Peanut Allergy (over) Reactions
I thought some of you might be interested in this bloggers view of peanut bans. For what its worth, I find the allergy parent community pretty evenly divided on bans, some supporting, others not. Some of you have other children who can and do eat peanut products. Others have children with multiple food allergies so that food bans cannot be the answer to keeping them safe, at least not in the cafeteria.
Peanut Allergy (over) Reactions
Here is a quote:
“I immediately contacted the school to find the name and addresses of the student(s) with the wayward genetics. They declined to give me that information citing something about privacy. But I wanted to know how many people could die if I fed my daughter peanut butter as part of her nutritious lunch. “
Peanut Allergy (over) Reactions
August 28, 2007 @ 4:29 pm
Gina, et. al -
Please do not interpret what I wrote to mean that I think this allergy isn’t serious. It is. But it is serious to such a small percent of the population, that I question the reasoning behind outlawing peanuts for an entire campus.
I’m sorry that some parents have to deal with this tricky allergy. On the other hand, far more children die in swimming pools each year.
I’m going to make this the topic of my talk show this weekend. I hope someone can explain to me why a peanut-free school is a good idea.
Troy
ditdir.com
August 28, 2007 @ 9:04 pm
Hi Troy,
Are peanuts banned in the entire school –not just the classrooms?
I actually think that in most cases schools can and should make the cafeteria safe for all students to eat whatever they choose. It may require some additional steps and perhaps even monitoring.
What do swimming pools have to do with this? How many deaths would justify a ban? Even though I dont think a ban is necessarily the only answer, it would be nice if you could put yourself in someone elses shoes.
You have to know that if this was your little girl you’d feel differently.
These kids have a lot of anxiety to deal with and when their is a tragedy, it affects everyone.
Maybe it would help if you think of the kids, not the parents and not the inconvenience.
Most of the time, the kids, (once they understand that peanuts could truly harm their friend,) will easily choose another alternative. It could mean more work for parents, but I like to believe that each time we go out of our way a little to help someone else, it always comes back to us in the end.
Maybe it would help if you think of the kids, not the parents and not the inconvenience.
Gina
August 28, 2007 @ 11:13 pm
Gina,
I am a loving and caring mother and kindergarten teacher. There is a child entering my school with a severe allergy to peanuts. My daughter will be in this students class. My child loves peanut butter and eats it probably twice a day. To change is more than a minor inconvience.
I don’t want another child to get sick or die but someday we are going to have to draw a line when banning foods. My daughter is allergic to milk. My husband has a severe allergy to wheat and glutens. Wheat allergies are becoming more and more prevailent in the population. Will we eventually ban it too?
If I send a peanut butter sandwhich to school with my daughter, most likely she will be the one sitting by herself or singled out and she isn’t the one with the problem. This is a cold statement, but at what point is the allergy so severe that the parents say (or should say) I will keep them at home and make other arrangements, rather than inconviencing everyone else? Could schools offer tutors to go to the home?
Heather
August 29, 2007 @ 3:57 am
students and parents need more information about allergy, so they have more option what they want to eat on cafeteria
August 29, 2007 @ 10:31 am
Gina -
————-
You asked:Are peanuts banned in the entire school –not just the classrooms?
Peanuts are banned from all school property including playgrounds, buses, classrooms, and every other space which could be construed as school property.
————
Then you asked: What do swimming pools have to do with this? How many deaths would justify a ban?
Approximately 125 people die in the United States each year from ALL food allergies combined.
According to Oprah, approximately 500 children will drown in backyard swimming pools this year.
I don’t think a ban can be justified. You tell me how many deaths would have to justify a ban. If you ban one because of deaths, shouldn’t you ban all things with a similar death rate? Statistically, a child with a peanut allergy is more likely to drown in his or her own backyard than die from the allergy.
______________
You said: You have to know that if this was your little girl you’d feel differently.
I would feel different than you. Check the numbers above. I have a daughter who is MORE LIKELY to drown in her backyard than any other peanut allergic individual is to die from their allergy. But, you don’t see me asking every other parent on the block to be the lifeguard at my pool. There is a risk. I recognize it. I take measures to protect against a tragedy.
———————-
I agree with you on one point, though. Think about the kids. Think about 99.61% of the kids.
Troy
August 29, 2007 @ 9:11 pm
Emotions run wild when I read threads like this… our precious children are put in harms way everyday of the school year in the lunch room, with classroom snacks, field trips, etc… unfortunately more children have to die at school and more school districts have to be sued… before change will occur. It is sad.
A nut ban at school will lower and just about eliminate a schools risk of having an unfortunate death from anaphalaxis.
My 13 year old daughter died last year from her peanut allergy. The menu of the restaurant she ate at is 99.61% peanut free and guess what– the careless food preparer still cross contaminated her sandwich with trace amounts of peanut butter cookie. We miss her dearly every day.
Granted my perspective is tainted but why aren’t we doing all we can to protect our precious children? A ban is just one of the tools in the toolbox to protect our children. Education, raising awareness, emergency plans, training, etc. should also be part of every school’s plans. With education and awareness, maybe then we can eliminate careless food preparers because they understand the dangers.
The number of children with food allergies and multiple food allergies continues to rise. Change will come. I pray it is sometime soon.
August 30, 2007 @ 12:15 pm
Paul:
I am very sorry for your loss. Godspeed.
Troy
August 30, 2007 @ 5:06 pm
The fact is there is no safe world. Ever.
How many people with food allergies die of something else?
Why were they not protected from this something else?
Did they die in a car wreck?
Why were they in a car?
Don’t you know the odds?
Did you ever call me and ask what allergies my family has?
If I tell you will you guarantee that you will never do anything to expose them, no matter how slight the chance of meeting them is?
I agree with Troy. Punishing thousands for the sake of one child that might me harmed is flawed. That one does not have the right to tell others how to live.
August 31, 2007 @ 8:33 pm
I am thoroughly confused by the statement…”Punishing thousands for the sake of one child that might be harmed is flawed” When is asking your child to eat peanut butter outside of school hours a punishment?????? Are you telling me that thousands of kids can’t go 6 hours without a taste of peanut butter? That eating it only after 3pm each day is so absolutely harmful to your kids?
1) People take precautions around swimming pools - they place gates around them, they put their kids in life vests, they watch those that can’t swim vigiliantly. This helps to avoid the drownings of kids. Everyone agrees it is important and necessary. All parents ensure their kids are safe.
2) It’s the same with kids with peanut allergies. There are many things that can be done to help those kids be safe including eliminating peanuts. This helps keeps those kids safe.
The only difference between these 2 situations is that one affects all kids and the other doesn’t. If they both affected all kids, we wouldn’t even be having this exchange.
September 5, 2007 @ 11:06 am
well I guess the realitly of it is a child with this allergy can die … imagin it being yours, I would not like so see anything happen to any child that could of been prevented.soybean butter is healthy and is actually yummy try that ..I also have noticed while shopping ,all our artifical foods being hydrog oils,unbleached flours,high in fats also come along with the warning of nuts in them. Although i realize nuts are a healthy food ..but you may cut out all them unhealthy foods if you go along w/ the school.
September 5, 2007 @ 10:04 pm
What gets me about all of this is with really young kids…(my son is in first grade) There is no real guarantee the kid you send to school with thier precious peanut butter sandwich that they can’t live without will wash their hands really well before they sit next to my son in class. Then they all touch each other and just for the same reason they all get sick with each other’s colds and flu’s my son will get smeared with peanut butter from that sandwich your kids can’t live without….except the thing is….. my kid will DIE from that same sandwich. How fair is that? I don’t understand what all the whinning is about when we are talking about an allergy that can KILL a child. This isn’t just a tummy ache for God sake people. Oh and yeah comparing it to people drowing in a pool, please when was the last time you were walking along at school and someone threw a swimming pool in your path without you knowing it was there? That is not a fair comparison at all. When these kids are old enough to protect themselves then it will be a different story but untill my son knows for sure that you kid can wash thier hands properly after a meal, I would prefer you leave your peanutbutter at home. It isn’t going to kill them to wait untill 2:00 to have their favorite snack, but it may kill my son if they do!
September 13, 2007 @ 12:12 pm
If my child was so sensitive that a particular peanut molucule that at any moment from anywhere, it could kill him, I would home school. Why would you put your child in harms way like that? The only sure control you have in life is yourself.
What’s to say, even if there were a campus wide ban, that someone wouldn’t accidently send some peanut contaminated food product to school? Such as a visiting grandma, who doesn’t know the peanut free lunch rules, innocently packing a lunch for school age child #1 while mom is in the hospital with baby #2.
I think the thing that non-peanut alergy parents are upset with is, not so much not being able to send the pb & j (which does quite suck,) but the whole stress and responsiblity of your child’s life has been left in our hands. I don’t want your child to die and I don’t want my child to see your child die. Be responsible for your own child and keep him/her home and make friends w/ other peanut allergy children so that can be sure to be completely peanut free together.
September 15, 2007 @ 7:26 pm
Yeah Jill. Your last paragraph got it right. I feel for all of you who face this problem. Our daughter’s school just went totally all nut free. Not just peanut. But all nuts. There is a new student who is so allergic that even smelling it will kill him.
The really sad thing about this is that this family has been rejected for admission at 6-7 private schools in the area. None of them want the liability. In addition, the family has suggested that they would sue any family if there child died as a result of exposure. Lastly, in order to force the school district to admit them they used the Americans with Disabilities Act claiming he was disabled. So now we find ourselves in another situation where a well intentioned law is being twisted by a bunch of no good lawyers to push one person’s personal agenda.
September 17, 2007 @ 9:53 pm
What’s next, should I have my three year old peanut allergic daughter tatooed with a little peanut on her arm, should we start peanut free concentration camps? You are all sickening, personal agenda? These are children…get that children. That cannot protect themselves. I ask myself everyday if I should home school my child and then I think, why does she need to be treated like some short of defective shut in. You should be willing to give up peanut butter for a few hours…happy to help protect other’s lives…children or not. I have to thank the lord that I have such great neighbors, who alter their Halloween candy for my daughter. I would do the very same for them, with a smile on my face. What is the hardship? Is it not a good deed? Let me guess you are all sitting in the first pew on Sunday right? You sound heartless to me.
September 17, 2007 @ 9:54 pm
Whatever happened to being your brother’s keeper? Good Lord, people, giving up a legume is such a little thing. There’s so many other substitutions out there for snacks and lunches that are safe for these children. It’s peanut and nuts. Not your arms and legs you are being asked to abstain from.
September 17, 2007 @ 9:58 pm
Troy, you need to go back and take statistics again. You must look at the population yo are talking about before you make conclusion about the liklihood of accidental death. Yes, only 125 people die from food-induced anaphylaxis every year, but only people with food allergies have the potential for dying from it. That is a very small number of people, possibly 1% of the entire population. So, 125 of 1% of the population is a much bigger percentage that 500 of 100% of the population who die in swimming pools. So, your daughter is certainly NOT more likely to drown in her pool that a food allergic person is to die from anaphylaxis. My food allergic son has the same chance as your daughter of drowning in your pool, but has a much higher chance of dying from anaphylaxis than drowning in your pool.
September 17, 2007 @ 10:06 pm
I have a peanut allgeric child. My older child LOVES peanut butter and is not allergic. As a compromise, we use either almond butter or sunbutter (sunflower seed butter). When my kids have friend come over who ask for PB&J, I give them sunbutter. Guess what….they don’t know the difference!!! One even says I have the best peanut butter. I really wonder why parents can’t seek out other options thinking their child MUST have peanuts. Granted there is a $2 difference in the price of peanut butter vs. sunbutter, but to have a jar of sunbutter or almond butter just for school lunches isn’t so bad, in my opinion.
