School bans nuts because of one student's allergy

[Munchkin03]

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.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

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

[AGDee]

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

[Optimist Prime]

Originally posted by SSS1365
True. Yeah, he probably needs to learn to just deal.

Yeah, death isn't that scary.

[tunatartare]

Originally posted by Optimist Prime
Yeah, death isn't that scary.

You're horrible

[Optimist Prime]

Originally posted by KLPDaisy
You're horrible

are you laughing or hating me?


that doesn't read well

[SSS1365]

Originally posted by Optimist Prime
Yeah, death isn't that scary.

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.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

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. 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.

[adpialumcsuc]

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.

[swissmiss04]

Originally posted by Peaches-n-Cream
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.

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.