An Illinois school district is considering a ban on peanut butter and peanut products. North Shore District 112 based in Highland Park will discuss this issue with parents at a school board meeting on February 17th. A pilot program at one of the district’s elementary schools banned all peanut products from its buildings last fall. Many parents were apparently receptive to the change. Reactions among district officials are mixed.
As a mother of a son who is severely allergic to peanuts, a ban on peanut products in the lunchroom and elsewhere in the school would bring great peace of mind. But my son is also severely allergic to milk, legumes and peas as well. These are common, healthy foods that wouldn’t and shouldn’t get banned. I’ve always advocated that food bans aren’t the answer to managing our children’s food allergies, education and awareness is. There are still far too many parents out there who don’t understand the dangers food allergies pose to our kids. Some even resent being asked to forgo food celebrations at school so I would imagine some parents would shudder at the thought of a peanut ban. It’s more important to educate the severity of food allergies to other parents, school officials and kids. I am always suprised at how little some parents know about food allergies. I would rather school officials take the time to educate parents about the severity of food allergies, what causes them, what reactions look like and how to help someone who may be having a life threatening reaction.
I plan on attending the board meeting; I’m curious to see how the parents and board members respond to this initative. Selfishly speaking I’d love to eradicate peanut products at my son’s school. But the logical person in me knows this is unrealistic and probably not a good decision. To ban peanuts from schools would mean you need to look at also banning the other common allergens. What I really want to know is, what do YOU think?
I love the new site! I bet you made some good peanut free treats for the parties today! Even with the no peanut free ban at school, I do feel most parents are trying to be careful about bringing in peanut free treats. I know that isn’t good enough but a start.
I love the coffee cake recipe!
I am not in favor of banning foods from schools. That point really hit home for me when my son was seated at the “Allergy Table” his first day of first grade. I went in to help, and to watch. It was taco day. The table was covered with shredded cheese. My son is highly allergic to dairy, plus eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts. Rather than banning foods, I think we should focus on safe food practices such as washing hands after eating and not sharing food. This teaches our kids about how to manage food issues where ever they are.
Food Allergy Assistant
http://foodallergyassistant.blogspot.com/
I agree with you completely; we face the same issue with John’s dairy allergy. He is highly allergic to milk…the lunchrooms in schools are always going to have dairy, and they should. That’s why I’ve always been in favor of education and awareness instead of outright bans. It’s really important to teach good self help skills to our kids so they can advocate for themselves through out their school years and beyond. thanks for your comments!
My 4-yr-old daughter is severely allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts. I am in favor of peanut- & tree-nut-free schools. She is currently at a nut-free school, and it gives me great peace of mind. In a couple of years, she will be attending a public school that is not nut-free, and I am already very apprehensive. Obviously, I cannot eliminate all of her allergens from whatever school she attends, and think such a course would be silly given how big a role milk especially plays in most kids’ diets, but the reason I like nut-free schools is that it reduces the risk of exposure by eliminating two out of four allergens from her presence (and they are allergens that are pretty easy to eliminate, especially given the wealth of peanut-butter alternatives on the market these days).
Also, I have to admit that I have a special fear of peanuts/tree nuts as compared to her other allergens, because it would likely take a much smaller amount of peanut/tree nut to send her into an anaphylactic reaction than it would milk or egg. Her reaction to milk and eggs is also greatly lessened (or sometimes eliminated completely) if they are simply ingredients in a baked good, but her reaction to nuts would not be because they do not break down the same way through the heating process. All I can say is that I breathed a very big sigh of relief when we found the nut-free preschool she is at, and I will mourn the day when she graduates from there.
Leigha
http://www.foodallergyfamilyfun.blogspot.com/
My son’s classroom is peanut free and the lunchroom does not serve nuts. I think food bans (as in all food) in classrooms are a great idea. Students are there to learn – not eat. By bringing food into the classroom it is an opportunity for food allergic children, children with diabetes or overweight students to be ostracized. Teachers need to think outside the box and find other ways to reward and teach students without food. Food allergy education is important but can we expect everyone to listen and care? Unfortunately, I don’t think so. I like “all food bans”.
Thanks Sara for your comments…you bring up a great point.
