OK.
Is this even Legal??
What is wrong with the world (or the school system) when this happens? This is an email Jeremy got on his blackberry from his friend the other night. We were shocked because they live just down the road in West Richland.
"Kim just told me that she got a note from the elementary school telling her that we are not allowed to send peanut butter sandwiches anymore because some kids have peanut allergies. Can you believe that? Tell those other d*** kids to quit stealing other kids peanut butter sandwiches and they won't have any problems!"
We were laughing so hard.
Can schools actually regulate what your child is "allowed" to bring in their lunch? I say it a lot, but I'll say it again- SERIOUSLY!?!
31 comments:
I know a little gal with peanut allergies. And I think it has more to do with the parents. She has known since she was 2 that she CAN NOT have ANYTHING with peanuts. If she even gets oil from a peanut on her skin, she swells up and breaks out in a rash. BUT, this little girl, at the ripe old age of 4, is very responsible about her food. If you offer her a snack she says (before she even touches it) "Does that have peanuts?" And if you aren't sure... SHE WILL ASK YOU TO CHECK THE INGREDIENTS!! The kids with the allergies need to be responsible for their health. If my friend's four year old can do it (and she's been doing it for about 2 years) then elementary school kids can! Maybe what they need to do is ask all the kids to wash their hands after lunch... so that if they have any peanut butter on their hands, they don't touch the kids with the allergies? And it's not a bad idea anyway... sorry this is so long :)
At Shayla's school they have a "peanut free" table, the 1 kid in the whole school (who is alergic) has to sit there and if you were any where near peanuts that day you can't go near that table. Shayla would die if they told her she couldn't take PBJ, that is the only thing she wants to take in her lunch!
SERIOUSLY is right!!! I would be so ticked if a school told me I could not send PB with my child...they are not allergic and maybe tht is the only source of protein they are getting! I agree with melissa...the parents should teach the allergic children! SERIOUSLY!!!!
What I want to know is why there are so many kids that have peanut allegeries these days? I realize how serious they can be, but why all of a sudden in the last five years does every other child I know have a peanut allergie? Since peanut butter sandwiches are THE ONLY thing Kendle will eat for lunch, I would basically have to tell the school to take a flying leap. We actually already got a letter from the school about this and they say if your child eats peanut butter before coming to school, make sure they thoroughly wash their hands. Also, we are not allowed to bring anything for kindergarten snack with peanut oil or anything like that. Sheesh. I say make sure they bring their own peanut free snack, so you're not scared to death you're going to accidentally poison someone. I worried about that all last year in Kendle's pre-school class.
It's crazy, isn't it? We have the peanut free table, too. But I agree, that it's nuts to tell the 499 other children in the school they can't eat peanutbutter because of the 1 kid.
W-O-W! This is getting crazy!!!
I like the idea of educating all of the kids at school and teaching them proper handwashing to avoid passing on peanut oil that they may have touched or eaten. Again, WOW!
Ty just informed me yesterday that he's not allowed to bring peanut butter because there is a girl at his table with a severe allergy. My response? Yeah, right! He did finally admit that if they do bring Peanut butter that they just have to eat it on the other side of the room from her. So, what did he decide to take today? PB&J - nice;) He himself is allergic to walnuts and pecans, but he is VERY responsible about making sure he doesn't eat anything with them in it.
That 'rule' seems like such a cop out to me. It sounds like the adults just don't want to have to deal with it on any level.
In Calgary all the schools are peanut free- They have been like this for a few years
Don't you hate all the rules and laws because of one dang person?!
I haven't heard of that here, and we certainly don't have any rules about that at my jr high.
I think you need to call John Stossel, because GIVE ME A BREAK! ;-)
That is craziness! Ethan will only take PB&J also, so he would just have to starve I guess. Seriously CRAZY!
think about if your child was the one with the allergy. what would you want the school to do?
In response to the previous statement...I would hope that I have taught my kid to be responsible enough to know better than eat things with PB in them...not make all the other children suffer!
