Does Your Tot Attend a Peanut-Free School?

September 17, 2008

My daughter is nuts for peanut butter — she loves manning the grinder when we go to the grocery store and eats the fresh, delicious paste with just about anything, aside from jelly. But, at her peanut-free preschool, the spread and all similar products are tabled. If it makes life easier, for the mom whose child has an allergy — I'm all for it. Is your offspring part of a peanut-free environment?

30 Comments

3 years 46 weeks

My children's school is probably going to go peanut-free this school year due to several children with peanut allergies. While I understand that a peanut allergy can sometimes be deadly, banning peanut products in the school isn't going to keep an allergic child alive, as some extreme opinions state. In order to keep a child peanut free, how does a parent do that, exactly? That means that the allergic child won't be able to attend any birthday parties (either in home or at a party place), join any sporting events, ride a school bus (or any other form of public transportation) and on and on and on. As with many life threatening diseases, like diabetes and asthma, the onus is on the patient (or, with children, the patient's parents) to make sure that the child can stay safe. With peanut allergies, a clean peanut free eating environment is a must. Actually, it might be nice if the schools all kept their lunchrooms at bit more sanitary, anyway - not just for the allergic kids. My feeling is that the schools don't want to take the time to properly sanitize anything-lunchrooms, bathrooms, desks, you name it. The real key here isn't removal of peanuts (which btw, is an extremely healthy lunch choice). The key is sanitation of all surfaces (including children's hands) and training of the staff to handle a peanut allergy emergency.

MissSushi 4 years 34 weeks

Thats exactly my point keiren, it can be really frustrating when all of the easy and normal kids foods start getting banned. and honestly, how many times do you read a label and DONT see may contain nuts or worked on machinery exposed to nuts, etc. Im so used to seeing it on labels that im kind of shocked when I dont. I feel for the parents of kids with deathly allergies, but i dont know if they should start banning foods unless the child cant even touch them. It seems like a sort of laziness to me, rather then have a teacher or such watch the table of children eating, theyve just started banning foods. When I went to school, we had a teacher for every table and we werent allowed to do things against the rules, and sharing food was one of them.

MissSushi 4 years 34 weeks

keiren63 4 years 34 weeks

It's the law in Ontario (Sabrina's Law, I think)...as much as one wants to be sympathetic to the allergic, it's very frustrating as a mom. Because the law is that they have to keep foods out of the schools if there are children deathly allergic to them, we discover other food items that aren't allowed depending on the individual schools. At my children's school, they can't take peanuts, any tree nuts, eggs and we get notes home suggesting that we not send any fish. No peanut butter, egg salad or tuna!! And it's very hard reading all the labels to make sure that there is no peanuts: even items that say "may have been exposed to traces of nuts" aren't allowed.

babysugar 4 years 34 weeks

My niece is fiercely allergic to peanuts. While her school doesn't have an all-out peanut ban, they make an effort to keep her in a safe environment at eating times. She eats at the "no nut table" at lunch and she has an epi pen on site should she have a reaction during the school day.

Roarman 4 years 34 weeks

My daughters school has peanut free class rooms and peanut free zones. I believe they also have a peanut free section in the lunch room.

Greggie 4 years 34 weeks

I still personally wouldn't give it to directly them until they're at least two, but that's just my comfort zone. I feel the small amounts they get while I'm pregnant or breastfeeding are helpful, though. I know the new recommendation from the AAP said that delaying it past a year hasn't proved to help avoid the allergy, but it's still ingrained into my head and comfort zone. *lol*

katedavis 4 years 34 weeks

Thanks Greggie and Schnappycat! My son's pediatrician says kids shouldn't have peanuts til they're 3! And we don't even have a family history of peanut allergies.As for the "hygiene hypothesis" I always wonder if the increase in pollen allergies over the last decades correlates to the increase in the use of clothes dryers (as opposed to letting your bedding and clothes dry outside where they get pollen on them so you're exposed to it more).

katedavis 4 years 34 weeks

Thanks Greggie and Schnappycat! My son's pediatrician says kids shouldn't have peanuts til they're 3! And we don't even have a family history of peanut allergies. As for the "hygiene hypothesis" I always wonder if the increase in pollen allergies over the last decades correlates to the increase in the use of clothes dryers (as opposed to letting your bedding and clothes dry outside where they get pollen on them so you're exposed to it more).

hithatsmybike 4 years 34 weeks

The lack of allergies for rural children vs. urban children is even more pronounced in less developed nations, such as various countries in Africa, where allergies are almost unheard of (and that's no surprise, given how great your immune system & how strong your body has to be to survive there period).I hate the prominence of food allergies in children today, and while I don't have kids now, it's going to annoy the shit out of me to be forced to make these accommodations for their classmates in the future. I LOVE peanut butter, and I will eat it by the spoonful straight from the jar, it would suck so bad if I have kids that are allergic, or they have friends that are allergic, or whatever.Modern allergies are not an accident, they're a result of our lifestyle. I think there's tremendous potential to prevent them by making minor adjustments in the way we feed and care for the health of our infants and toddlers.