I agree with you too. I do not support a ban on peanuts. For one, peanuts are just ONE of the MANY food allergens out there. Second, I think it can harbor ill will among the parents who do not have allergic children. Our kids could feel more like outsiders than they already do. I think it is better to support education and understanding about the situation. In many cases we already get a bad rap for being “nutty allergy moms.”
Kelly, Do you have an suggestions for peanut free lunch alternatives? My son usually has a pb&j sandwich everyday. Next year he will be a peanut free high school. .
Also, when this school started this policy two years ago – students at this high school told me that the ban couldn’t be totally effective because the school has over 1000 students, who are teenagers and they all won’t comply.
A peanut free lunch is a great thing…and breeze to make. Some great ideas are cut up veggies and dip, turkey or ham rollups (in our case we use Tofutti Dairy Free Cream Cheese) with lettuce carrots on a whole wheat tortilla, whole grain (no nuts; check your labels carefully) bagel with Tofutti cream cheese, homemade soup in a thermos with whole grain (again, no nuts) roll, tuna salad on baquette or John’s favorite, a good old Soy Nut Butter and Jam sandwhich (we like IM Healthy). Soy nut butter is an acquired taste, but now all of us love it. I even make a great soynut butter cookie that looks and tastes just like peanut butter.
In answer to your other question about whether or this ban would be effective, all I can say is this: A ban on the highly allergenic peanut can only be a good thing because it eliminates the risk of cross contamination issues in the lunchroom. I know it can be difficult for children and their parents to understand the deadly risk peanut products pose to our food allergic children, but they need to be aware that it only takes minutes for a deadly reaction to occur. The school should be applauded for looking out for the safety of its food allergic students. A peanut free policy in the school ensures the students WILL comply. If we simply “ask” them to wash their hands, clean their surfaces, etc. then yes, the plan won’t be effective. Everyone has a different opinion about this but I strongly feel that anything we can do to eliminate risk is a good thing. Thanks for your comment!
Like you I am not in favor of bans. The examples I have seen have led to down right hostile reactions from some of the other parents (leaving jars of PB outside classroom doors to make a statement) and I don’t really want my son to be the target of such hostility. The bigger reason, however, is that I fear it breeds a false sense of security for the staff. No school will ever be peanut free even with a ban. You can’t prevent all cross-contamination and you can’t fully police what other kids and teachers bring in for themselves. I fear that if my son starts reacting, staff will not think it is an allergic reaction or won’t take his complaints seriously.
Edward- I love Sunbutter made from sunflower seeds and that’s coming from someone who was a huge PB fan before having an allergic child.
Amber – you bring up such fantastic points! Are you serious about hostile parents leaving PB jars outside classrooms? That is shocking, and downright awful! You are so right about the false sense of security. I totally agree with you on that point. Thanks so much for your thoughts..great!
I agree we should educate not eliminate. The private school my children attend is trying to switch to a “peanut-free” campus after being in existence, with students in attendance w/ peanut allergies, for over 12 years and no incident. I don’t believe paranoia about less than 5% the kids on campus w/ food allergies should change the policy. I believe educating all students makes more sense when growing future leaders. For example, most people are fearful of scorpion stings or black widow bites but do you know there has not been a death associated with such in all the time the CDC, in Arizona, has been reporting, however, there is not education published about this so people are fearful ~ does it hurt? Is it uncomfortable? yes, but stop the paranoia. Those with severe allergies should wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace and educate those around them. This is a better option, in my opinion. Thanks for a place in which to discuss an ever growing challenge in today’s schools.
Thanks so much Amy for your thoughts. That is my goal….educate educate educate!