It makes sense that parents that have children with those allergies are nervous (and justifiably so), but I agree that I don't think the other kids should be prevented from what they CAN eat because of someone who CAN'T. Yeah...I am surprised that they are regulating that, too. Especially PB&J, of all things! (Isn't that a staple?!)
That's tough on both sides.
Okay, i don't have a child that is allergic to peanuts, but i totally understad the idea. Peanut allergy is among the most deadly allergy there is. there are kids and adults that die from even being near peanuts or even smell them. I think we need to make school a sfae place for ALL kids.those with peanut allergy and without. If that means i can't make peanutbutter sandwiches for my kids then I will find something else for them to take for lunch. i'm sure that things would be different is it was your child with the allergy.
But on the other hand things can get out of hand and you can't ban EVERYTHING hat has come in contact with peanuts from the school. So there needs to be a line that is comfortable for both sides. There has been no peanuts allowed in schools here for a long time.
In answer to Sarah's question about peanut allergies the answer could be mold. My nutrionist told me that the US cannot export a single peanut out of this country because our peanut supply and our peanut growing soil is infested with a resistant mold. It has morphed into a mold that can't be killed. I am reading a great book called Battling the MSG Myth. I think we are only seeing the tip of the iceburg here.
Lame! I would totally call Stossel.
I don't know how I feel about this. On one hand I think that it is ridiculous to be told what my child can and cannot take to eat in thier own lunch (obviously within reason and I think PB&J is within reason), but on the other hand I would hate for my kids lunch to kill another child, and I have heard of a few cases where kids have died from exposure to peanuts. I think there are several schools that have a no peanut policy. Crazy times we are living in. I might have stronger opions if I could get my kids to eat PB&J sandwiches. They just like Jelly sandwiches. So wierd and not at all nutricious.
Tami- that is so interesting what you were saying about mold infested soil. That may explain why peanut alergies are suddenly becoming so common.
Um...where oh where has our Beck gone to? I miss her!
Maybe she went to find John Stossel
Just wondering if you realize that a peanut allergy can be fatal. It isn't just a mild reaction. Kids that are allergic to peanuts don't just get hives and then it goes away, they need an epipen injection just to have time to get to an ER. Peanut allergies do not go away, they actually increase with each episode.
Heather..where are you? We miss you!!!YOu sure have generated a lot of talk with this topic...good for you.
I vote we ban recess as well because my kid is deathly alleric to bees so if he gets stung by a bee then he could die. So since my kid has a bee alergy then I think all the kids should suffer. So unless the school district figures out a way to keep the bees off of the school grounds then none of the kids should be allowed to go outside for recess. You can thank my kid for that when there is no longer recess.
Heather - Say Hi to John Stossel for us and let us know when you get back from New York! (JK)
We miss you!
anon (the last one)--awesome. But why stop there? Maybe we should ban scissors, pencils, and compasses....after all we can't have any sharp objects because some kids have injured themselves with these items. And don't you just love how many schools have done away with dodgeball because somebody could get 'hurt'?
FYI~Heather is computer-less right now, something about PB got stuck in the keys LOL. I talked to her today and she promised to have a post next week.
Did I really access this blog through an LDS Womens Blog Link? Kinda wish I hadn't.
Is this anon #1 or #2? Or is it the same person?
I like the peanut free table idea, why make the whole school suffer? I can see the concern, my youngest i allergic to oats, but I am not going to make the whole school go oat free for us. There is a family in my neighborhood with Celiac Disease but they cope by educating their children on what they can eat and bringing their own food to ward parties, block parties, etc. They don't expect everyone else to work around their dietary restictions.
Well said slyn. I agree with everything that you said!
I agree that Slyn said it best!!!!
Anonymous (the rude one), what talk on this thread has been so offensive that makes you wish you hadn't visited here? And why are you so surprised that this is an LDS woman's site? Seriously, get over yourself!
Heather, we can't wait for you to return!
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