Keeping the parents out of the picture, do you really think any teacher in their right mind wants to run the risk of using a child’s epi-pen and calling 911??? Then the teacher has to call the parents and let them know that their child is on their way to the ER. All so a child could have their peanut butter when there are so many alternatives out there to explore. Really, nut and shellfish allergies are the only food allergies that I know that can kill. Why run the risk? I would be sick to my stomach if a child got sick or died because of what I packed in my child’s lunch bag.
I have become more laid back about my son’s allergy, but at the same time, I don’t think he should be forced to be home schooled because of his allergy. I have opted to enroll him in a snack free preschool this year just to avoid parents that I see commenting above. Peanut free sucks, but as long as there are alternatives out there, I really do ask that people seek them out before demanding their child be able to have PB&J in their school lunch.
September 17, 2007 @ 10:29 pm
Are you people serious? Did you read over your emails before you sent them? How dare you imply that all peanut-allergic people should hang out together so they can be truly peanut free. A better suggestion would be that you people that clearly don’t understand food allergies form your own school. You really don’t get it! Speaking of the Americans with Disabilities Act, our children are covered under this law because they have the same rights as anyone else to be treated equally and be safe in their school environment. I am continually amazed by the ignorance of many who feel inconvenienced by food allergies, no matter the cost. We are talking life and death. There is no discussion.
September 17, 2007 @ 11:26 pm
I am the mother of a severely milk allergic son. He has anaphylactic reactions to minute amounts of cow’s milk protein. It’s as serious as a peanut allergy. He’s eleven, and the doctors do not expect him to outgrow it.
I do not support school wide nut bans, because without dairy I depend on peanut butter as a protein source for my son. I know good and well I can’t ban all milk products from a school, so why should one allergy be protected and not another.
Fortunately, we have never been in a school with a nut ban, but I’ve always feared this situation.
As for this “keep them at home” attitude…why should my child lose opportunities because of a physical disability? And yes, it is a disability. Although advances in research are being made, there is no cure. This reminds me of the way mentally and physically handicapped children were treated forty or more years ago.
So for parents who want a peanut/nut ban…my question is…would you support a ban of another food if another child were as allergic to it as your child is to nuts?
And to parents who think bans encroach on their rights, imagine that it’s your child with the allergy. Would you want them excluded? Isolated?
I don’t think anyone is trying to put their child’s health in YOUR hands, they are merely asking for cooperation.
September 18, 2007 @ 2:50 am
Heather, is your child going to DIE if she doesn’t have peanut butter? Because, mine could. You may be a loving mom, I won’t take that away from you. But you need to seriously reconsider your career. I wouldn’t want my son to have a teacher that wants to keep him at home and make him feel even more different than he already does having this allergy. It’s FOOD. Find something else your little on will eat. I don’t feel the slightest bit sorry for your inconvenience. Loosing a child to death because they ate a peanut. THAT is inconvenient. You are ignorant. Get a life.
September 18, 2007 @ 8:18 am
Whether or not you agree, Paul, and Jill, is a mute point. The fact remains that the Americans with Disabilities Act, (section 504) ensures that children with medical conditions (i.e. diabetes, severe asthma and food allergies, epilepsy, etc) are entitled to enrollment in public school just like all other children, and that accomodations must be made to ensure their safety in every way possible. My child has severe food allergies and asthma and is covered in our district under a section 504. My husband and I, incidentally, both work full-time and pay a considerable amount of taxes that fund our public school. Our child has every right to attend. We can neither afford private school, nor do we have the luxury of staying home to educate our child ourselves, as we are middle-class people making ends meet. While I understand the inconveniences in making these accomodations, it is simply a reality in protecting kids with medical conditions. Simple as that. When my oldest child, who has NO allergies, was in school, there was also a peanut ban for a child in her class. I was highly irritated by this and felt just as you do now. However, when my second child came along and this condition was diagnosed, you can imagine how my view of the situation completely changed. Perhaps karma rolling back around?? All I can say is, it is all in the perspective. It’s always easy to make judgements from the outside; I have done this firsthand.
September 18, 2007 @ 8:54 am
Instead of vilifying one another, couldn’t we work together to find a solution. My kid has a peanut allergy and asthma. Sending him to school is an act of trust every day. At our school, there are no peanut or nut products within his classroom (who wants to worry about washing all the surfaces?). The school provided lunch is nut-free, but children do bring peanut butter in home lunch. At my son’s lunch table, only children with hot lunch can sit there. All children and adults wash their hands before entering the classroom. This has worked well for us.
No one will die from not being allowed to eat peanut butter for one meal. My child will die if he accidentally ingests it.
This is an accomodation. And according to the Dept. of Education (not some nasty lawyers somewhere) severe food allergy does qualify as a disability because it can restrict the child’s ability to breathe–just like asthma. Again, we’re not talking about ‘oh I have a tummy ache’. We’re talking about dropping dead.
Schools can accomodate this just as they’ve accomodated other issues. This is very do-able and manageable.
There’s so much nastiness about this issue. If we could take a step back, take a deep breath, and recognize that the goal is to provide a safe, reliable education for everyone.
September 18, 2007 @ 9:26 am
Simply put - Paul and Jill (and Troy),
I am a PA mom and want my child to have as normal a life as possible. I want her to be able to attend school just like everyone else. I am also concerned with her safety. Nut consumption is simply meaningless to anyone that does not suffer from a life threatening allergy. Its only for a few hours. I can’t even believe you people are so upset about this. Is there nothing any more traumatic in your lives that you have the time to dedicate to arguing about peanut butter consumption? This seemingly innocent snack causes parents all over the country indescribable amounts of stress. Someone above mentioned that a small percentage of people are allergic to peanuts - well that small percentage equates to 1.5 million people. 1.5 MILLION people. And, food allergies are rapidly growing - doubling and possibly tripling over the past decade. One in 100 children has a peanut allergy. Some out grow it, but only about 20%.
In reference to the ADA, the child does fall under that act. The act defines disability as such: “any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory (including speech organs), cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genitourinary, hemic and lymphatic, skin, and endocrine.” No one twisted anything.
On closing, I can only hope that your children are more compassionate than their parents. Everyone these days is so concerned with their inconveniences instead of what they can do to help their fellow “man” and make the world a better place to live in. It’s important to reintroduce that concept, as it is more and more falling by the wayside. Try working on that, instead of whining about feeding your children peanut butter during school hours. And, yes - reading all this has made me very angry.
September 18, 2007 @ 9:27 am
WOW! Reading all these comments about what is fair and not fair is very upsetting. The parents who are responding to the nut and peanut butter bans on school campuses I invite you to walk in my shoes for a day. Both of my children are SEVERELY allergic to all nuts and peanut butter. WE live in fear everyday but I have also educated my children, the school is cooperative and no we haven’t banned ALL nuts or peanut butter from the school. WE have an action plan and the staff knows what to do. Knowing what to do and what to look for when one of my children has an attack has eased our fears.
My concern is the misunderstanding some parents have with the importance of keeping children safe. Did my children ask for this complication? Do they like being singled out everyday? Do we like the looks or strange questions when people find out? Some people believe that parents OVERREACT! Have you ever seen a child have a SEVERE reaction, trust me that isn’t a performance. It seems silly all this talk is about the right to pack peanut butter. What about the right to a safe public education? It’s not that hard to imagine is it? Cooperation really is easy and the children need parents to fight for their safety.
September 18, 2007 @ 9:58 am
I have this exact situation going on in my child’s school. My son has multiple food allergies - one which is peanut. He has a boy in his class that has twice now as he was eating his peanut butter sandwich spit on my child’s lunch and also spread the peanut butter inside my son’s lunchbox contaminating his food. I was outraged that NOTHING was done to the other child for his behavior. When talking with the teacher and then principal they suggested that my child eat his lunch alone. My child’s school will not put a ban on nuts and also will not send a letter home to parents in my child’s class alerting them that there is a food allergic child in the class. The teracher said she would talk to other student about proper behavior while in the cafeteria. Well……..I’m sorry, but that is not a good enough solution for me. I fail to understand why the school wants to remain uneducated about the dangers of food allergies. We are talking about life or death here! My child is already picked on by others when they find out that he has food allergies and I don’t think my child should be further isolated by making him sit alone everyday for lunch. Why can’t the school come up with a designated eating area for children with food allergies that is safe from most allergens. I know it is impossible to eliminate all allergens and that they can all be deadly to someone, but since nuts are the easiest to eliminate I don’t understand why the schools won’t start with that. As others have said “if it was your child you would want them to be as safe as possible at school”. As a parent of a child with food allergies I do my best to educate my child on how to keep himself safe and also to try to let him have as normal of a life as possible. This world needs more love and compassion.
September 18, 2007 @ 9:59 am
An inconvenience? Punishing? Saddened and disgusted would best describe how I felt after after reading these posts. My three and a half -year old daughter has multiple food allergies - she’s allergic to 15 foods, not only peanuts. I am VIGILANT about educating all family and friends and most especially, my daughter (she can name the foods she’s allergic to, knows how to use an Epi pen and knows that even casual contact, for example holding hands with a playmate, can be dangerous). Although she attends a peanut free preschool, that doesn’t cover her other allergies. I live in fear every day knowing that one wrong move could mean life or death but know that I’m doing everything I can to protect her. I fear the day she enters the K-8 school in our town which is not peanut free (but has a peanut free area in the lunch room). However, I will gladly live in fear because I want her to have as normal a life as possible, which means inclusion not exclusion her right to education in public shool. My mission in life is to raise awareness to my daughter’s life threatening condition. Unfortunately, protecting her also means educating her about coexisting with people who are insensitive and callous.
September 18, 2007 @ 10:16 am
I, too, have found many of these remarks unbelievably upsetting. We make reasonable accommodations for so many children who have all kinds of disabilities and special needs, why not for food allergic children as well? 11.5 % of my daughter’s class is severely allergic to peanuts, and that number across the nation is rising.
To those who believe there is nothing but peanut butter for lunch, I would question how balanced a diet that would make. My child eats no peanut butter and enjoys a healthy, balanced diet full of protein and complex carbohydrates to fuel her busy day. To hear someone say that their child simply cannot survive without peanuts for just one meal of the day, I say talk to a nutritionist. In addition, peanut butter is not all that healthy. Peanuts are full of mold, grow underground, and are actually a member of the night shade family.
The problem with peanut butter is that is gets EVERYWHERE, and we can’t see it.
We do everything in our power to keep our children safe. We require seatbelts, life jackets, helmets, adult supervision…what is so hard about this? I just don’t get it.
September 18, 2007 @ 10:35 am
Reading Jill’s comments makes me sick to my stomach! I am amazed by the ignorance of people. What happened to a world that wants to help other people and do our best to keep each other safe. Oh ya we live in a country that looks out for number one only, to h*ll with the rest of you! Why do you feel a child without an allergy is entitled to a public education but children with allergies are not and should stay home. EVERYONE is entitled to public education and the experience of going to school with their friends.
If you look over the course of the last 20 years you’ll see many things in our world have changed to REDUCE the number of deaths in children. Car seats, bike helmets, I’m sure you might find those things to be incontinent to you but you do it to keep your child safe. Do you think while Mom’s in the hospital with #2 she would let Grandma take #1 for a ride in her car without making sure she knew she had to be in a car seat!!! Do you realize by banning nut products in the elementary schools it does the same thing, it helps REDUCE the risk it does not eliminate it. The chance of a child having an allergic reaction with only 1 child not following the ban is much smaller than if that child needs to navigate every child in the school that has peanut butter for lunch. Did you also realize that a child has a better chance of out growing an allergy if they are not exposed to it repeatedly. Limiting the number of people carrying the allergen will give that child a better chance to LIVE (not die) and possible grow up to live a life without the allergy. This world would be a better place if people try to look at this as I’m doing my small part to make a difference in someone else’s life.
