughter's dance studio for years now. In both cases, there are people who are so allergic they can't even touch a door handle if someone has had peanuts and touched the door handle previously. Even just the smell can cause a serious reaction. The ambulance has been called in many occasions from students bringing somethng by mistake and easily these people could lose their lives. In these cases, a seperate table won't do the trick. One of these happen to be our daughters teacher. I don't know of very many other allergies where it is this severe. I believe it should be on a school to school basis pending how severe the allergy. Come on people, there are a lot of peanut free granola bars now and other foods that surely your children won't mind eating. My children have had no issues with this situation...isn't the lives of others more important then depriving your children of Peanut butter for a 6 hour period?
I would hope that any child who has a peanut allergy knows this. If schools want to serve food with peanut products, then the school should post this fact in very simple and plain language where these products are available. Teachers should also inform children of this fact. I think that if schools banned every product that could cause an allergic reaction, very little food could be served.
If there is something in the school that can cause the death of a child than it should be banned. My child does not have any allergies to peanuts or anything else thank goodness. He is enrolled in a peanut free day care. I would want another parent to care about whether or not my child lives or dies just as I care for their child. If something so simple as banning peanuts from a school can save the life of a child why wouldn't you do it?????????
I think this is ridiculous, Peanut Butter is a staple in most children's lives... It's already difficult to feed a child, but to take peanut butter away, takes away so many other food options for them. I believe a child should be taught at home how to deal with it, not to sit next to a child that is eating it, etc... Seems like the problem would be solved. Many children are allergic to many things... why not take them all away, so there are no problems at all...
Ray, how nice of you to be so shrewd directly toward Alicia. I'll play the same game just as you have. More than likely, you are probably one of the wussy parents she has pointed out! Just because a person has chosen to not have kids doesn't mean they don't know what is correct or not for a child in this type of situation, and your a moron for not thinking so. I would highly suspect that if she did have children, she would be a much better parent than you.
How do you like those peanut butter and crackers buddy!
My mom has been teaching for over 30 years and allergies have become a lot more severe in the last ten. Since many peanut allergies can be DEADLY, it seems quite trivial for parents to complain that their children are "going without" to accomodate others. How'd you feel if someone at your child's school engaged in behavior that could kill them? Taking things on a case by case basis is important; some years there may be more children with allergies and others less. However, keeping all children safe, while providing them with an enriching environment to learn is of paramount importance.
It isn't fair to ban a food because a few are allergic to it. Educate the child not to eat peanut butter or products that contain peanuts. Maybe better labeling geared to the younger child, "contains peanuts" in larger bolder lettering.
I have multiple food allergies that trigger migraines, should I expect artificial sweeteners to be taken off the market for me?? Common sense and logic are not as common to everyone as they used to be. Wake up people and start thinking for yourself.
As a vegetarian, my child gets much needed protein from peanut butter in his lunch. Agree that a special table may be needed but parents should arrange this with the school and the school administrators should not make sweeping decisions that impact all students. This is a one-on-one need and should be dealt with as such with the parent in the leadership role.
Parents should be able to advise their children's school of their childs allergic reaction to peanuts. The school in turn should create a different meal/menu for those kids only. Because of unemployment issues, parents are struggling to make ends meet and cannot afford to buy meals for their kids. The schools should be able to feed the kids no matter what.
My son's elementary school is struggling with this. While I have compassion for kids and parents of kids with allergies, I don't think my son's eating habits should have to change. The reason I like to pack PBJ for my son is that I do not have to worry about keeping it cool with an ice pack. If I send a sandwich with meat, I need to send an ice pack with it. After losing a few ice packs because my son left them on the table or threw them away (he's a young boy, it's to be expected), I started packing ice in ziploc bags that my son could throw away. I received a polite note from the kitchen asking me not to do that anymore because it was causing a mess as it melted. So after that, we went back to PBJ, which the school is also frowning upon. They have a PBJ table, and the rest of the cafeteria is nut free, so my son does not get to eat lunch with his friends because he's sent to the PBJ table.
I am totally ok with nut free snacks sent to the classroom, but I do want to know where this will end. PBJ is a fairly healthy, fairly economical lunch that kids love. I'd have to see that go away for the kids that love them.
I want to marry Alicia I agree with her so much! How bout you tell your kid, ' johnny- you are allergic to peanuts, so don't eat any or you can die. Not to worry son because I PACK YOUR LUNCH EVERYDAY SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT'......jezus H christ ppl it's that easy. Don't forget Alicia, the parents (or whats left of them) are tea cups and wussies themselves.
As a (barely) out-of-college (severe!) peanut allergy sufferer... my parents and pediatrician educated me at an extremely young age about how to deal with my allergies. I was taught to read food labels and to always ask if there were nuts in anything I ate. I also learned how to take each one of my medications (benadryll, hydroxyzine, epipen) as were each of my teachers. Every year, my teachers were given a small red suitcase full of each medication I might need, as was the school office. There was the one incident involving madelines during class movie day, but everything turned out fine.
I think that a peanut free table sounds like an interesting idea. Kids can trade parts of their lunches (and you know they do) without having to worry and there's little concern over someone accidentally touching some peanut butter that dropped out of someone's sandwich. Having a completely separate lunch for those "afflicted" is just ridiculous, as is banning peanut butter from the whole school. How would you like to be known as the kid that got everyone's favorite sandwich banned?!
While a separate lunch table may help with lunchtime, what happens when there is food being consumed away from the lunch table? We certainly weren't allowed to eat on the blacktop or playground when I was a kid... but we definitely did.