
Mother - posted on 02/26/2012 ( 54 moms have responded )
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Stealing this discussion from Sara Dobson via CafeMom. I thought this would be a good discussion in this group!!
"I know we debated this quite a while ago. People who were against keeping common allergens out of schools said kids with allergies should sit at a special table or that you can teach your child not to eat certain things. Recently a seven year old died from an allergic reaction at school. Should common allergens like peanuts, tree nuts, etc be kept out of schools to help prevent these horrible accidents? "
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Mary - posted on 02/29/2012
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" The child won't learn if someone else is constantly looking out for them."
I don't think anyone is talking about banning these allergens permanently - just in elementary schools. We aren't talking about teens or adults here; we are talking about children ages 5 through 10. Little kids, who are not yet of an age where they can be (reasonably) expected to always be responsible, or even to fully comprehend the dangers around them.
By the time my daughter is in elementary school, I will have drilled into her to stop and look both ways before crossing a street. However, at the age of 5 or 6, I wouldn't trust her to cross a busy intersection by herself. She will have had countless swimming lessons by then as well, but I wouldn't just drop her off at the community pool to swim by herself, even though there is a lifeguard. Not only would that be illegal - but I would be a fool if I believed she was safe.
Putting an elementary school-aged with life-threatening peanut allergies (especially if anaphylaxis can occur from just touching it) in a school lunchroom full of pb &j sandwiches is just like dropping your kid off at the neighborhood pool alone with a hundred other kids, and a small handful of adults. I am by no means a helicopter parent, but I sure as shit won't be doing that with my 6 y/o. Maybe she would be okay, but I don't think that is a reasonable risk to take.
Krista - posted on 02/28/2012
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Yeah, call me crazy, but I consider one person's right to live a TINY bit more important than 500 kids' rights to eat peanut butter at school.
For colleges and workplaces, it's a bit different. The person in question is grown, and has been living with that allergy, and knows how to manage it. But it is unfair to expect a 5 or 6 year old to practice constant vigilance and never, ever forget the rules that are keeping them safe. They're little kids. They can be careless and forgetful. But they do not deserve to die for that carelessness. So we, as parents, have an ethical responsibility to help keep that child safe, by not sending our kids to school with items that will trigger that allergy.
And actually, Sally, workplaces have been known to ban such products if a worker has a severe allergy. Here in NS, there are even many workplaces that are "scent-free", where visitors and employees are not allowed to wear scented personal care products, out of consideration for people with severe environmental allergies.
Krista - posted on 02/28/2012
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Why yes, it's awful for hundreds of parents to have to go through the agony of having to find alternatives to peanut butter, in order to keep one small child from dying. What an imposition! How unfair!
I support bans if a student is allergic. If there are currently no students in place who have allergies, then a ban is nonsensical.
MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 03/01/2012
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But it is EASY to keep nuts out of schools. Again, they MAKE everything nut FREE nowadays..... I have been sending my kid to school for 8 years and it has NOT been hard to do... Also, a severe nut allergy is much higher in population than a dairy one that can cause death. So, it is easier to maintain a few children than many.
With the exception of peanut allergy, the majority of children outgrow their food allergies.
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/food-...
Jenny - posted on 02/29/2012
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My daughter has had a girl with a peanut allergy for the first 4 years of school. This is the first year she is in the other class. There are just so many non-peanut options out there right now. It was not a big deal at all. The health of that little girl is more of a priority then being able to feed peanut products at school.