Banned Peanut Butter in Schools

shezzzzz

Southern Ontario here.

When I was in primary school (in the 1970's), kids with food allergies had to eat in the foyer.

When my daughter was in primary school (up to grade 8) in the mid-late 90's, all nut products were banned from her school. If the kid brought something in by accident, they had to eat in the foyer and a note was sent home asking for it not to happen again.

The nut ban went as far as to allow only certain sunscreens to be used as well.

My kid was never a PB fan, but would have lived on Nutella if I'd let her.

Yes, it was a pain sometimes, but my inconvenience was little sacrifice to another kid possibly dieing.

Once they got to high school (approx age 13), the ban didn't exist anymore. When the kids are younger than that, I think they need all the help they can get, while they learn to look after themselves.

neandermagnon

I get it in elemettary schools, when kids may or may not know enough but come middle school, kids should know what they are allergic to and be able to avoid it.

until one kid thinks it'd be a funny joke to give another kid the food they're allergic to without them knowing, or starts throwing peanuts at them

when I was at school, I had a friend who was severely allergic to milk, she had severe asthma and had frequent trips to A&E from it, and an attack for her was potentially life threatening. Her skin would react on contact with milk and this could also trigger an asthma attack.... that didn't stop boys in her class from throwing milk at her to bully her. And yes the teacher had explained it to them, they just didn't have enough brains and/or compassion to compute the reality of it, or maybe they thought the teacher was exaggerating, or whatever they thought, they still did it.

Kids may be old enough to know what they're allergic to, but there will be kids in the school that don't have enough brains to understand that these kinds of things really can kill someone and it isn't just someone exaggerating or making a fuss over nothing.

doorki

My kids both go to nut and peanut free schools. No allergies here but I respect the danger they can present to kids who have allergies. My son can have his PB&J on the weekends or when not in school. Small sacrifice to ensure the safety of another.

I do agree that the increase rise in peanut allergies is problematic and worrisome.

TheRoadDog

Every thing we ingest has a group of people that are going to have allergies.

Where do we stop? Do we pick the top 10 items and ban them from school?

Should we make the schools provide only gluten free items?

I understand the concerns of some, but, personally, I don't want any organization telling me what I, or my children, should be consuming.

doorki

Every thing we ingest has a group of people that are going to have allergies.

Where do we stop? Do we pick the top 10 items and ban them from school?

Should we make the schools provide only gluten free items?

I understand the concerns of some, but, personally, I don't want any organization telling me what I, or my children, should be consuming.

No one is telling you what you can and cannot eat. They are telling you that what you are eating may kill a child so please do not eat it around them. Why is this a problem?

neandermagnon

Every thing we ingest has a group of people that are going to have allergies.

Where do we stop? Do we pick the top 10 items and ban them from school?

Should we make the schools provide only gluten free items?

I understand the concerns of some, but, personally, I don't want any organization telling me what I, or my children, should be consuming.

Most allergies are not life threatening. My kid's allergies are not life threatening and I don't expect any more from her school beyond not giving her foods that she's allergic to. If other kids eat it, it doesn't affect her. If she eats some because she swapped food with another kid, she'll at worse vomit it up, and she'll probably not want to do that more than once. However, where a child has a life threatening allergy to peanuts, then I can totally understand the total ban on peanuts because no-one wants to be responsible for another child's death.

Where it ends, is where the allergy is not life threatening, IMO. Non life threatening allergies don't need such measures and most people who are allergic to most things the allergies are not life threatening.

Hornsby

Every thing we ingest has a group of people that are going to have allergies.

Where do we stop? Do we pick the top 10 items and ban them from school?

Should we make the schools provide only gluten free items?

I understand the concerns of some, but, personally, I don't want any organization telling me what I, or my children, should be consuming.

You pick the ones that can potentially kill another child and ban those. Pretty simple.

Asherah29

I think it sucks for everyone else, but if a child's life is at stake then I understand why those rules have been implemented. I used to substitute teach and a child in one of the classrooms I was often in was severely allergic to peanut butter. Something so little as having eaten a snickers bar and having the residue on your hands or breath would send him into a life threatening reaction. They didn't go so far as to ban peanuts school wide, but extremely special precautions were taken for this child and all the children/teachers in his class/grade were asked not to bring peanut products to school and to wash their hands or brush their teeth before interacting with him if they had consumed the peanut products.

csuhar

Contrasting not having a very common allergen at school against the potentially fatal consequences of anaphylaxis, if the school had a student or staff member known to be anaphylactic to a particular allergen, banning it would seem to be prudent.

I am more in-line with this logic. I don't agree with simply banning it as a blanket policy.

But if it is verified that someone attending the school is known to have these severe reactions and you ban it as a response to the scenario that exists, it makes sense.