I have a 6 yr. old son allergic to: All dairy, all nuts,tree nuts, peanuts, eggs & shellfish. On 10.27.09 I went to my kids school to help out selling goodies for the 1st grade teachers, so I had to sign in when I arrived in the office. I offered one of the office girls a cookie or juice she said, ” no thanks i’m eating nuts” , well i’ll tell you that raised an eyebrow & my heart started beated. Today I called the school and spoke with the assistant principal because the principal was not available. So I told him that the office should take precautions and avoid all nuts in the office to avoid calling 911 one day, he said, “well we can’t ban peanuts & nuts from the school it’s too much of a liability.” I then told him that the school had my son in the office a day before because he was itchy & they called me at work & I spoke with my son on the phone, what if that office girl who was eating the nuts was helping him & he used her phone, then what??? So basically it sounded today that my conversation with him went in one ear & out the other. Sounds like to me that it would be a bigger liability if they had to call 911 knowing that they all know my son has allergies. He went into anaphylactic shock this past summer hes ok but I just couldnt live through the pain if something horrible happened to him at the school or at anyones fault. He wears an allergy bracelet & all his meds are in the office. So what can I do?????
My son who is allergic to peanuts and shrimp had an incident at lunch time at school a few weeks ago. His best friend thought it was really funny to shove a granola bar in my son’s mouth. I had previously educated this child on the severity of my son’s allergy and the potential consequences of a reaction. The point is, they’re only 8 yrs old, they don’t get it. They are not mature enough to handle the severity of it all. They have no way to comprehend it. That’s why after this incident, I have changed my mind and am now in favor of a peanut free school. My son is now afraid to eat his lunch. He usually comes home with a full lunch box. Is it fair that he has to go to school each day in fear? An 8 year old shouldn’t have to deal with that!
Good to see the parent of an allergic child advocating education vs banning. I am a school teacher with severe multiple food allergies. I am also vegetarian and have worked in a school that banned ‘all nuts’ – including soy products – which
meant that I basically was banned from most forms of protein while at work… Banning foods from schools terrifies me… Some day a parent is going to walk into a school board office and say – you have to ban all foods my (diabetic/ metabolic disordered) child can’t have… And you can’t say no because a precedent has been set!
A place that I found that makes sunbutter uncrustable style sandwiches that you can order and they’ll ship to you. The website it http://www.sunwisefoods.com I tried them and my daughter loves them!!
I have two children that are allergic to peanuts , one of them is also allergic to milk and eggs. They are 4yrs and 6yrs old, both attend public elementary schools. Their peanut allergy is a beast in itself. People think that my children have to ingest peanuts to have a reaction…. not true. Another child can breath or touch my child and they can have a severe reaction. The slightest peanut breath can make my daughter’s airways close up within minutes. I am totally for a peanut ban in elementary schools… my child could DIE because you wanted to pack yours a PB and J. At least let’s get them old enough to understand and be able to read labels before we throw them into the minefield we call a lunchroom! understand that some schools have peanut free tables… how is it fair that my child has to sit away from their class because they were born with an allergy. Why can’t your child sit at a table because you decided to pack a peanut lunch? In a time where there are more and more children with this horrible life threatening allergy why can’t a species that is known for adapting, adapt to this? Seriously it’s not like we’re telling you your child can never have peanuts, we’re just asking that they eat it at home for snack, dinner or on weekends. Please try for just a moment to imagine your life with a peanut allergic child. There are tons of ideas for lunches, look it up on the internet, believe me it’s not as hard as it sounds. Maybe one day us “peanut allergy moms” can breath a little easier everytime their phone rings during school hours.
I understand you want your kids to be safe. Children with allergies need to learn what they can and cannot eat. It is not right to tell other children what they can have. It is a public school. If your children are that sick you should home school them and then there will be no danger.
I can totally understand banning peanut products. But now my daughter’s school is banning sunbutter, because it resembles peanut butter! I asked for suggestions, given that my child is genetically predisposed to migraines so nitrate-laden sandwich meat is a bad idea, and she hates mayonnaise. They suggested tuna, chicken and egg salad sandwiches. No way will she eat tuna or egg. Can anyone suggest how to make chicken salad without mayonnaise? It seems to be my only remaining option, after which I am out of ideas.
Incidentally, just out of curiousity, how many of you think their school should ban milk (and therefore cheese!) and egg products if one student has anaphylactic reactions to those? And yes, in my family, it is a touch-sensitive anaphylaxis. Buying something as simple as bread becomes a real nightmare when you are trying to avoid milk derivatives.
Good question….thoughts anyone?