Do you support zero tolerance in school when it comes to bullying or do you think a child should be able to put fear in a child everyday with teasing and taunting. I’m sure there are less kids that die from that but we all support a ban on bullying. Don’t you see that making a small child fearful of what the kid next to him ate for lunch a form of bullying. Every child deserve a fun and safe school experience. My heart aches for them to think of the people they will encounter in there life. Heartless selfish people that have no regard for human life except their own!
September 18, 2007 @ 11:31 am
I am fortunate, my daughter is anaphalactic to ingestion, but not touch, of peanuts. She is a multiple food allergy child and did ahve a child in her class that ahd to eat by himself on days they served PB/J in the cafeteria. Then all the kids were required and watched by the teacher to wash up before entering the room. That was incredibly unfair to single that child out, but on the same hand I constantly am fighting people all the time not to feed my daughter things she can’t have! It will always be an uphill battle when there are children involved with others that can’t or won’t be consiscience of what other children (or adults) are actually going through. Unless you have been there, the risk of anaphalaxis will never make sense. We all have to do what is necessary for our own children.
September 18, 2007 @ 3:55 pm
I have read through this entire thing and the amazing thing to me is the complete ignorance of people without food allergies. Should we also home school kids with say cancer, HIV, MS, downs syndrome because they are not fit to goto this school or that school. Should they be left as social outcasts? My daughter has severe food allergies, she hits all the big ones peanuts, walnuts, milk, eggs etc. Let’s throw in asthma too. You folks are trying to compare apples (she not allergic to) to oranges (which she is). For all the social reform that is trying to be brought about in America, would it not be nice to spare 125 families of their children’s death? The heartbreak of not seeing them graduate, get married, have children or even wake up and smile at you as only your own child can do. Families that do not deal with this on a daily basis have no idea the stress it puts on families. Did you ever think today that when you hugged and kissed your child goodbye this morning it may be the last time you ever see that child alive? You have no idea when it is coming? That you have no control and worse yet that people will go out of there way to fight you on this for a few hours a day. WE DO EVERY DAY! At my place of employment we can not drink booze during business hours. Am I protesting because I am being oppressed for that 8 hours, no I understand and work around, if I choose to have a drink, I can have it at home. I think it is extremely selfish of people that don’t walk in the shoes to even comment. Our motto is Knowledge if Power. There are no personal agendas here. This is not the squeaky minority, it is parents protecting their children from dying and trying to give them the all they can achieve. I know we could not home school for two reasons: One with all the medical costs we incur we could not afford it, and two it would not be in the best interest of our children. So tonight go home, hug your child and thank god your don’t have to walk in our shoes. The people that I have met that do really walk on water. Celebrate them, take a minute and recognize them for the really outstanding job they do. God Bless
Sean
September 18, 2007 @ 4:00 pm
My son is only 21 months old, but is deathly allergic to peanuts/tree nuts and soy. Anaphylactic shock in a 14 month old, having to give him his epi injection myself before calling 911, riding in the ambulance and helping administer oxygen to my terrified, sick, clawing-at-his-throat child was enough to scare me into seriously considering homeschooling.
However, I then realized one simple thing: he is already missing out on so many things his older siblings can easily do, why would I deny him the socialization and benefits of being schooled outSIDE the home? Would putting him a proverbial “bubble’ help him learn to be the most productive individual he can be?
Weigh that against the one simple fact certain people in this thread are overlooking: being peanut-free for 6 or 6 1/2 hours a day is not even CLOSE to harmful - even to a child who adores peanut butter!
If the parents of those children cannot find something else to feed their child for the 1-2 meals/snacks eaten at school, they maybe should speak to a nutritionist.
September 18, 2007 @ 5:15 pm
my son is 22 months and was diagnosed at 6 months with a life threatening allergy to peanut and egg. If it were up to me Peanut butter wouldnt be availiable anymore. You really need to open your eyes to others problems and not just your own. God forbid your child would develop an allergy later in life. My son is not allowed to attend daycare/preschool because of allergy but the schools in our school system don’t allow peanut related items in the school.
September 18, 2007 @ 5:51 pm
I can see both sides of this situation. My son has a peanut, tree nut allergy. I cannot understand the problem, I would alter my life for my child and yours, why can you not do the same. If your child needs to eat peanut butter in school, then pick them up feed them at home wash them up and send them back to school Easy, you can also teach your child at home if they cannot give up peanut butter for a school day. There are many alternatives that are fun and exciting. Making changes will only enhance your childrens lives. People who are able to adapt, can rule the world, or at least make it a better place for all to live in. Tolerance is all we are asking. If you were to explain to your child the problem, they would come up with many solutions that would work. I thank God everyday that my school is willing to accommadate my child to keep him safe.
September 19, 2007 @ 10:17 am
I can’t believe the number of you who say the public schools won’t accommodate your children! Someone made the point that they accommodate kids with Down’s Syndrome, ADHD, Tourette’s, cerebral palsy, and other disabilities. How is a severe allergy not a disability? The Americans with Disabilities Act states: “An individual with a disability is defined by the ADA as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.” A severe allergy certainly qualifies. OUR CHILDREN NEED TO BE ACCOMMODATED! Just like kids with any other disability.
It is sad but true that until the school systems are sued by the parents of a child who died from anaphylaxis, they won’t change their policies. I personally think that FAAN and other groups can do more to influence public schools than they are currently doing. We parents of allergic children are being too nice about it. If my daughter has a reaction because a kid in her class “smeared peanut butter in her lunch box” like another mom described, you can bet the farm that I will be suing the school, the kid’s parents, the teachers, everyone, until the policy is changed. Our kids deserve it. 1 out of 15….that’s 15%. We can be a vocal minority until we accomplish our goal!
September 19, 2007 @ 2:17 pm
I have a child who is 11 years old with peanut and tree nut anaphalaxis as well as other allergies and asthma.. We are fortunate that he is able to attend a private parochial school that is very supportive and proactive in the care of ALL students who are attending, no matter what their needs are.
It is not a peanut free school. If there were a family that requested this I would whole heartedly suppor that. As I would anything that would make even one child safe. Perhaps a novel idea to some of you, one child really does matter, even if it’s not YOUR child.
I agree that emotion run high on both sides of this issue. On one side are parents, and people who are concerened with the safety and well being of children they love. On the other side are often ill informed people who simply don’t understand the implicatioins of their ignorance.
I could only believe these people, Troy, Jill, Jake, and especially sadly Heather, are ignorant because I can not believe that people who are truely this selfish, self centered, arrogant, and cruel would take the time to post here.
I understand this may come as a shock to the four of you, and the rest of your ilk who whine about YOUR inconvience, YOUR feeling pressure to care for others, YOUR wish to not responsibly teach and impart to your children, or more frieghteningly in Heathers case, those in your charge, that sometimes it’s nice to consider other poeple, but…
IT”S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU!!!
September 19, 2007 @ 6:08 pm
Imagine your child is 9 mths old and you are out for a family breakfast.
It is an exciting time they are just learning to eat real food! Then a great time turns into a nightmare.You watch your precious child’s body become covered in hives, turn blue and go limp as a rag doll. As your blood feels like its draining from your body you realize she is not breathing, Unimmagiable, right…but it is literally what food allergic parents have experienced or fear experiencing. I for one have; this is the exact scenario of how we discovered our daughter had life threatening food allergies. Certain foods were toxic or where looked at like poison to her body.
(Neither my husband or I have food allergies, nor does by older son) She had an anaphylaxtic reaction to the food she ate and was rushed to the hospital while I gave her mouth to mouth in the car on the way there. It was the longest five minutes of my life, one I never want to repeat again. This is the stress a food allergic parent carries daily. One I wouldn’t wish on any other. One I wish would generate the compassion and genuine care and concern it deserves across the board. However we are far from this reality. Fortunately, my daughter has encountered such caring people; teachers, nurses, coaches, neighbors, friends, and family. Who believe the “do unto others” philosophy and live out “there but for the grace of God go I”. I wish this was the case for us all. I would support making an environment safer for any child regardless of the inconvience to me. We do it every day for our own and would willingly for others.
September 19, 2007 @ 9:46 pm
I can not believe what I am reading ! My son has Autism. I thought that would be his greatest struggle, I was naive enough to think his peanut allergy was not going to be so hard for people to understand that people would understand that this would KILL him!! Boy was I stupid!!!!
September 19, 2007 @ 10:27 pm
To all you ignorant Parents of non-allergic children out there, why don’t you take the food issue out of the equation here and let’s say the issue is about party favors. Everyone loves party favors right? So, tell me how do you think YOUR child would feel if his/her teacher or maybe birthday party host gave out 11 favor bags and YOUR child was the 12th kid left out? Sorry no party favor for you, buh-bye. Not only that, but how do you think YOUR child would feel if he/she knew that party favor could actually kill him, when all it takes is a little thought and consideration to either ditch the favors all together or come up with an safer alternative? This reminds me of a show I saw recently where a Father, who also happens to be a lawyer, of a peanut allergic son, discusses that the peanut butter issues are a SCHOOL SAFETY ISSUE. We can all agree that we don’t want loaded guns coming to school, right? Well, peanuts, nuts and peanut butter are essentially loaded weapons folks. They can kill in minutes before the child can get to help.
I think there should be a new segment of the show “THE BIGGEST LOSER – the ignorant Parents”. In this show, they are rehabbed into caring, compassionate people, but then again, they’ll probably just gain the ignorance back. Too bad, so sad.
To all the caring people out there, remember this quote when others try to get you down. “Loving a child doesn’t mean giving in to all his whims; to love him is to bring out the best in him, to teach him to love what is difficult.” – Nadia Boulanger (1887-1879)
September 20, 2007 @ 8:03 am
THANK YOU, JACKIE!!!!!! You got to the heart of the problem for these ignorant people!!! (by ignorant I mean having little knowledge) I also believe you are the most self centered people on earth! Don’t pretend you care!!! You do not or you would not write these things. I think it would be really interesting to do an experiment with you people who do not understand this.Remember the egg students got to carry around and take care of like it was a baby? or even some who actually got a baby doll that needeed caring for ? I think it would be awesome for you people to have something invisible that could KILL you for a week or even a month might be needed for you to finally understand. But we would probably need a really long time for you to truly care!!! Heather, you need super nanny MABYE she could help you say no to your child.
September 20, 2007 @ 1:34 pm
I am so shocked at some of these comments. I can’t believe the ignorance and selfishness of these parents who are so “inconvenienced” at having to give their child something else to eat besides peanut butter. I really feel you shoul reread you comment and take a look at the sheer cruelness of it. Children are not adults, and they rely on us to protect them. To suggest that they are a burden to attend school is an outrage. Every child is entitled to a pubilc eductation–that is the LAW. I thought we as parents should be teaching tolerance and that everyone is different. Not eating peanut butter for 6 hours is hardly a punishment. But try walking in a food allergic childs’ footsteps. They are constantly banned from eating out, eating practically every packaged food (just look in the ingredient list in the grocery store if you don’t believe me) and now on top of it have to feel that they are not good enough to get an education as well? Give me a break. I wish that these ignorant parents could stop for a moment and think about others instead of themselves. More people have food allergies than you think. I hope that when my severly dairy/egg/peanut allergic and asthmatic daughter is old enough to attend school, I will not have to try to deal with these heartless individuals. It’s hard enough every day just keeping my daughter safe, and I don’t feel that locking her up and only allowing her to play with other allergic children is the answer. She has the same rights as your child. Should we lock up all of the cancer children, too? Or what about the diabetic, asthmatic, or crippled children? Should they be banned from public education and tolerance because they may require some additional planning/and or assistance? The answer is education and awareness. It’s good that these people are writing in- it shows that there is much ground to cover yet for food allergies. We have to stick together and get the message out so that we can provide a safe and tolerant environment for ALL children.