It's also easier to win over people if you can say "we have a student who doctors have verified could have a severe, potentially life-threatening reaction just from touching the same doorknob that somebody else who ate peanuts touched beforehand". When you say "it might, perhaps, hypothetically be that it could be a problem for someone, who may, at some time, potentially be in the school", you end up with a lot of people asking why you're inconveniencing them for an issue you aren't sure exists, especially if the kids happen to be finicky eaters and peanut butter is one of the few things their parents can reliably get them to eat.

GGDaddy

I think it's unfair to the other children.

Just because a select few kids have allergies to "____ food" doesn't mean that the other kids in the entire school should not be able to eat them during school time.

I completely agree. Some parent are so overprotective and ridiculous, not willing to let their kids die so that others might enjoy complete flexibility in their choice of lunchtime condiments.

maab_connor

I think it's unfair to the other children.

Just because a select few kids have allergies to "____ food" doesn't mean that the other kids in the entire school should not be able to eat them during school time.

I completely agree. Some parent are so overprotective and ridiculous, not willing to let their kids die so that others might enjoy complete flexibility in their choice of lunchtime condiments.

RIGHT?!?! it was the same when they banned russian roulette. i mean, yeah, ONE kid would probably die, but not ALL the kids. stop being such a nanny-state, public schools. we all gotta go some time.

leodru

I think it's unfair to the other children.

Just because a select few kids have allergies to "____ food" doesn't mean that the other kids in the entire school should not be able to eat them during school time.

I completely agree. Some parent are so overprotective and ridiculous, not willing to let their kids die so that others might enjoy complete flexibility in their choice of lunchtime condiments.

Well said. Next we won't be allowed to have weed in schools either! Doesn't this have something to do with God not being in schools anymore to protect everyone? I can't remember but it is something like that - i read it in an email.

Unknown

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mjbnj0001

Perspective from the parent of a 25yo with the severe form of the allergy: school bans are a good idea. My daughter was diagnosed in preschool from exposure to a school craft session: making (bird?) feeders out of pinecones smeared with peanut butter.

At that time, the upswing in awareness was still building, and we were met with disbelief at every juncture. People would deny any such thing existed, and this is probably from an overexposure to the "Oooh, I have an allergy to x" comments where no such allergy existed.

Peanuts and peanut byproducts were very prevalent at that time and still are. I remember once almost giving her a sports drink, but stopped to read the label (a habit that became second nature) - and found out it contained peanut oil. Jelly beans, candies, cereal (Captn Crunch), all manner of products contained/contain peanuts.

The problem is not just with peanuts. Soy, peas, chick peas - any legume. And, surprisingly, not all the time. The presence of the specific protein is required. I remember we tried a new brand of soyburgers, the only ones left in the store freezer, that caused her a reaction (she was in a teenage vegetarian phase at that point). Other brands - no effect.

We've had a couple of exposure incidents with her requiring a visit to the ER, including the preschool event leading to her diagnosis.

I don't complain that caregivers are reluctant to administer the epi-pen - as long as they do do it if they are the only capable administrator available so as to save her life. In one incident, the only time we've given the epi-pen, a town policeman stood by while I did the deed while waiting on the ambulance to arrive (he would have if I were not there). Actually giving the epi-pen is different than the "trainer" experience. Once it fires, it punctures the leg with force - it shocked my torpid daughter to full alertness. Then the epinepherine kicks in; it was like watching Frankenstein rise from the dead. My daughter said it felt as if her chest were expanding like a balloon. Glad I gave it; she needed it. But the effects were dramatic. You do have to know when that point of needing to administer it has arrived. And it is a big responsibility.

Now, I grew up loving peanuts and peanut butter. No more. We do stock sunbutter sometimes, but my daughter even avoids that. I love peas. The fumes from cooking peas affect her. Our lives are changed from having our beautiful daughter, and our lives are changed from her allergy. It's not such a sacrifice to give up the one for the other.

And schools? Well there are a lot of silly and nonsensical rules these days. Don't classify peanut bans in with them.

bugaboo_sue

One of the little girls in my eldests kids class is very allergic. Basically touching another kids hand or even pencils if they have recently had peanut butter could cause a life threatening reaction. So while it is a pain in the *kitten* , we aren't sending peanut butter sandwiches or the like to school this year. It's hard because my daughter is fussy and could do with the fats and protien , but she can eat nuts all she wants at home.

So they ban peanut butter in the schools because of this but what about in the home? What if a child had peanut butter on their toast at home and then was close to the little girl and his breath caused a reaction? Then what, ban peanut butter at home too?

TheRoadDog

A lot of people are allergic to something. Are we going to ban anything that someone is allergic to in school?

I think it's an overreaction. What happened to personal responsibility?

Hornsby

A lot of people are allergic to something. Are we going to ban anything that someone is allergic to in school?

I think it's an overreaction. What happened to personal responsibility?

Hasn't this already been covered in this thread?