Nut-free classrooms (threads merged)

mummy-bh

Tue, Sep 02 2008, 7:13 am

Raisin, I think in part this is because of ignorance. Or maybe because it's 'neater' this way.

My daughter is allergic to peanuts and some tree nuts, but rather than list the ones she can have, the school chose to ban ALL nuts.

Raisin

Tue, Sep 02 2008, 8:13 am

mummy-bh wrote:

See, isn't that ridiculous? I'm sure parents of peanut butter lovers would love to be able to send their kids with nut butter sandwiches. why inconvenience parents when all it takes is typing out a list of nuts?

chaylizi

Tue, Sep 02 2008, 10:09 am

Mimisinger wrote:

You can try soybutter. It's pretty close.

In my house I'm the allergic one. Not typical allergies though. I'm allergic to most eating fruit- apples, plums, peaches, nectarines, cherries, kiwi, etc... Also I'm allergic to soy, so I don't bring most soy products in my house. I carry an epipen for these allergies. I also wear gloves when I peel fruit that I'm allergic too, b/c my hands break out.

bluesclues

Tue, Sep 02 2008, 10:17 am

Raisin wrote:

mummy-bh wrote:

most of the othe nut butters are manafactured in the same factory as /or with the same equipment as PEANUTS---read danger--- so they would not be a good alternative.

chaylizi

Tue, Sep 02 2008, 10:26 am

there are plenty of other things manufactured with peanuts too. haven't you ever seen a package that said: manufactured with x other product. may contain traces of wheat, soy, peanuts, dairy.

bluesclues

Tue, Sep 02 2008, 10:28 am

chaylizi wrote:

there are plenty of other things manufactured with peanuts too. haven't you ever seen a package that said: manufactured with x other product. may contain traces of wheat, soy, peanuts, dairy.

ang those are not allowed in peanut free schools

jemappelle

Tue, Sep 02 2008, 5:23 pm

amother wrote:

I also think it is imperative to have the child wear a fannypack with an epipen AT ALL TIMES. Even very young children know how to use it. It can save lives. .

so far in my experience (my son has an epipen) the epipen must be left in the school office and may not be carried by the child

since peanut allergies are on the rise, most schools are going nut free to be safe.

my son is in a nut free school now, but according to some other parents in the allergy support group ive gone too, sometimes a school will also make a particular class free of another allergen if it is life threatening, such as dairy

Lechatchila Ariber

Tue, Sep 02 2008, 7:48 pm

Quote:

On the other hand, how fair is it to ban food from school because of one kid?

let's rephrase that: how fair is it to ban food from the school because of one life or even several? And I'm sure you know the answer

Quote:

What do I do if my kid only eats peanut butter?

Train him to eat something healthier

happy2BaMommy wrote:

The school I used to work in had a huge sign in the front vestibule. It read : This is a nut-free school. All the teachers used to joke, and say, "oh really? I have a few nuts in my class..."

great attitude for a teacher to have Rolling Eyes

mother of boys

Tue, Sep 02 2008, 11:46 pm

I have a severe allergy child in school he is 8 years old now. my son cannot smell or touch or eat anything in the nut family. especially peanut butter. I fought for a 2 years prior from starting school till they agreed to ban it. but alot of parents did not cooperate which put my childs life in jeopardy, until 1 day a child collapsed from a severe reaction and finally my child has a nut free enviorment in school. I understand the other parents how hard it is for t gebentched yearhem when the school bans nuts, but some kids its very dangerous. ksiva chsima tova gut

Raisin

Wed, Sep 03 2008, 5:56 am

for the record - I would have absolutely no issue with not sending nut products to school with my kids if there were allergic children.

But, some kids are fine as long as they don't eat it. And if it is a small school, there is no reason to make a blanket ban if there are not any affected kids.

BeershevaBubby

Wed, Sep 03 2008, 6:06 am

One of my nephews suffers from eosinophilic esophagitis and has a list of allergies bigger than he is (and the list just got longer).

Many of his allergies are so sensitive he can't be kissed on the cheek by someone whose just eaten something he's allergic to. He can't eat foods that were cooked in ovens that had food he is allergic to.

So excuse me if I don't share your sense of inconvenience at having to go nut free.

Raisin

Wed, Sep 03 2008, 6:29 am

YESHASettler wrote:

So, what does his school do? if it is such a long list, it must be pretty difficult to enforce a ban. I know someone who is allergic to fish, eggs, nuts, kiwi and banana. but he can around people who are eating fish and eggs, not the other foods though. when he was in school we never bought in nuts becasue of him.

BeershevaBubby

Wed, Sep 03 2008, 6:31 am

He just turned 4 so this might be his first year. I'll email my brother and ask him what they've been doing since I know he's been in daycare.

chaylizi

Wed, Sep 03 2008, 9:13 am

Quote:

So excuse me if I don't share your sense of inconvenience at having to go nut free.

Could we keep this friendly please? I started a discussion. I purposely did not state my personal opinions. I do not wish to be personally attacked because of peanut butter.

ffbmom

Wed, Sep 03 2008, 6:42 pm

This is actually Sabrina's law, named for the little girl who died because the cafeteria used peanut oil in French Fries. However, if you go to a public school in Toronto, most are not exclusively nut free. I think they call themselved nut friendly, just so they shouldn't get sued if something happens.

mamacita

Thu, Sep 04 2008, 7:16 am

What kinds of things do people send for lunches? My dd is allergic to dairy. Like someone mentioned, allergies can escalate so B"H she hasn't had a serious reaction yet, but I'd rather not risk her life testing it. I generally feed her almond butter, but obviously that wouldn't fly in a nut free school, so what do ya'll send? I'm looking for non-dairy non-nut ideas. For a toddler. Oy, lol.

Right now I also don't send her fruit since it's a shmitta year and I don't want the teacher to have to deal with making sure dd treats it respectfully and sends home the leftovers so I can put them in my special shmitta bin, lol. I have no idea what to send!

Marion

Thu, Sep 04 2008, 7:55 am

Egg? Tuna? Soy butter? Tofutti "cream cheese". Does she eat stuff cold even if it should be hot? My DS will eat cold rice (with veggies) or couscous (with veggies) or pasta (plain or with sauce).

Ruchel

Thu, Sep 04 2008, 8:11 am

Many things are actually good when cold, sometimes even better. Many types of meat especially Meat balls, potatoes, pasta... you can make them the same way, or turn them into sugary things (pasta with sugar and cinnamon, yum).