September 20, 2007 @ 7:36 pm
Molly Gonzales, you said it well. I have a son who just entered into the public system. Along with many other parents, I constantly worry about his well being. He is severly allergic to peanuts. This may apply to some but his life lays in the arms of God. I have to believe that the teachers and administration will watch over him when I’m not there. I have done what I can to educate all of them and the parents of the children in his class. His teacher has been very cooperative and cautious. I can only pray that this will apply thoughout his life.
Molly, I truely appreciate your objective opinion and the belief that we all as parents should support each other no matter what the challenges are in our children’s lives.
September 24, 2007 @ 1:28 pm
I would like any parents of non-allergic children to spend a week caring for an allergic child - i guarantee you your posts would change.
When you witness your 8 month old coming within seconds of losing his life due to eating something with milk in it - again your posts would change.
Why peanuts - they typically are the most severe reaction when it comes to food allergies. Also, there are primarly 3 foods containing peanuts (excluding cross contamination) which are peanuts, peanut butter, and foods cooked in peanut oil which are limited - its much easier to ban these than milk, soy, wheat, eggs, etc which have fewer severe cases and are in a larger amount of foods (hopefully that answers heather’s concerns of add’l bans) - our son is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, & fish so we don’t expect bans on these. It stinks for a PB&J family to alter your menus - i feel for you, b/c we don’t have access to most foods out there - take your inconvenience and multiply it by a million and you’ll be in our shoes - not only are you limited in your foods but if you mess up it can mean death to your child. We’re not even talking about cross contamination - and forget eating out - you cook EVERY meal - recent studies show that children’s food allergies creates the second most stressful household for children related illnesses - the first is juvenile diabetes….and you’re worried about not giving your child PB&J for lunch???
Food allergies are like poison - not swimming pools - the swimming pool analogy makes no sense in realistic terms, possibly conceptual, but not in reality - we eat 3 to 4 times a day and the ingestion just once of an allergen can result in death - we don’t swim 3-4 times per day and risk is less per occurence - peanut butter by the way is probably the stickiest food - it smears everywhere and is a significant hazard.
The person who wrote allergic kids should be home schooled and play with other allergic kids should be banished from posting - that was the dumbest thing i’ve ever heard - let’s go back 50 years in the civil liberties movement and re-institute segregation - allergies with allergies, women w/ women, black w/ black, hisp w/ hisp, white male w/….well you get it.
I have been worried about the lack of knowledge for food allergies and the potential ignorance - after reading some of these posts i’m concerned about the lack of caring and concern - sorry about the inconvenience, but this is our life….and potential death situation!
September 30, 2007 @ 2:08 pm
WOW. All you people who think that sending a lunch/ snack to school that does not have peanuts is such a big task or responsability this goes out to you. You people are all so self centered. your talking about children. Little kids that have the RIGHT to go to school in a safe enviornment. Whine and cry about how if it was YOU you would home school. You may, But thats not fair to your child. Your child craves interaction with other kids of the same age, the best place for this to happen is school. But hey, if its SOOOOO hard to not send your kid to school with peanut butter for the protection of other kids, then dont start crying when some kid brings his dads gun to school and accidently shoots your kid. AND yes it is the same. A child that is allergic to peanuts CAN die from coming in contact with peanuts, and your kid can die from an accidental gun shot.
October 2, 2007 @ 12:24 pm
Jackie,
In your reference to me you said: “IT”S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU!!
That’s right, it’s not.
But you want to make it all about you and your child.
With no respect for me, my freedoms, my children or my family.
How about some of my other postings, which you ignore?
Such as:
“My wife is on oxygen. Heavy perfumes, perfumed soaps, hand lotions, even air fresheners can cause respiratory distress. Are you willing to give all that up on the slight chance you will meet my wife in a building someday?
If everyone who reads this post will do so, then I will ban peanuts from my family and our home.
BUT if you won’t, then kiss my ***.”
And the other:
“And before you self-centered SOBs start cussing me, I am in a similar situation. However, we decided that our problems shouldn’t rule the world.
Our problem, our responsibility.”
You self centered pains complain that others aren’t compassionate and caring.
Mainly you complain that we don’t give into your demands.
Hitler and Stalin are dead.
Now we have you.
October 2, 2007 @ 12:31 pm
In response to Heather……..
So you would rather have a child with an allergy home schooled, miss out on peer interactions and the entire school experience, just so your kid can eat peanut butter? Let’s get real. Give her cream cheese and end the story!
October 4, 2007 @ 3:36 pm
Jack,
The bottom line is really very simple: to be peanut-free for a single meal a day, up to 5 a week, is really NOT a big deal and shouldn’t be a hardship for anyone to accomplish. That’s it, a simple rule, that applies ONLY during school. Eat peanut butter sandwhiches all weekend, every night for a snack, for breakfast before school even.
While we’re on the subject of banning foods, let’s reiterate here that it’s NOT going to entirely protect my son from a reaction: there are literally hidden dangers everywhere, in every food genre. However, eliminating one simple food ingredient (yes I say ingredient because, really, who just eats a spoonful of peanut butter at school?) can make a huge difference toward my son’s health and safety.
Gain some perspective here and realize there are many many other things your non-allergic child can bring to eat for lunch. If you cannot find an alternative to peanut butter, perhaps you should speak to your pediatrician.
With freedom comes responsibility, Jack. You have the freedom to do as you choose, while NOT infringing on my SON’S right to be safe and healthy at school. By the way, you’re going to have to get used to the idea, because it is now a law that schools will make room for children like my son; many are taking it a step further to ban peanuts all together. Set an example for your children and learn some compassion and acceptance.
October 7, 2007 @ 2:19 pm
Katie,
First it’s “Jake”, not “Jack.”
Try and get something right.
Second, why didn’t you address giving up your different perfumed products for my wife’s sake?
Or is my wife not as valuable as your child?
Here’s a fact: after many, many postings on this, only one woman has ever addressed the perfume issue.
I guess you would rather smell good and watch my wife die.
This has to be on of the most hypocritical forums I have ever seen.
“Peanut children are important! Everyone else I could possible help can die!!”
Make sure you wear the right perfume to my wife’s funeral.
I’ll bring peanuts to your child’s.
October 8, 2007 @ 1:52 pm
Jake, then:
First, please excuse me for misreading your name. I apologize.
Second, I am sorry for your wife’s hardships; I believe anyone living with any sort of “disability” deserves my compassion and understanding, and I do extend mine to your family.
Third, I have never asked for a world-wide ban on peanuts/peanut butter, as you are suggesting with your lotion/perfume point. To compare the 2 is actually absurd, as I refer simply to the school day. Is there really no other time a non-allergic child can eat peanut butter? As suggested earlier, perhaps a nutritionist can help find an alternate healthy lunch.
It’s really amazing to me that anyone with a family member who suffers as your wife must would be as callous as you’ve come across. My son’s allergies and asthma have taught me to be only more compassionate and show greater respect for those who live day to day bravely, in spite of many health problems. I’m sorry you are bitter about your wife’s health, Jake, but referring to a not-quite-2 year old’s funeral is simply sad. It only illustrates how far our society has fallen, how wrapped up in their own issues people have become.
October 11, 2007 @ 9:21 am
Katie,
“It only illustrates how far our society has fallen, how wrapped up in their own issues people have become.”
You’re the perfect example.
But you refuse to see it.
I’ll make you a promise: you and this “forum” will never hear from me again.
A “forum” assumes communication.
This is a series of one-idea rants.
Good luck.
October 14, 2007 @ 7:06 pm
Jake,
Not that you will see or read this, but glad to hear you are gone! Communication does not mean agreeing with stupidity. Go rant on someone else’s forum on why you can not have a million dollars because of your wife’s situation. If you were half the advocate we are for our children, you may have taken all this negative energy and turned it into social reform for your wife. Ms. Jake, best of luck to you, I hope you never run into people with your situation as narrow minded as the person you choose to marry.
Good Luck!
October 15, 2007 @ 12:46 am
I have to say that I am completely astonished about what people have to say about food allergies. I had to stop reading some of the blogs because I just cant handle the people that have no concept of food allergies. IT COULD MEAN DEATH FOR CHILDREN!!! I am sorry, but you have to know I am going to do anything in my power to make sure my child doesn’t die because of people who cant handle change or it doesnt effect my child, why should my child have to change because of 1 child. BECAUSE IT COULD MEAN DEATH FOR THAT CHILD. Until you have walked a week in the shoes of parents with food allergies you have NO IDEA what it takes, in tells or how emotion or expensive it is for that matter. To put it into prespecive for some.. I have 3 children. Only one has food allergies and he is allergic to wheat,soy, eggs, dairy, peanuts and shellfish. NOW….. you better believe any one that comes in contact with him knows that he doesn’t get to get anything with food allergens in them. Because of peoples knowledge of it and they know what could help peoples perspectives change. Unless you have a child, or know someone that has food allergies YOU will never know what it is like. To people that say, why my does my child have to suffer by washing his hands….be glad that you don’t have to watch everything they eat, and wake up every morning praying that my child doesn’t get something hes not suppose to have.
October 15, 2007 @ 9:17 am
Sean,
I don’t think you are being fair to Jake.
I read and re-read his posts.
I don’t see where he brought up money.
I do see where he said he and his wife took responsibility for their problem.
Where did the “million dollars” come from?
Sounds like you were short of a good response and just decided to sling mud.
An explanation would be nice.
I think you owe him an apology.
Terri
October 15, 2007 @ 10:28 pm
Hmmmm……..our school does ban perfumes and lotions?
November 1, 2007 @ 1:57 pm
You people make me SICK! How dare any of you even question why your precious little child cannot have peanut butter in the classroom at school. Will he or she die if they wait until 2:00 to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Or are they just so spoiled rotten and throw such a huge fit because they can’t have it that you can’t handle the issue of telling them no?? Take a parenting class, learn how to tell your child that they can’t have something, and shut the hell up with your complaints about not allowing peanut butter around an allergic child. I am so sick of people not taking this seriously and putting my child’s life at risk because of their own selfishness. You are so ignornant and it really sickens me.
November 7, 2007 @ 8:28 pm
I’m just shocked there are so many peanut allergies. I never heard of this growing up…what have we done to cause this? Sure, fine. My kid can’t have peanut butter at lunch, or a granola bar at snack or anything else that might possibly have had a nut near it. Okay I guess but why? What are we doing to cause these sensitivities? It’s always the whimpy scrawny kids that have the allergies too, mother probably waited until she was 40 to have him and took fertility drugs…Hmmm…
December 10, 2007 @ 8:37 pm
My son has a severe peanut allergy. When I found out, I went into panic mode.
Because, now my son can potential die if he comes in contact with peanuts.
Imagine sending your child out into the world knowing there is something out there that can send him to the hospital or die? How would you feel? How would you handle it? I agree that peanuts and any other allergen that can cause a death should be banned from schools. And as for the comment by am, my son is not scrawny, he was 10 pounds 7 oz when born.
He is now 3 1/2 years old, 41 inches tall and 42 pounds. And if he was, what does that have to do with anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 1, 2008 @ 10:22 pm
I have a young son, with life threatening allergies. I’m so glad to live in Canada - where all the staff must be trained to understand and deal with allergies before he starts to attend school. The school will be nut free - as it should be - if you want all our children to be safe at school. I am so thankful that sadly the high number of allergies is making people more aware and less likely to be angry over something so serious. Canada is great no guns, no nuts, your individual rights stop at the place where another could be harmed. And still I worry -
January 2, 2008 @ 6:56 am
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January 2, 2008 @ 6:11 pm
I am amazed and saddened by what I have read today. I am a middle class women that had my fourth child at 29. Niether my husband, me or any of our older children have any allergies. My fourth was exposed to peanuts at about a year, and had a moderate anaphylactic reaction. Luckely I have 2 other families with children that are allergic to peanuts that live in my nieghborhhod. They have led the way for me. I havn’t decided yet about how I stand on peanut bans. My older kids school is not completely peanut free, but they do have an action plan in place to deal with the problem. Our Principal is very understanding and is willing to talk to parents, and come to a comprimise. After reading this blog I am wanting to get on my knees and thank my Heavenly Father that I live where I do. But it breaks my heart to see how callous people can be to a child. I think that as a parent, instead of freaking out that your child is going to have to wait to eat their peanut butter after school use this as an opportunity to teach your child. You can teach them about comprimise. You can teach them to look outside of thier own world. You can teach them to like other foods. Sit down and talk to your child about the serieousness of the situation, I think you will find that children are more understanding than adults sometimes. To those of you that are dealing with ignorance on a daily basis, keep up the good fight. My heart goes out to all of you.
