Banned Peanut Butter in Schools

Good. I hate peanut butter.

Say it isn't so

Sorry, it's so. Never have liked peanut butter. Love the little Resse's peanut butter cups (only the little ones), but hate peanut butter.

one of my MFPeeps has been hauled out of our workplace to the hosp with critical peanut allergy reaction idk how many times. peanut butter can disappear from the earth as far as i'm concerned. :brokenheart:

This wasn't a thing when I was in grade school. Are the bans usually just for peanuts or for all nuts?

Our school, instead, says that swapping lunches is disallowed, and if caught, both students will potentially be expelled from school. It's a very serious issue. The kids swap anyway a little, but they also seem to know who has what allergies and all that. It's not a secret. they just tell each other. And, they seem to be pretty respectful of it. Our little league games don't allow peanuts at the games. So, all our kids have grown up with it. That's also why most airlines no longer serve peanuts on-board. I don't know. this isn't a new thing at all. I'm a little surprised that this is even a topic anymore.

I work at a kids clothing store and some of the schools are peanut free. The only ones who whine about it being unfair so far, are the parents. Most of the kids I've asked (from 6 to 10), don't seem to mind, and would rather not see a friend get sick. Kids had those allergies when I went to school as well. They had a separate table, but you still had to worry about cross contamination.

But it was a very powerful illustration of how scary these allergies can be and how little it takes to trigger some of them.

When I was working daycare with 1-2 year olds (primo allergy-onset age), a boy developed a pea/soy allergy right in front of our eyes. We of course stopped serving him peas/soy. I'll never forget the day he started getting red splotches on his face, after we did NOT give him the peas the other kids were eating that day. We were very confused. Then, we learned that simply putting him in the same room in which the peas had been cooked was enough to set it off. :frown: So we stopped serving peas for a while (big daycare center, too).

I didn't have any food allergies in my class growing up (and it was pretty much the same 20 or so kids K-6) but my younger brother did, so I am accustomed to hearing my mother talking about making a batch of something for the class plus a frosted ricecake for the wheat-allergic kid and a PB ricecake for the diabetic kid (PB not a problem at the school, funnily enough). I don't know if anyone else ever grumbled about this, but in our family the discussion was centered on making sure these kids felt included and treated with kindness. my 2nd cousin (3rd grade this fall) has no allergies in his class, thank goodness, so they get all the cakes. :smooched:

I am happy to not send my daughter to school with something that could potentiality harm another child. I don't see why this would ever be an issue -- while some people do exaggerate allergies, but some people do have life threatening reactions. My daughter not being able to eat peanut butter seems like a very minor thing.

I have no problem with the peanut ban, I would be devestated if another child was hurt due to my childs sandwich and so would my child. We don't have the peanut ban here at all as far as I know, my kids eat at school and are only allowed to take fruit for snack (my rule, not the schools). Thankfully I only have one in elementary and she's a meat eater. When my oldest girl was in elementary she took her lunch because she's a vegetarian and her lunch often had peanut butter so she could get her protien. She's in highschool now so she can leave to get her food, and they have vegetarian options at school in high school. But had their been a peanut ban when my oldest was younger I'd have been a little annoyed maybe about having to figure out a healthy alternative, she's a picky eater and if I had just made her eat the school lunches she would have french fries and that's it on some days. But I wouldn't be annoyed enough to be like screw that kid and his/her deathly allergies, I mean, what kind of person would do that?

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.

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.