hithatsmybike 4 years 34 weeks

The lack of allergies for rural children vs. urban children is even more pronounced in less developed nations, such as various countries in Africa, where allergies are almost unheard of (and that's no surprise, given how great your immune system & how strong your body has to be to survive there period). I hate the prominence of food allergies in children today, and while I don't have kids now, it's going to annoy the shit out of me to be forced to make these accommodations for their classmates in the future. I LOVE peanut butter, and I will eat it by the spoonful straight from the jar, it would suck so bad if I have kids that are allergic, or they have friends that are allergic, or whatever. Modern allergies are not an accident, they're a result of our lifestyle. I think there's tremendous potential to prevent them by making minor adjustments in the way we feed and care for the health of our infants and toddlers.

blooditsnotfunny 4 years 34 weeks

Litbear, you're completely right in my opinion. you're talking about the "hygiene hypothesis" everyone who has a baby or is about to have a baby should look it up!!! Basically the theory says that its true that whatever doesn't kill you will make you stronger. if you keep the babies in a "bubble" until they can walk, they will need to be in that bubble for the rest of their lives because their immune systems will not have had the chance to develop properly.

Greggie 4 years 34 weeks

I don't think schools without documented peanut allergies need to avoid it, but especially for those who get a reaction to even touching it, it's highly important to make a school completely nut-free. Peanut allergies can show up as late as seven years of age as well.

Greggie 4 years 34 weeks

MissSushi 4 years 34 weeks

I think for the younger kids, say 2nd grade and under, if there is an allergic child its a nice precaution to ban peanuts as kids get into everything. I really dont agree with making an entire school peanut free, or one without kids with known allergies. Most parents test their kids with it around 3 years of age, so theres no reason an elementery school without a child with an allergy should be peanut free Pb and j is a huge staple with kids, espeically with school lunches. Most kids dont like lunch meat until much later.

Greggie 4 years 34 weeks

I do agree, litbear. It seems that with the "avoidance" advice given over the last ten years or so, allergies are on the rise instead of the other way around.

litbear221 4 years 34 weeks

P.S. I grew up and still live in San Francisco, and when I have kids i plan to raise them here... and i am babysitting new kids all of the time so it's great for me to be updated on all of this stuff!!!

Notforwimps 4 years 34 weeks

Ohh litbear221! That's a good question you posed. I've also heard the same about the farm kids vs. urban kids too. Very interesting.

litbear221 4 years 34 weeks

I am curious as to why there has been such an increase in these allergies in the last few years. When i was younger (i'm 23 now) no one was allergic to anything (besides pollen), within the last 3 years I have babysat to children that can have no nuts whatsoever, and volunteered at a preschool where nut are a no-no all together. If women are avoiding it while pregnant can't that be one of the reasons their children are becoming allergic? I also learned in a bio class that children that grow up on farms and are exposed to all different kinds of things rarely have allergies, but kids that grow up in urban areas where people are "clean freaks" usually has a greater population of kids that have allergies. Babysugar and lilsugar, do you think you could do some more posts on food allergies in kids?? That would be great!

schnappycat 4 years 34 weeks

Katedavis, the most recent study I believe said to avoid roasted peanuts. So check your PB label, I guess. But who knows. It seems to change all of the time.

Greggie 4 years 34 weeks

Can't legally do it? I'm willing to bet that parents at the school threatened them with "You can't tell me what I can and can't eat!!" lawsuits, which sucks. Peanut allergies can be deadly. Other allergies can as well, but peanut allergies carry a higher percentage of extreme reactions.

Notforwimps 4 years 34 weeks

My son's preschool is totally peanut free. The school I teach at is peanut free only in some areas. I asked why not the whole school and was told by the nurse that she didn't think there was a way we could "legally" do that. (What??) I guess I kind of see why. We have a Kindergarten student who is diabetic and will only eat peanut butter. We can't let him starve so what do you do? I dunno. I just keep it out of my classroom to stay on the safe side. If it were my kid who was allergic, I'd want the same for him.

Greggie 4 years 34 weeks

Recent studies say it doesn't matter. I don't avoid it but I don't eat large amounts either. If we had a history of peanut allergies in the family, I would've felt safer avoiding it. I do delay giving it to directly to the kids until they're at least two, though. My second son I waited until he was three because he had eczema, which can go hand in hand with food allergies. He didn't eggs until well after a year old either.

Greggie 4 years 34 weeks

Link Love

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