Oh, and Jake, I am a singer, quite often I have gone without Perfume for a fellow musician that was allergic to perfumes, and I didn’t mind a bit.
January 5, 2008 @ 7:30 pm
Terri,
WOW are you related to Jake? Have you seen his posts? He basically indicated that we all were petty for not trying to his wife, sounds like the guy who would bring a stupid lawsuit for millions of dollars to me. My point was this, we as parents of children with allergies are being proactive because there is no national voice and most narrow minded people (you included) don’t get what we are trying to do here. Had JAKE indicated to me that his wife was allergic to perfumes and it might be harmful or even life threatening to her, I would have went out of my way to accommodate (and might I add I have). No he throws a ton of mud then throws this last tidbit in at the 11th hour and want us all to fell sorry for him… boo hoo. I don’t, I do however empathize with his wife for having to put up with him and his narrow and hurtful views. So Terry the only thing I will do for him and you is to pray that you both get a clue… No apologizes here for trying to protect those who can’t protect themselves from ignorance.
Happy 2008, and please support the passing of Sabrina’s law in your state!
Sean
January 5, 2008 @ 8:32 pm
I have read through this blog and what I read saddens me. My son is allergic to wheat, eggs, milk, nuts, oats, soy and raw carrots. He was sick every month from the time he was three months old until a new (and may I say awesome) pediatrician, diagnosed his allergies at nine months. Though he has outgrown some of the allergies and can now tolerate small amounts of some foods, eggs and nuts can send him quickly into anaphylaxis. Unfortunately, I cannot home school him because his father died in a car accident in 2004, leaving me to raise him alone. Instead, I spend 350.00/month to send him to a small private school where the staff and parents are caring, compassionate, and willing to deal with his allergies. Though peanuts are not banned, the staff takes great pains to make sure he is not exposed. And rather than complain or worry about him getting exposed to soemething in his school lunch, I simply pack his lunch. It’s easier, and now that he’s older, he knows what he can and cannot eat. I have also been impressed by the owners and staff of our local Chik-Fil-A. They have allowed my son to attend his school’s quarterly fundraiser nights by letting him bring in his own food. He can’t even eat their ice cream because it is egg based. I support them by buying my dinner there and eating with my son, who usually gets a drink. If he spins the wheel and gets a prize, they give him a toy rather than a coupon for free food. He has a good time supporting his school and playing with his friends, but is safe from his allergies.
In reference to Jake, I have allergy induced asthma, and certain scents can send me into respiratory distress as well. I personally do not wear perfume or use heavily scented soaps. Even if i wasn’t allergic, I would still be more than happy to not wear something that could harm someone else. I do it for eight hours a day while at work because the physicians I work for (I am a nurse) do not allow the clinical staff to wear heavy scents for the sake of our patients. I wish the same could be required of our patients for the sake of our staff.
And in reference to the comment that it’s always the scrawny wimpy kids that have food allergies, my son is a healthy, 42 pound five year old who is the fastest kid in his class and in our social circle, can hit a mean baseball, scores goals in soccer from half field and kicks butt in karate class every week. And his father, who also had food allergies, was a stocky 200 pound muscular man who ran track and cross country, and was a state championship wrestler in high school. And I was 28, not 40 when I had him, and never took a single fertility drug. By the way, adults have food allergies too. One of my former co-workers deveoped a peanut allergy in her thirties, and went into anaphylaxis from kissing her husband good bye even after he had brushed his teeth and washed his hands. She’ ok, thanks to epinepherine, but you can’t blame kids for peanut bans when adults have allergies too. Maybe people like you should be banned from public places until you cn learn some manners.
January 5, 2008 @ 9:09 pm
I myself have a child with a Peanut/Tree nut anaphalaxis allergy, He also has Autism, Which makes it very difficult to educate him about his allergy. He has a paraprofessional with him at all times for safety, and Epi-pen administration if ever needed. All I can say to those of you who don’t have to deal with this allergy, is Thank your Lucky Stars its not your child.
January 6, 2008 @ 8:22 am
There are several things that bother me when it comes to food allergies. One that fact that my son HAS them - deadly allergic to nuts - his numbers are off the charts. Two, that people that have food allergies are still NOT using common sense - Drs and patients alike need to prescribe and carry epi-pens at ALL times - lose the denial–it can be deadly! And lastly, that the community of food allergic families that are “ALL ABOUT ME”! WAKE UP call - there are 12 million of us out here - it is NOT all about YOU!
I am as over protective as they come - but when it comes to my sons allergies, I have learned to check myself and re-check myself when it comes to reality! Our children have to live with their allergies for the rest of their lives in most cases - teaching them a false sense of safety is NOT reality! What happened to raising compassionate, caring human beings??? How can you expect someone to want to help and be understanding of food allergies, when you are not living it youself?
We need to teach our children to be responsible for THEIR allergies - teach them HOW to be in different scenarios and be safe. Teach them that not everyone is as kind and caring. Teach them that not EVERYONE “gets it” nor do they want to or have to! Sadly what I have seen over the last 5 years is a lot of UNNEEDED FEAR being taught. Yes, my son could DIE at any given moment - from peanuts, a car, a bus, and several other horrible means - but I have taught him to cross the street safely, I have taught him how to swim, and I am teaching him how to LIVE with his food allergies and be a decent, kind, caring compassionate human being in the process. The World is NOT peanut free - nor should it be.
Be someone who makes a difference in the world!
Education is the CURE for right now!
January 6, 2008 @ 9:21 am
This blog is interesting. My son is currently allergic to eggs and peanuts. He is now 7 and outgrew the milk allergy about a year ago. I think the key to allergies and preventing illness relating to allergies is education. Everyone in his school is well aware of his allergies. And they all respect that difference. When school parties are held, the children and parents know of the allergies and send food or snacks that are safe for him. But our son too is well aware that he could die by eating eggs or peanuts so he always will not eat anything that has not been approved by an adult. It has worked out well and all his friends support him tremendously. My older son loves peanuts and when eating a PBJ, stays far away from his brother and washes up extremely well after eating it. I realize that many parents deal with a far more serious allergy than maybe my son - but I can’t see singling him out or making him the cause of a “peanut ban”, etc. Too many parents rely on the source of protein for their child. I think absolute awareness, education and understanding by others is best so the allergic child can fit it. While parents strive to do the right thing, many children with special needs simply become the center of attention and then behavioral issues develop. I simply try not to be overprotective but cautious and aware and make my son understand that he always must be aware of his surroundings too.
I must also add that my son when touched by a child who had recently drank milk would break out in hives where he had been touched. He would also get a runny nose when this happened too. This happened a few times in preschool between the ages of 3-5. The director of preschool would give him Benadryl and then she or the teacher would observe him. And yes, we did have an Epi-Pen available if needed. But the preschool can’t ban milk. Instead, we worked with this issue in making other children aware that their actions could harm my son. Eventually, even at that age, they understood that milk made him sick and would take much care to protect my son. So I don’t necessarily think a ban to any food is the answer but perhaps there are other solutions.
January 6, 2008 @ 4:23 pm
I have read some of these posts before, but decided not to comment at that time because I was filled with too much emotion. I did not want to leave a emotional filled rant based on the anxiety and sadness I was feeling at the time. My first born son is anaphylactic to peanuts. He is also allergic to tree-nuts, eggs, peas, as well as other environmental allergens. We learned of his horrible allergy to peanuts when we gave him his first taste of peanut butter on his first birthday. It was the most awful experience, and I NEVER want to go there again.
I think as a parent, our number one goal is to make sure our children are safe and have every opportunity to experience a wonderful and fulfilled life. I think that should include, at the very least, opportunity to participate in a public school without the treat of losing their lives.
I have to add, though, because of some comments I read early on, that I have decided to homeschool my son. It might be a bit ironic, but I had toyed with the idea for some time for other reasons than his food allergy. I guess you could say the food allergy was the “icing on the cake.”
I do not think that he will be kept in seclusion. We will participate in many other activities outside of our home that will provide a great social life for him. While our “circle” will not include only other peanut allergic children, I have met other families that are very willing, if not eager, to learn all they can from us about the subject. By homeschooling, I don’t feel like I am keeping him in a “bubble,” rather I am offering something I feel is better.
I just wish that our society could stop being so judgemental about everything. Instead of worrying about the whole “fairness” of the issue, why can we not just focus on what is right for the children. Like I said before, I feel that our #1 job as parents is the SAFETY of our children. There should not even be an argument about that!
January 6, 2008 @ 7:57 pm
A free and appropriate education is everyones birth right in the U.S.
I agree education is the key. It is the issue here.
Everyone has the right to attend school *safely*.
There is no right to eat anything in school that is protected by law.
But being able to attend school safely and obtain and education is protected by law.
For a child with life threatening food allergies, the best that can be done is minimize risk and be prepared when all the precautions weren’t enough.
No one ever questions not being able to eat in the library.
Why is that? Its OK to ask to postpone your snack so we can all enjoy cleaner books and libraries? People are used to this imposition and never give it a second thought.
So can a PT ban be such a unreasonable imposition?
Peanuts and nuts are responsible for more food allergy deaths than any other allergen. They are potent and deadly for a small percentage of people.
Want to talk about burden?
Consider 25% of PN allergic children have their first reaction at school in the lower grades.(Your child could be one).
Do you want to be the teacher or school nurse responsible for a child reacting at school with no drug orders( an injection of epinepherine is the only remedy here).
Teachers have such a burden these days with all types of diagnoses-diabetes, asthma, ADHD, allergies, not to mention the normal bumps, bruises, and colds.
There are not enough school nurses and no one wants to pay for more.
I realize if you are blessed with healthy children your knowledge level on the epidemics might be low.(I work in a hospital and could be reading up on many more patholigies)
But the point here is its not about food. NOT ABOUT FOOD. Its about a right to breathe. I right to circulate blood. A right not to be expected to perform in school with a physical threat in close proximity .
Its about SAFETY. Thats all. Thats it folks. Plain and simple.
January 7, 2008 @ 9:53 am
To the comment made by Am on November 7, you are such an ignorant individual.. I hope that you have not reproduced, because their is no protection for kids with stupid parents! To say that all kids who have food allergies are whimpy and scrawny and their mothers waited until they were 40 to have kids and took fertility drugs is such an ignorant statement. I must say you probably have an iq somewhere around a 10, and that is giving you some credit. I was 35 when I had my son who has food allergies and 38 when I had my daughter who has no food allergies, neither were conceived with any drugs. You are a stupid cow. Read up (if you know how) on the facts before you babble such nonsense.
