i think it's admirable to say you would homeschool your child because of his/her allergy, but realisticly---do you know how to teach someone to read? to write? to do 12th grade advanced physics? what about the socialization factor? can you prepare them for their state tests and SAT's?

just some questions to think about---homeschooling's not as easy as it may appear. plus you wouldn't be able to work and would continue to pay school taxes that your child isn't able to use.

I guess my thought is what about the child that brings something unknowingly containing a "banned food stuff" (ie, nuts, etc). What sort of repercussion will be afforded to them? Detention for carrying a concealed snickers bar? Suspension for PBJ cookies?

When the difficulty lies with the one in such a dramatic manner, then the one needs to change their patterns, and not demand that society bend completely to their needs. Not out of inconvenience..but out of personal necessity. It is a control issue, and is simply not reasonable to try to control what you truly can't...EVERYONE ELSE, when you CAN control your own situation. (special eating environment)

I didn't even think of that when I wrote that. It was all about the benefits of fresh breath, which many people struggle with.

Thanks 33girl, I needed the laugh :p

I think that the child with the allergies should be home schooled at the school district's expense just like any other disabled child who can't co-exist with others would be.

I agree with 33Girl; he's not always going to have provisions made around his allergies.

Schools have a responsibility to accommodate any child with a disability. I think requiring the school to be a 'nut free zone' is a reasonable request. It's much more reasonable than expecting a child to be home schooled which, as cash78mere pointed out, most parents aren't trained or able to do.

I think it can be like smoking. You can do what you want in the privacy of your home, but as soon as it negatively impacts someone else's health and well-being it can be regulated. This is a life threatening allergy which can kill within minutes.

My reaction to this is based on how old the child in question is. If he's 5-6, and his allergies are severe as the superintendent and the parents say, I don't think it's unreasonable. The social interactions needed by a child of that age preclude any rationale for home-schooling, as he's not truly disabled, and the child is really too young to manage his illness on his own. If he's in middle or high school, then he should be old enough to either wear a face mask or limit his interactions.

Here is a link to a message board discussing this topic.

You have all brought up a lot of legitimate points on both sides of the argument. Part of my question is .. how do you enforce it? My daughter had a peanut reaction from eating a cashew that we didn't know was cooked in peanut oil. In the south, I was lucky I read a bag of chips for ingredients, because down there, that brand was cooked in peanut oil. Many Chinese restaurants cook with peanut oil. What if you sent in leftover almond chicken and it had been cooked in peanut oil? Expecting all 300 or 400 families in a school to be this vigilant is unrealistic. My main reason for saying I'd get homeschooling for my child in that severe of a situation would be for my own child's protection, not just for the convenience of the rest of the school. There are so many products with peanuts in them, that the likelihood that no child (or adult) in that school has a peanut product every single day is slim to none. There is only one type of Girl Scout cookie (shortbread ones) that don't say "May contain traces of peanut products". I talked to my co-worker with the son has severe reactions about it today and she said she wouldn't dream of expecting every single family in the school to read every label as she has to do.

Dee

Yeah, death isn't that scary.

You're horrible

are you laughing or hating me?


that doesn't read well

I didn't mean he should just die, obviously. I meant that he will have to learn how to get through life because school is one thing, but what about every other place he might go in his lifetime? Simply walking down the street could be a potential hazard. I cannot even imagine what it would be like to have an allergy like that, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I mean to have to be so overly conscious of your surroundings ALL the time... and to have the strong possibility of being exposed to the allergen without even knowing it until you're knocking on death's door... that must be horrible! But if I did have it, I would have to learn to adapt because I wouldn't have any other choice.

When I read the article, my assumption was that this is a young child. If he is, then he probably can't avoid nut products effectively because he wouldn't know or understand about trace ingredients and things like that. As he gets older, he will learn how to deal with his allergy.

My mother is allergic to peanuts, coconuts, and every type of nut. She has to read food packages very carefully before she eats. She was also told not to eat in Chinese restaurants because they cook with peanut oil. She calls restaurants and facilities before she goes to make sure that they have food that she can eat. One night she went out to a formal dinner and the restaurant served everything with almonds. They told her to scrape them off. :rolleyes: Meanwhile just sitting at a table with sliced almonds was bothering her. Another time she ate pesto sauce not knowing what it was, and she was rushed to the hospital. It's a hard allergy to deal with as an adult. When she was a child, it was enough to know not to eat peanuts, cookies, and Crackerjacks. Now that nuts are used as a regular ingredient in foods, she really has had to adjust her life. I couldn't imagine being a school age child with this.

I do sympathize for anyone that has a severe allergy to anything. However they really do need to learn to handle their allergy. For the rest of their lives people won't stop eating or having nuts around them just because they are allergic. My friend is allergic to molds especially cheeses. Doesn't seem to bad but it is amazing how fast mold will start to grow on something and you can't even see it yet. I have eaten Pizza without cheese for 7 years now, but she doesn't stop anyone else from eating cheese infront of her.

The school has an obligation to "reasonably" accomodate the needs of any child w/ a disability/illness. I think when it comes down to telling X number of families "You have to monitor everything you pack in your kid's lunch because ____ is allergic to peanuts" it would be found unreasonable because of the number of people it impacts. In my opinion, should the child's parents still elect to send him to school, the school should simply isolate him during lunch in another room (this happened in my elem. school for a few children) so that he can be safe (goal #1) and the other children can eat normally. I think that situation would be mutually beneficial for all concerned. I know that even the nicest of 6 year olds would be a bit pissed that they couldn't have their PBJ because of one kid. 30 minutes alone (or maybe w/ a teacher there) isn't too much to ask, if his health/life is truly in danger.