Banned Peanut Butter in Schools

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?