January 8, 2008 @ 8:44 pm
I find a lot of these entries very depressing. I think there is a huge misunderstanding of peanut allergies and how they are dangerous in school. It seems no one takes the time to explain how it is dangerous. And I can’t help but wonder how they would feel if, God forbid, their child caused an allergic reaction by simply eating a PB&J sandwich and touching classroom supplies. I find, as a mom with a severely allergic child, that standing up and speaking at open school nights etc helps to put a face and name to the allergy, helps to explain how the allergy works, how dangerous it is. I always end with an invitation to call me any time with questions or concerns and thanking them for helping keep my child safe. One mom came to me to say she use to be very vocal about how inconvenienced she felt with the allergy until one day she saw a little girl being loaded into an ambulance at the school. She was shocked to learn the child had come in contact with nuts, NOT EATING THEM, and had stopped breathing. Since then she has changed sides and is very supportive. She was embarrassed that it took seeing that child being rushed by ambulance to “get it”. I think that both sides of this debate can be very extreme and inconsiderate. I wish we could all take a minute and look at it from the other side, try to understand the other point of view and stop attacking each other. As for the numbers - if it saves just ONE life - isn’t it all worth it?
January 9, 2008 @ 12:23 pm
I have a 3 year old son with a peanut allergy. My constant concern for him has become a way of life that I have had to except, just like any parent of a child with a chronic life-long disease. I think that the big point that everyone is missing, especially people who try to equate food allergies with perfume allergies, is that a toddler has limited ability to control his enviroment. I am teaching him about his allergy, but he will most likely not be able to be in complete control of his actions until he is in about 1st grade. If kids need to eat peanut butter at lunch time, then they should sit at a specific table to help the school personnel know who needs to have their hands washed well and which tables to take extra care washing. Let them eat with other kids that don’t have an allergy to take off the burden of being isolated. My niece, with no allergies, became very empathetic with a boy in her class with a peanut allergy once she became educated. No one wants anyone to die and my son is at the mercy of his teachers until he can protect himself.
January 13, 2008 @ 3:06 pm
I wish that they would ban all peanut and peanut related products from all schools. my son is only 2 but is 97.6% allergic to peanuts. I wanted him to join summer programs so he could interact with kids his age and my allergist told me no. I have to think about homeschooling him and I don’t want to have to do that. He will miss out on so much. If I have to do that then obviously I will. I am pregnant again and my family wants to know how I will go about the peanut issue with this child if he is not allergic to peanuts. I am going to raise them the same this child will also think that he is allergic to peanuts.
I will do what ever I can to protect my son and if parents of nonallergic children cant comply with a few drawbacks like their child having their favorite sandwich at lunch then they need to be the ones homeschooled.
January 14, 2008 @ 4:06 pm
This may be a bit off topic, but why all the hostility about homeschooling? I homeschool, in part due to allergies, and my kids are definitly getting a superior education and social experiences (research backs this up) than the kids stuck indoors 7 hours a day with the same kids, teacher and curriculum for 180 days. Perhaps those of you who lambast those who do not tow the party line on food allergies as ignorant and judgmental should do a little research on homeschooling before you write us off as keeping our kids in a bubble or creating housebound misfits.
January 29, 2008 @ 12:55 am
My 2 yr old son was diagnosed last year with a class 4 peanut allergy, and tree nut allergy. Very rare he will ever grow out of it. He had a reading of 20.6.
Anyways I haven’t had to put my son in daycare yet, but that day will be coming soon, and then followed by going to school. What kind of stuff should I watch out for, be careful of. Please if any of you have any advice to share, it would be greatly appreciated.
January 30, 2008 @ 2:18 am
We don’t neccessarily need to take a side on this issue. After reading the comments posted I feel that the disagreements are arising from emotions and perhaps we are getting a little off track. I have mixed feelings on the idea of banning particular foods at school but however I do support a school should they wish to ban peanuts. Personally the ban is not going to completely solve my sons problem as he is allergic to milk, eggs and peanuts and obviously the school that he will be attending this year can’t ban all of these foods. Even with a peanut ban there is still no safe guarding of peanut allergic children due to the labelling laws of food products here in Australia where manufactures don’t have to list an ingrediant if it makes up less than 5% of the total product. Whether my son is at home or at school there will always be some risk in every day of his life and this is something our family has had to come to terms with. I truely believe that if we can try to educate others on the facts of anaphalyxis and how to handle the situation should someone have a severe reaction and how to prevent cross contamination of food, teach children not to share food and drinks with freinds, teach everyone to wash hands after eating as well as before perhaps this is the constructive way to help allergic children feel safe in the school environment without upseting the parents of non allergic children.
April 14, 2008 @ 9:20 am
[…] It’s a challenge for allergy parents who have the folks who think the threat of food allergies is exaggerated, then there are those who say: these kids must fend for themselves, we’re not going to accommodate them. (See Peanut allergy over reactions for some outrageous comments!) And now, we have these folks who say that this condition is so severe that it is unmanageable. […]
June 1, 2008 @ 1:23 pm
[…] As we adapt to the food allergy world, we forget that in general, people do not “get it” with regard to food allergies. Even after you begin to educate them, it may take awhile (or all of eternity) for them to comprehend that a trace amount can cause a serious reaction. You can try different ways to get through to them (i.e. articles, books, videos), but if they’re still asking if your peanut allergic child can have a Snickers bar, move on. […]
June 20, 2008 @ 12:21 am
Can someone tell me if we can sue a restaurant, for cooking eveything in the same grease? My daughter ate at one and ordered chicken fingers with fries, they cooked the chicken in the same grease that they cook fish in, she is allergic to all seafoods, and apples. she had to go to the hospital, where she received a shot. The manager told me she should have told them she had allergies,and eveything is cooked in the same grease, and he stated that goes for all restaurants, i find this hard to believe.Even worst, in her hurry to get air she left nd fell outside the restaurant, and he said he thought she was drunk, he went out to find out what was wrong and found out she could not breathe and had an allergic reaction to her food, and he did not call for help, her friends grab her up and threw her in a car and took her to the hospital. I just want to know what recourse do we have? please help
June 21, 2008 @ 1:21 pm
I’m sorry to hear what happened to your daughter No legal advice here. We do always ask about cross contamination in oils thought. They only way my son can eat fries is if the oil is safe and potatoes are the only thing that they cooked in them.
Anyone else have thoughts?
June 23, 2008 @ 4:01 pm
seriously people, why should my kid get punished because some other kid has an allergy (and they are not friends so the whole your buddy will die thing won’t work). Honestly, if the physically handicapped (peanut-allergic) kid would take precautions- wash their hands, their desk, not eat others’ food, etc. there would be no problems. My son goes to a peanut-free school, as in no peanut butter or things directly containing peanuts, but I refuse to inconvenience MYSELF by having to read labels every time I go shopping. It may not be all about me, but it is certainly not all about this other child (who is the “weird” kid that nobody talks to anyways). Yes I know I would feel differently if it was my child, but you know what it’s not. Sorry you passed down your crappy genetics to your child, but I refuse to let it affect my life. Oh yeah and if he happens to eat peanut butter for breakfast before school I will be d@**ed if I am going to make him wash his hands as we are rushing out the door. Sorry, not gonna happen!
June 23, 2008 @ 4:08 pm
Gina,
I worked in a restaurant and it is absolutely true that everything is cooked in the same grease. What kind of parent are you and how stupid is your daughter to not inform the manager ahead of time? People like you are what is wrong with this country, you want to sue others for your mistakes!
June 23, 2008 @ 9:25 pm
I have never heard of any restaurant cooking food in the same grease, who wants to taste the same crap on all the food? Gina i bet you work in a restaurant that has low scores, and is filthy as hell, and i can just bet you are the type that does’nt wash your hands, nor wear a hairnet, to not have different cooking grease to avoid cross contaiminations is ignorant. and a sign of laziness, How stupid is the restaurant not to have information posted saying how sloppy and nasty they really are about their cooking habits. If everybody stopped eating at restaurants, Gina you would’nt have dishes to wash, or tables to clean. which means you may have to go back to welfare, or whatever the hell you did before crawling off the floor into a roach infested garbage dump you call a job, at a no name restaurant. The fact is i have since taken a survey and no not all restaurant cook in the same grease. Do your homework idiot
June 23, 2008 @ 9:30 pm
correction to the name, i am sorry Gina my comments are not directed to you, i misread the name, my comments are for anna k, with a name like that, i should have known.
June 24, 2008 @ 12:00 am
Wow. If a child is in a wheelchair would you not want him to have a public education, would you want to segregate him from his friends at one of the most social times in a school day, or perhaps all children with major and minor disabilities should be kept at home so the parents can deal with it and we as a society don’t have to.
I do not have a child with a peanut allergy, BUT, I have had 10 years in the elementary system with a child in my son’s class with a severe allergy to peanuts, an allergy that can kill him. He is not lactose intolerant, he won’t get the diarrhea, he could die. My son ate 2 peanut butter sandwiches daily until he went to kindergarten, he was and still is a fussy eater and when he is home eats peanut butter sandwiches. When he goes to school, and yes, it was inconvenient, he takes an alternative, he has eaten a Cheez Whiz sandwich everyday for over 10 years. He doesn’t like cold meat, he isn’t a big cracker eater, he takes Cheez Whiz, everyday for 10 years. And, we have managed. Maybe this is punishment, but, I think less punishment than having to sit by himself having lunch so that some other kid can eat something they like, something that could kill him. Not eating nut products in the school system may be inconvenient, maybe as inconvenient as having a teacher wait at the school because a mom is late for pickup at the end of the day, or maybe having to call because a parent forgot to send a set of dry socks on a wet day. We face inconveniences everyday that are not life threatening to anyone, anyone every died from forgetting a dry pair of socks, but hey, it might be inconvenient. Lets look at this with a wider perspective, children with handicaps cause inconveniences, to their surroundings, their parents, hell, they just do, AND WE DEAL WITH IT, and we sympatize and we tolerate. But hey, ask a parent to find an alternative to peanut butter, or to read a label to protect the innocent, we have to debate it. Today I experienced our school, a nut free school, not a nut safe school, drop the ball on protecting 2 kids that couldn’t protect themselves and these kids, after 10 years, were excluded and forgotten and I watched these normal healthy kids feel that. It was horrible, it was wrong. If you stood back and just put your child in that place I think the last thing on your mind would be what will replace a peanut butter sandwich, it would be that your child should be treated like all children should be, with compassion and caring. Forget the allergy thing, these kids are just kids, and you can make a choice to keep them safe, a simple thing really, you don’t have to put out an Amber Alert, you just have to choose to see that this allergy thing puts kids in danger, who wants to do that, for the sake of a sandwich. Get a grip, talk to a parent of a child with a life threatening allergy, I am not one as I said but I know several and I want their kids to be safe, like I want them to think of my kids and keep them safe in all ways. A simple thing, to think before you gripe. We aren’t taking about food here, we are talking about keeping kids safe, like not having man hole covers without lids, like not allowing water and electricity to mix, it is a safety issue and these kids and their parents aren’t trying to make your life hard, they just want to be safe. Please, really think about what you are saying and doing to try and change what is the right thing to do, you know the right thing, no segregation, no discrimination, just kids not eating nuts and being kids.
July 23, 2008 @ 7:01 pm
My wife accidently took cookies with peanut butter in it, even though she knew our daughters preschool had a no peanut rule, but didn’t thik about it. Now the Mother of the child wants us to pay for all the bills. We told the mom we would help her in anyway, but didn’t think we would have to pay over 1100. Are we responsible to pay the whole bill or any of the bill.
July 27, 2008 @ 6:10 pm
I am truly shocked when reading all the comments. My 8 year old son has a death allergy to peanuts and his school recently went Peanut Free. I was at first grateful for the fact the school had chosen to take this step. Let me add they only decided to take this step after so many things had happened at the school when my son could have digested the one thing that could take his life in a matter of minutes. They banned peanut butter to save their own butts and my child and I have taken the bullets. I was told in last week’s PTO meeting by a parent that my child did not belong in this school or any public school and that if I cared for my child so much I would home school him. She wanted to give her child peanut butter for her school lunch because that is what her daughter wanted. We have created a society for our children that we are teaching them to put their own happiness over the life of someone else. We have created a world where we would rather put our child smile over the life of another child. My child would love to have a soft drink every day at lunch but he can’t because that is the school rules. How many kids will stop breathing if they don’t eat a peanut butter sandwich on their 25 minute school lunch?