I notified my daughters teacher about her allergies @ meet the teacher night in front of the other parents . I explained what could happen if she ingests ,inhales or touches food that she is allergic to so parents would understand . Along comes a Halloween party in class and a Class mother gave her a chocolate covered oreo cookie in which a small bite was taken out of it .. I never received a phone call from the school about a possible reaction ( we dodged a bullet on this one ) . When I got home I emptied her backpack and found a party bag that had a bag of peanut butter M&M’s in it ( 2nd bullet was dodged) . Now the school is telling me that legally they cant ban any type of foods in a class setting … I gave the school and the parents a shot at handling this and they failed . Now what ?
Thanks for your note James. You MUST get a 504 Plan in place immediately. Your daughter’s food allergy diagnosis should be enough to qualify for one. Schedule a meeting with your school principal, nurse and teachers, and get the plan in place for how to handle food in her classroom, field trips, etc. Spell out everything to the letter as to how you want it handled. When you have that document in place, your school WILL be legally required to ban life threatening foods from your child’s learning environment. But without that legal documentation in place, you won’t have the proper safeguards in place. Keep me posted and good luck!
What I don’t understand about banning peanuts is that parents and doctors say that after a child (or anyone) handles peanuts the oil from the peanuts can stay on the child’s hands for up to six hours even after washing hands. If a child has peanut butter for breakfast and then touches the child’s desk who has the allergy, what would happen when the child has a reaction? It is impossible to completely rid a school of peanuts because you don’t know what children eat before school and therefore bring it with them. Therefore, I agree that education is the answer and not banning. You can almost guarentee that there will be a time in a child’s life when they are out of school and will end up sitting next to someone who is eating peanut butter. Instead of banning the world which is impossible, it is better to teach early how to react to something like that rather than try (and not succeed) in getting rid of the allergen. My last point is that some parents say that their children are so allergic that they worry every single day for their child’s life when they send them to school. Maybe the answer then would be that public school isn’t right for the family. You can’t control other families but you can certainly control your own. If the child is homeschooled, they would be safe from the peanuts but obviously still be able to learn and achieve great things. It isn’t quite so different from a child with a severe disability or if the family doesn’t agree with the religious teachings at a school.
My son is a Celiac – no wheat, rye, oats, barley. Ingestion is his only enemy and it would take years for a wheat related death. So I feel for the parents of children who have inhalent and touch issues – it must be very scary. However, my son’s district is peanut/treenut free and I have to say that as a parent of a child who must forgo many simple pleasures I do not see why there cannot be an “allergy room” for lunch. Allergy tables still have proximity to airborne problems but a dedicated room would not. Most parents say they don’t want thier kids alienated or left out. Does anyone dispute that my child feels left out or different everytime cupcakes, cake, pizza, basically any treat that kids love, are served? He may not have to go to a seperate room, but he either goes without or hopes that I have been prewarned and able to send something. Anyway, an allergy room would only seclude the children for the lunch portion and then they would be able to go on the playground with everyone else. Now, could there be pb hands on the playstructures? Sure – but that could be true from any child that has touched it after breakfast at home as well. Maybe the allergic children could wear thin gloves when they play? As for class parties, birthdays, I feel it is fair to make sure any class with a at-risk child should be peanut/treenut free. But for the whole lunchroom…..?
Going peanut free for lunches/snacks has not been the end of the world for us (even though the sunbutter/soybutter sandwiches come home uneaten). But to me it is the principle – telling hundreds of families that they cannot do something because of a few families’ needs. My other child is deathly allergic to beestings – should I petition to end recess? I just think solutions should be accommodating to everyone and when your child is different, you should make the provisions, not everyone else. I know I do…..
This is a great discourse. I am not in favor of banning any food products. All children, especially those with allergies, must learn that they do not live in a bubble and they are responsible for their own well-being. My son has an anaphylactic reaction to all dairy. There’s no way I could get the school to ban all dairy products, nor should I. There are many, many allergens in the world, we can’t protect our kids from everything 100%, and I believe that bans create a false sense of security. I agree with Holly that it’s up to the parents to make the accommodations, because the world will definitely not make them for us.
Has anyone led a drive to make their school or school district nut free? I am looking for advice on where to focus my efforts and any pointers anyone may have.
Thanks.