A sandwich VS a life... You choose!

[JrsMommy07]

My son is not yet school age.. but i have been seeing numerous posts and questions in the past couple weeks about people annoyed with peaunt ban in schools... Some even have went as far as to say that this is denying their own child nutrition, that these allergic children should be put in seperate rooms or that their parents should proved lunch and snacks for other kids! I have even heard mothers say they will still pack peanuts for their children .. what can the school do?
 Now i was lucky enough not to have a child with a peanut allergy but i grew up in  family where allergies were seriuos. My mother had severe food and animal allegries... she had to carry and epi pen most days.. she was also a school teacher.. many times she would have to bring bendryl to school with her becuasea child had cat hair or had sprayed on a large amount of perfume.. she adapted yes but theyir were many close calls.. Once when she was subbing in a Jr high room one of the students thought it would be funny to spray perfume everywhere.. my mother asked her to stop and to bring the perfume to the front... the girl refused. When my mother went to confiscate it for the day (she had every right accordingto school polciy) the chidl sprayed in directly in her face.. casuing an attack so bad it was near aniflatici and had my mother not had an epi pen on hand she could have died. The child felt bad and was also punished by parents and school.. however felling bad does not take away the conqseuqnce.. I could have LOST my mother due to someone stupid careless actions...

I know that is perufme and not food but same idea. yes I understand that peaunt butter is a low cost meal.. but their are also other alternatives.. To many of us think "it doesnt affect me or my child" so why should i be bothered by it..

let me ask you this:

 You decide you are not going to listen to the school. You pack your child a PBJ. the child sits down and lunch next to a new freind. The new freind is severly allergic and starts gasping for air. There is not enough time or help. The child i rushed to the ER but dies... How do explian this to your kid..

It is that hard to save the paeunt butter for later? I know children can be picky but i also know that if you offer them something other then peaunt butter they will eat it!

Yes It is the parents resposibilty to keep their child safe and provide meds if a reactions occurs.. HOWEVER you cannnot be by thier side  24/7 also allergies can develop at any time.. a child may not know they are allergic  until it is too late

Another expaple: Dont you sometimes wish you could go 90 just to make it to work or whereever you had to be a little faster? wouldnt it be more convient for every one if they change the speed limit to 90 instead of 50/60 but if that was done mayn lives would be indanger... so as inconvient or annopying as is it we understand why it is in place and do our best to follow it

So i say disagree all you want but follow the rules... it is worth it to keep a child safe

IF it was YOUR CHILD would you feel differently...

PBJ vs a a life..

 you choose

 

[babymomma0306]

Sep. 18, 2009 at 1:06 PM

My children aren't allergic to PB either but I agree they shouldn't have it in schools. It's not gonna kill you to pack something else and they can also eat it at home. Putting the allergy kids in the other room will only make them feel like freaks and outcast and give the other children reason to tease them. People need to realize this.

[DeTora_Family]

Sep. 18, 2009 at 1:51 PM

I'm sorry about your mom.  That is horrible what that teenager did to her with the perfume.

I respectfully disagree with banning a food in schools.  My son is like your mother with his allergy to walnuts.  He carried an Epi pen on him 24/7 because his allergy was life-threatening.  Everyone at school knew and understood the seriousness of his allergy and it was respected.  He was taught to be careful and how to look out for himself.  The world outside of the school bubble is not going to ban peanut butter, walnuts, perfumes, or anything else.  A child must be taught to protect themselves because you can't keep peanut butter out of the park, every player on the soccer field, at the homes of friends and relatives, or off the breakfast table of their classmates.  It's also an opportunity to teach the other children about respect and give them a clear understanding of the risk.  Yes, it's serious and scary, but I would not have asked or expected a school-wide ban on walnuts because of my son's allergy.  He is 21 years old and in college, and just fine.  What are these sheltered, over-protected kids going to do when they leave home?  There have been serious allergies for decades, yet these school-wide bans are very new.  I'd never heard of them until the last few years.  How far will this go?  What will be next?  Amongst my family and friends, there are very serious allergies to shell fish, walnuts, peanuts, carrots, bananas, oranges, and a variety of perfumes, animal dander, and pollen.  We all just need to learn to be careful and look out for each other, and teach our children the same thing.

[Lb128f]

Sep. 18, 2009 at 2:02 PM

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this!

[rebabeach2]

Sep. 18, 2009 at 9:51 PM

I agree with DeTora Family that empathy and respect towards those with serious allergies needs to be taught to our children. However the OP's example of her mother's encounter with an individual who was not taught this respect clearly demonstrates that we cannot rely on this without additional precautions.

I see nothing wrong with banning peanut butter from schools and I have yet to hear a convincing argument against these bans. Every child is entitled to a Free and Appropriate Education under law. If a child cannot access a public education due to exposure to a substance he/she is allergic to, the school is expected by law to make reasonable accomodations for them. I think that is pretty simple. Now, whether a school decides to give that child a separate location to eat lunch or bans peanut butter altogether, that is the school board's collective interpretation of what "reasonable" is. If you don't like it, take a stand and address your concerns at a school board meeting. However I think it is small peanuts (pardon the pun) to complain about a food product being restricted when there are so many more pressing issues our schools need to hear from their communities about. Perhaps some moms need to put their energies into making change happen that will positively better their child's public school education. Last time I checked, the laundry list of complaints over schools did not begin with peanut butter bans.

[sweetheart1985]

Sep. 19, 2009 at 1:55 PM

I agree with food bans in schools. It's not forever. It's ONE meal five days a week that you can't have nuts. NOT a big deal.

 

[Waxing_Lyrical]

Sep. 19, 2009 at 6:12 PM

Bump.

[Jackie39]

Sep. 19, 2009 at 11:18 PM

A few FYI facts....

~The bans are new because food allergies are on the rise.  There were not this many people seriously allergic 5-10-15 years ago

~When a child is no longer school age they are much more capable of dealing with the 'real world' where peanuts are not banned. 

~ In the US aprox. 150 people die every year (mostly children) due to food allergies.  This is a true life or death situation for some