August 6, 2008 @ 4:18 pm
[…] A food allergy friend sent me this article and asked that I read the comments. Ouch! It is amazing how much hostility there can be toward accommodations to those with food allergies. I’m posting it here because it makes the point of why we need more awareness. Most of the commenters do not realize that trace amounts of an allergen, and in some cases airborne allergens can cause allergic reactions. And for the most part, these peanut free sections are created so that children can attend these games. […]
August 7, 2008 @ 9:09 am
As a teenager with food allergies myself, it upsets me that people don’t care if a child has a life-threatening food allergy. However, there are ways to deal with food allergies without an all-school ban. When I was in elementary school, food allergies were unheard of. There was no protocol in place, and I remember the countless appointments my mom had to arrange just to be sure that I could safely eat at school. That being said, there are ways to manage some food allergies without a ban, especially those that are severe only if a child eats the food. I have managed by simply packing a nut-free lunch and carefully checking ingredients if I want to buy lunch instead. I also haven’t had a reaction since I was three years old- and yes, I’m still allergic. The debate over schools’ handling of food allergies was actually the topic of my high school english paper last year. I think that the best solution is to have standard protocol in place, but still handle allergies on a case-by-case basis. Peanut bans do nothing to help children with other allergies, as some people have already mentioned, and a ban is too severe unless the child has a touch or airborne allergy. I learned to read labels as soon as possible, and I still carry an Epi-pen in my pencil case at all times. I do get nervous if I’m sitting next to someone eating nuts or if I have to smell those cinnamon roasted almonds around Christmastime, but I’ve learned to manage my allergy. It’s too bad that many people without allergies themselves refuse to be as flexible.
August 7, 2008 @ 9:15 am
One more thing- if your school refuses to accomodate your child because of their food allergy, that is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I had to look into that for my research paper, and law websites and FAAN have clarified that fact. Good luck.
August 9, 2008 @ 4:18 pm
I dont know if bans are the answer but why is there so much hostility directed toward food allergy moms?
We didnt ask for this, and what kind of parent would we be if we didnt do what we needed to –to advocate for our children?
August 25, 2008 @ 4:02 pm
We are vegan, for religious reasons. My daughter and son are both active in sports, and my daughter is in dance as well. Nuts and peanuts are a vital part of their diet.
We have been through this attempt to restrict their diets twice now. The first round involved us being told there could be no soy either. They were isolating my daughter, because I was honest about needing to send soy, nuts, and peanuts in her lunch. Meanwhile, other parents were just ignoring the rules and sending peanut products anyway.
I decided that my daughter shouldn’t have to choose between her health and her free exercise of religion. So I “lawyered up,” as they say on the television cop shows. It worked like a charm. One letter from an attorney, and all plans to restrict where my child could sit, or what she could eat, were abandoned. Eventually, the allergic child left the school, but I think there were other issues that caused that besides my daughter sitting quietly with her friends, neatly eating her lunch.
When my son faced the same situation (but no soy ban that time), I wasted no time in having my lawyer draft another letter. Other ways were found to accommodate the allergic child.
I have taught my children, if they are faced with any instances of being isolated or made to feel bad because they are vegan, to politely say, “May I go to the Principal’s office, please? Someone needs to call my mother and her attorney.”
I am posting this to let everyone know that if nuts and peanuts are an important part of your child’s well-being, you do have some recourse. You CAN and SHOULD fight back.
August 30, 2008 @ 2:13 pm
Hey Vegan Mom,
That sure is one great religion you follow! “lawyer up” and callously endanger an innocent child. How important is it to your child’s well-being to know that they have caused another child’s death? This isn’t a game. Get a soul.
September 19, 2008 @ 4:24 pm
Really Vegan Mom?
What a great lesson for your kids!
October 15, 2008 @ 7:04 pm
Jake…you need mental health care as soon as possible. You are f….ed up, big time.
October 17, 2008 @ 4:17 pm
Alexa,
Even for a young person, your mature attitude will serve you well. Thank goodness you are not of the same mind as some of those who commented here.
This is America and we have a history of accommodating those who need it.
Just because it’s food and just becuase it’s invisible, doesnt make it any less important.
Stay strong!
October 22, 2008 @ 3:04 pm
[…] Although there is a lot of attention on peanut-free tables and banning peanut butter from school cafeterias, studies show that most food allergic reactions at school happen outside the cafeteria. Classroom parties and other situations out of the ordinary can put food allergic children at increased risk. […]
October 26, 2008 @ 10:46 pm
I left a comment on July 27th and feel a need to leave one again. We decided to leave the school I spoke about on my previous comment and we now attend a new school. We left a school that had went peanut free for a school that is not and it was the best decision I have ever made as a parent with a peanut death allergy child. I have learned that its not if the school is peanut free or not its how the school handles food allergies. A life threatening food allergy is something that haunts me everyday especially with my son getting older. He is going on 9 and wants to be a little more out of my site and grow up. No parent can know or understand the feeling until you are faced with it yourself. I wish you all luck and hope that all food allergy moms continue to be an advocate for your child the way I have been for mine. We all need to remember these are children and people lives that we are talking about. Think before you type. You never know if one day you will find yourself on the other side. jessicadtaylor@comcast.net
November 1, 2008 @ 7:33 pm
People like Troy make me sick, and as a parent of a Peanut allergic child, I get really nasty about stupidity….so I am saying nothing! Your go Troy with your ignorant self, Hopefully God pitys you and and your family never have any crosses to bear, but if you do, I hope that someone UNDERSTANDS YOU like you understand out childrens needs
November 30, 2008 @ 10:05 am
[…] allergymoms.com : : Blog » Peanut Allergy (over) Reactions http://www.allergymoms.com/modules/wordpress/index.php?p=256 My 2 yr old son was diagnosed last year with a class 4 peanut allergy, and tree nut allergy. Very rare he will ever grow out of it. He had a reading of 20.6. […]
December 4, 2008 @ 1:41 am
Hello,
I am so sad to read people’s thoughts on here! I did not devlop severe nut and tree nut allergies until I was almsot 20. I’m almost 21 now, and I have to say as an adult that CAN read labels, it’s tough. As a young adult, it’s hard to sit back and watch others eat what they want. Birthday parties suck, even as a young adult. I can’t even begin to think about the poor kids that have to sit by and feel left out.Now, I am not going for pity, just shareing my thoughts on how hard it is. I can’t be around nuts at all. I carry 2 epi pens, and am nervious EVERYDAY because of my allergies.If putting a nut free act to protect kids is what needs to be done, then it needs to be done. I know as an adult that I have trouble avoiding nuts.
Good Luck to other allergy sufferers.My heart goes out to you!
December 17, 2008 @ 3:46 pm
The child care center my son attends has just gone “nut-free”. According to the director of our center, there is one child that can become deathly ill if they come in contact with the mere residue from nuts. This issue is not just about peanut butter sandwiches. It is about asking families of non-allergic children to change their lifestyle. It is also about shifting the responsibility of that child’s health to my family. My son often has peanut butter for breakfast. I am certain he will have peanut residue on his hair or clothing. It may even be on the jacket he wears everyday. If this child comes in contact with mine and gets sick it that my fault? I am a bad person for wanting everything for my children, including being able to put what they love to eat in their lunches. I am their mom it is my job to provide what I think is best for them. There is also a child at our center that is deathly allergic to watermelon. There are no such bans on watermelon. There are children that allergic to strawberries, wheat, soy and even corn. Should all of these items be banned as well? Of course not, that would be unreasonable. Here’s another scenario…
Several children at your school are allergic to sunlight. It causes them to become deathly ill. Should the school shade all of the windows and become a “sun-free” school for the sake of a few children? I just don’t agree that banning nuts helps anyone. Please see this link that explains why it is not a good idea…
http://www.calgaryallergy.ca/Articles/English/whynotban.htm
I have also heard ramblings that some people are trying to get the government to declare nut-allergies a disability. Currently public schools have rooms setup to accommodate children with disabilities. However, I don’t think that is what allergy parents had in mind. I am sympathetic with parents of children with life threatening allergies but I don’t believe that responsibility should be visited on my family.
Submitted Respectfully…
December 30, 2008 @ 7:54 pm
Just a follow up…
On many blogs I have been reading what I believe in inaccurate information written by people that have not done their research.. In particular, that anaphylaxis can occur from breathing in residue from peanuts. There is no proof of that. I found a book called the “Peanut Allergy Answer Book”. It is written by a Harvard Associate Medical Professor of Pediatrics, endorsed two other Harvard Medical Professors of Pediatrics and by the Food Allergy and Anaphylactic Network (FAAN).
In this book it says for anaphylaxis to occur that the peanut protein must be ingested and come in contact with the mucus membranes of the mouth or get into the bloodstream. You can get a reaction coming into contact with peanut residue but, it would be more like a skin reaction or watery eyes. Not life threatening.
According to other research I have done it turns out that almost all of the people that died from food allergy anaphylaxis in the past years also had asthma. It also turns out many were not administered their EPI pen in time or at all and most were adolescence or young adults.
Education, awareness, preparedness and communication is the answer here. Not bans. By the way… The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network does not support bans on foods.
January 2, 2009 @ 11:08 am
Have you done your research???
While it’s true that FAAN does not support bans, you have to wonder about that since they accept funding from the Peanut Council who support peanut growers.
And what difference does it make if most deaths from anaphylaxis were in patients who also had asthma?
Did you know that most patients who have severe food allergies also have (or develop) asthma?
January 4, 2009 @ 7:20 am
Baby name meaning and origin for Ahd…
Description for the baby name Ahd, the origins of the name and its meaning…
January 9, 2009 @ 2:01 am
For two hours I have been reading thru heaps of websites about peanut allergies, banning sandwiches, alienating children from each other. This is as serious as diabetics and too much sugar, not enough..etc.
Obviously the children with any allergy has been taught what they can and can’t eat. Carers, schools, childrens centres all should have action plans. When it is lunch time, then the allergic child should be seated with friends who do not have nuts or dairy or wheat or sugar in their lunches.
Is it easier to watch the child with the allergy or the 20 without the allergy? (I am talking 6yr old- 12 yr old)
No parent is going to hand over their child for the day to someone who is not trained and well informed of ..the worst case scenario. All centres here must have the anaphalactic kit.
Minimise the risks. Children with peanut butter, nutella, cereal, energy bars, cookies, pastries, icecream, nougat, any seeds or grainy bread all sit together. People should not be banning anyone from eating the foods they enjoy. (I see that there is plenty of room to add other things, sensitivity to light, diabetics, dairy intolorence……..there are soo many allergies)..NO one should be eating alone, or ‘punished’ and ’segregated’ for eating any food.
My child does not have an allergy, but I have been educating myself online.
To all you fantastic mums who go through the daily battle about what your child can and cant eat, its takes great effort to ensure that you are doing the best you can do.
To all us parents with children who arent allergic to any foods, think ourselves the lucky ones, who can give our kids anything….and not wait to see if their throat closes up, or is itchy with a rash.
January 12, 2009 @ 11:59 am
Would you like to have it on your conscience that the peanut butter sandwich that you sent to school for your child’s lunch is the very thing that ended my child’s life? Is a sandwich worth taking a life? Is it worth risking a life? Could you ever find the courage to tell me that you’re sorry? That wouldn’t bring him back.
You cannot compare the value of a sandwich to the value of a life.
Someone’s child may grow up and develop cancer. My child might grow up and discover the cure for that cancer. Let’s vow to give all the children at least the chance to grow up. We cannot even dream of the achievements they will make.
January 14, 2009 @ 3:58 am
hey all you MUST-FEED-PEANUT PARENTS, how do you feel about the recent peanutbutter contamination/recall? Are you still feeding that crap to your kids? I pay taxes just like everyone else, my child is entitled to a public education! Take your kid out of school so they can eat all the peanuts you tell them to. My child deserves a safe environment. Peanuts are airborne, not the same as milk, eggs, soy ect. (all of which my daughter is allergic to). The guy who kept saying more kids die from pools is ignorant. My daughter has been swimming since birth, diving at 3. Teach your kid to swim. It is not the same. We can’t cure our kid’s. I wish there was a cure or vaccine. We feel helpless against the uncaring, ignorant parents who don’t care that children can die from this. Also kids can be very mean(probably got it from parents) My daughter has been chased by kids w/pb threatening her. That is a weapon.
January 14, 2009 @ 7:54 pm
I am the mother of a 7 1/2 year old peanut allergic son. I actually became an employee of our public school to ensure that he is as safe as possible. It was a real eye opener when I discovered that the cafeteria was serving trail mix with all meals, and it was not on the menu! Thank God I was there and was able to remove my son from the area! It was at that time I found out how uneducated the entire school staff was about food allergies AND about the use of epi-pens!
The office staff is in charge of all medications and epi-pens and no one had ever been trained or told when they needed to be given.
They have learned alot since I came on the scene. I just know that I and I alone have to do my best to keep my child safe. I wish everyone could know the fear we live with on a daily basis, but it is indeed my cross to bear.
As my son grows older, it get’s harder and he must learn to manage his disability in daily life.
It’s sad that I am the parent that has to stay at every birthday party with my child to watch every thing that goes in his mouth. But, I will keep doing it as long as I have to.
I am envious when I hear about schools that have gone peanut-free! After 3 years at our school, there is still much misconception about food allergies. It is a constant struggle to be understood. The day may come when my child may have to change schools in order to be safer, and in that case I will make the sacrifices to do it.
To all of the PFA families I say “Keep up the good work!”
February 3, 2009 @ 3:51 am
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February 4, 2009 @ 8:26 pm
I think that some parents overreact - the kids really aren’t deathly allergic but the parents think it’s great to have their kids centered out as special
February 4, 2009 @ 11:12 pm
sorry…that was an insensitive thing to say
March 3, 2009 @ 2:06 pm
[…] Because accommodating of food allergic children has become more common in recent years, more and more other parents are affected and this really seems to tick them off. […]
March 12, 2009 @ 12:53 pm
“I think that some parents overreact - the kids really aren’t deathly allergic but the parents think it’s great to have their kids centered out as special “
Are you KIDDING ME?
NEITHER WE NOR OUR KIDS WANT TO BE SINGLED OUT!
OUR KIDS WANT TO FIT IN AS MUCH AS ANY OTHER KIDS.
Believe me, our kids are as special as any other kids. We did not invent food allergies to get attention.
Walk a mile in our shoes…You cant know…You dont know!
March 16, 2009 @ 11:49 am
I had all kinds of allergies and had the NAET treatment and most of them are GONE!
I was allergic to dairy (not lactose intollerant) now can use dairy products again!
I think it is NAET.com and find someone in your area.
WORKED FOR ME!!
PS: I can eat Pizza gain!!
Dennis Metro Atlanta
March 16, 2009 @ 11:50 am
Immunocal was also a big help
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April 6, 2009 @ 12:01 pm
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April 15, 2009 @ 11:56 pm
I am a 45 year old woman and I am airborne allergic to peanuts. My story is short and I almost lost my life over 1 peanut butter cookie. I worked in a hospital and one day I stepped on the elevator and did not notice that a child was eating a peanut butter cookie, Within seconds my bronchial tubes began making mucus and swelled. I couldn’t inhale air. I stepped off the elevator 1 floor above the emergency room, staggered down a flight of stairs in the the ER, Immediately a nurse pulled out an epinephrine shot and injected it into me and ushered me to a back room. I then noticed that my fingers tips were turning black. I wasn’t getting enough oxygen in to my body. I was given an inhaler and even a breathing treatment. I finally started coughing up the mucus. What seemed like hours but was only minutes I could breathe again. If this had happened any where else I would not be writing this.
May 16, 2009 @ 9:22 am
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June 14, 2009 @ 8:18 pm
Look at all these selfish idiots, I just found out after 7 yrs my son has developed a severe reaction to peanuts. He also ate it as a young child . Is it too much to ask they ban it in schools? I dont think so ! You would want it banned too, if it were your child!
Besides its not just the peanut itself that most are allergic to . Just being in the air can create a severe reaction in lots of cases. So don’t patronize something you dont understand!
June 25, 2009 @ 11:02 pm
Called survival of the fittest. You eat something bad you get sick or die, you have no offspring to carry the gene on. Now would we be able to call ourselves human if we didn’t have compansion and stop this heinous activity from happening? We must interfere and carry the gene on by catering to the weak and promote the proliferation of the infamous peanut butter gene. Why don’t we ban schools altogether beacuse you could have inadvertenly carreid peanuts on your shoes (or some other part of your being) to school. Remember mold? Big epidemic? Went away no hostile mold pandemic. We are making ourselves as a species weaker by allowing the weak and illequiped to survive. Animals that don’t learn the lesson die off and the strong survive allowing a better offspring. We forget this and allow ourself to weaken by having the mentality that we are not animals and the same rules dont apply to us. Deal with it and don’t tell me my kid cant eat a peanut butter sandwhich.
September 12, 2009 @ 11:16 am
My goodness. There are so many food options and lunch options available and you are incensed about not being allowed to eat peanut butter? It seems selfish. Greedy. “my daughter MUST have her peanut butter! Nevermind, a child could DIE from it. There is only 1 kid out of 100, so the 99 others should not have to suffer, he should just risk his life every single day at school, or not even get to go to school due to an allergy that is out of his control” Yikes. You need your daughter to have her peanut butter and jelly so badly, that you want to deprive a peanut allergic child the right to go to school with other children and enjoy his/her life as close to normal as possible without living in fear of anaphalaxis or death? All this over a peanut butter sandwich. Petty. The fact is that nomatter what the stats and percentages are, some children do DIE from eating peanuts. We shouldnt have ANYTHING in schools that can kill children, even 1 child is too many to lose to something we can control by elimination/banning. Nomatter how few children there are with the allergy….it doesnt matter, one child’s life is too many. You never know when a life-threatening food allergy can crop up for a child, if your child spontaneously developed the allergy, you would want her to enjoy her life, playing and learning with classmates in school and not fearing for her LIFE every single day. People, put yorselves in the shoes of the children whose lives are threatened. I’m so sorry you dont understand the danger and severity of this problem…….if it was your kid, you would.
January 2, 2010 @ 5:28 pm
Reading this forum has been extremely eye-opening for me - it reminded me of my own ignorance.
My 2 yr old daughter (now 6) was allergic to milk protein (she luckily grew out of it). It wasn’t severe, but it made her quite uncomfortable, especially when the daycare centre director decided on her own to start her back on milk without consulting me or my wife. The fallout wasn’t pretty, but we’ve moved on after exchanging words and removing our daughter.
When our daughter started school, I (in my ignorance) was dismayed to find out that her school was peanut-free, due to a couple of children with severe peanut allergies. I didn’t like the fact that another kid’s dietary limitations were going to impact what my daughter could bring to school and eat. I used to even joke that kids with peanut allergies should have their own school.
Then my 2 yr old had an anaphalactic response to a chocolate bar. It wasn’t immediate, but we ended up in the emergency room where he received an epi shot and some benadryl. His peanut allergy was later confirmed by an allergist. (FYI - NEITHER MY WIFE NOR I HAVE FOOD ALLERGIES.)
Want to know the weirdest part? He’d been exposed to peanuts and tree nuts before (not massive quantities), but just never reacted to it!!
I guess you can call it karma.
Our lifestyle change hasn’t been that severe (surprisingly), and thankfully there is an abundance of information out there (restaurants, menus, etc.). We just keep our fingers crossed and our hearts filled with hope that an appropriate treatment will be found soon that will at least mitigate the risk of a response to peanut exposure.
To those parents of non-allergic kids - let this serve as a warning. I hope you don’t wake up one day to find out that your own otherwise extremely healthy and athletic child has a severe allergy, like I did.
To the parents of kids with food allergies - thanks for sharing.
January 14, 2010 @ 2:29 am
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February 14, 2010 @ 11:50 am
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April 4, 2010 @ 8:54 pm
Well. This is ridiculous.
As a non-allergic teen, I don’t see the problem with peanut/tree nut bans. I do not eat peanut products, but I love pistachios, yet by some miracle I can survive through the school day without eating them. To those people who are for whatever reason inflamed about the inconvenience a peanut/tree nut ban is causing you, I remind you of the following:
1. It is not the fault of an allergic child or their parents that they have allergies.
2. If you or your child can’t go without a particular food for 6 hours, then they are spoiled. Hate to break it to you, but in the real world we can’t always have what we want whenever we want it.
3. Even if this is a major inconvenience to you (such as in the case of Vegan Mom) I am sure there are ways to deal with it. I may be no athlete, but there are days when I, for whatever reason, have to go without eating lunch, period. Guess what: I’m still alive and thriving. Peanuts and tree nuts are something we can all find ways to do without.
4. Allergic children can DIE upon exposure to allergies. No one has ever died from lack of peanut butter.
5. Allergic children have the right to enjoy normal lives, such as having friends and going to a normal school How would YOU feel if someone told you that your child was a nuisance, an inconvenience, and should be homeschooled because of something beyond his control? If you are really so desperate to give your kids peanut products, then why don’t YOU try homeschooling - there aren’t any peanut bans there.
6. Peanut allergic children are just as much people as anyone else, and have the right to a good life. I doubt that any of the people who are moaning about how allergic children inconvenience them could walk up to an allergic child and tell them, “You’re less of a person and less important than my child because you’re allergic to peanuts”. So please.
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May 6, 2010 @ 12:13 am
The point about what the anonymous non-allergic teen is thinking about the friends is sort of dubious. I would never befriend someone who wanted me to restrict my diet for any substantial amount of time. They could go to normal school, but if they have no friends, that takes much of the benefit.
Of course, part of the reason is simple taste and convenience. I love nuts and foods made with them.
Another reason is that most of the affordable, healthy, portable, strongly satiating snack foods other than simple fruits and vegetables (which are not always enough) contain nuts or peanuts. Kashi granola bars are an example. The nut-free snacks typically suggested under nut-free policies are not at all nutritionally acceptable.
You can order some from nut-free sources (which contain seeds, which some policies also restrict), but I would be totally unwilling to undertake that sort of expense.
Like it or not, the medical evidence of health benefits from eating nuts is very strong. Therefore, we need to see eating nuts as a right. There can be small limitations on it (such as keeping out of a certain classroom, keeping it at a certain table, etc.) It is not a mere taste issue. Therefore, nut-allergic people are, in fact, misfits. There is no way around that.
Morally, no one has the right to massively restrict the consumption of a healthy food from a large number of people.
Another major issue is the extremely litigious nature of demanding allergic people. They think that if they touch shared surfaces, touch their faces, and have reactions, they think it is the fault of the nut-eating person. That is the most foolish idea ever conceived. It is always the responsibility of the allergic person to watch out for himself/herself.
Nut bans legitimize the absurd idea. Lawsuits will abound and nut-eating will essentially end (due to the fear of an accident and resulting lawsuit) and harm healthy people. That should not be allowed to happen.
Now, others can be compassionate and avoid nuts in one’s lunch to sit in the classroom with the allergic person. That is very laudable, but should not be coerced.
Nut-allergic have to accept that they are abnormal and should get used to it. They cannot have a care-free life and freely touch shared surfaces and eat in cafeterias or restaurants. They are in the minority and must learn to cope with the world and not massive transform the world to fit themselves.
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