Nuts as a snack in middle school

[Anonymous]

Pp here. The 2 allergic reaction came from:

A “plain” brownies from a local bakery that we didn’t realize had walnuts in it.

Indian food that we didn’t know had cashews in the sauce.

Again, teach your kid not to share food at school.

[Anonymous]

My middle schooler has a lethal nut allergy.

I know I can’t force you to avoid bringing nuts to school, but for the love of God, teach your child to be aware that some kids in his class can die if they accidentally swallow a tiny sliver of cashew or almond or another nut, or perhaps even have skin contact with nuts. He should not throw them on people for fun, all trash goes in the bin, and please no crumbs on the desk.

And check the school policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
My middle schooler has a lethal nut allergy.

I know I can’t force you to avoid bringing nuts to school, but for the love of God, teach your child to be aware that some kids in his class can die if they accidentally swallow a tiny sliver of cashew or almond or another nut, or perhaps even have skin contact with nuts. He should not throw them on people for fun, all trash goes in the bin, and please no crumbs on the desk.

And check the school policy.

Please post a link where someone died from having skin contact with nuts. I say this as a mom of a kid with a peanut allergy. It doesn't happen. You must be making your kid ridiculously anxious. OP you should send if nuts if you want to and tell your kid not to share unless your kid knows the other kid isn't allergic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it depends where the kid is eating them.

Cafeteria? Yes. Outside sitting on a bench waiting for the bus? Yes. Walking between classes, maybe with a wet wipe for afterwards? Yes.

On the other hand, one year in middle school, my kid had a teacher who let the kids eat snacks in class as they had a late lunch. That was kind of her, but they asked for no nuts because the next student sitting at the desk could be allergic. I thought that was a reasonable request.

Just make sure she is not dropping shells everywhere. That becomes problematic.

Small bags of shelled nuts are usually fine. Granola bar type items are even better because they tend to not make as much of a mess.

Don't eat them in the classroom. The kid right after her in the same desk might have an allergy.

Signed,
Mom of anaphylactic teen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pp here. The 2 allergic reaction came from:

A “plain” brownies from a local bakery that we didn’t realize had walnuts in it.

Indian food that we didn’t know had cashews in the sauce.

Again, teach your kid not to share food at school.

My kid's reactions all came from food you would not expect to have nuts in:

Ravioli where ground cashews were incorporated in the sauce
Pad Thai (the person making it said it had no nuts. She meant no peanuts. She did not consider cashews to be a nut, not sure if that was cultural or not.)
A cookie that did not have nuts but must have been on the same tray at some point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My middle schooler has a lethal nut allergy.

I know I can’t force you to avoid bringing nuts to school, but for the love of God, teach your child to be aware that some kids in his class can die if they accidentally swallow a tiny sliver of cashew or almond or another nut, or perhaps even have skin contact with nuts. He should not throw them on people for fun, all trash goes in the bin, and please no crumbs on the desk.

And check the school policy.

Please post a link where someone died from having skin contact with nuts. I say this as a mom of a kid with a peanut allergy. It doesn't happen. You must be making your kid ridiculously anxious. OP you should send if nuts if you want to and tell your kid not to share unless your kid knows the other kid isn't allergic.

PP you responded to. My child had lip and cheek contact with pistachios last year at a potluck and immediately started to swell. Swelling is a potentially lethal type of anaphylactic reaction. It can kill by closing of the airway.
You must also be aware of allergies so bad they can be triggered by mere inhalation of allergen particles in the air - so why would skin contact surprise you?

I find it very surprising that a parent of an allergic child is not aware of all these possibilities, and that you are accusing me of making my child anxious.

A. My child could die from nuts in the classroom, so I am politely asking that kids who bring nuts take allergies seriously and know how to dispose of their food.

B. My child is not anxious about this; I am, and rightly so.

C. Shame on you, PP, for poo-poo-ing my son's anaphylactic experiences. Do you want me to believe that you are a vile human being? Because you're certainly coming across that way. Please re-frame your thinking and ask your allergist to educate you on these critical points. This could save your child's life. I am assuming from your ignorance that your child is less affected. Know that as children grow, and particularly during adolescence, allergies can rapidly become much more dangerous. My son used to eat peanut butter and throw up and be fine when he was little and we didn't know he was allergic. He used to be able to eat almonds and hazelnuts in baked goods and Nutella, no problem. Not anymore at 13. The range of nuts he is allergic to has increased enormously, and even includes some seeds, and the severity of his reactions has sadly become potentially lethal. He has several epipens and needs to remember to bring them everywhere. It's a heavy burden.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, no no... don't do that as its really selfish. There are tons of things they can eat from pretzels to cereal/granola bars, etc. that have no nuts.

What you are saying is ridiculous.

I guess you also feel that hundreds of people on a plane should have to put up with a peacock because one person swears it is her emotional support animal, right?

What you are saying is ridiculous. A kid with a life threatening nut allergy is not a peacock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here—school does not have a policy so I guess I can send them.

You can send them but its a very selfish thing to do and would you want someone to do that to your child if they had a serious allergy. Its not worth the risk. How would you feel if the nuts you sent killed another child? There are plenty of other snacks to send.

[Anonymous]

If your school allows nuts then Have your child eat in cafeteria. Classroom should be food free. If your need more support than you should make arrangement with school toout to duck out cafeteria to eat an extra snack. Last week a child with a seafood allergy died from the odor so asking classrooms to not have food seems reasonable for kids who have a variety of different allergies even beyond nuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, no no... don't do that as its really selfish. There are tons of things they can eat from pretzels to cereal/granola bars, etc. that have no nuts.

What you are saying is ridiculous.

I guess you also feel that hundreds of people on a plane should have to put up with a peacock because one person swears it is her emotional support animal, right?

What you are saying is ridiculous. A kid with a life threatening nut allergy is not a peacock.

The point, duh, is that the burden is not on the whole world to change its behavior for one individual.

[Anonymous]

OP - I hear ya about the nuts. My child also needed foods like that to manage through the day. It was hard, and especially hard if you have to avoid nuts. I've yet to find a substitute that was as good for him since sunflower seeds (often acceptable) didn't agree with his gut.

Interestingly, he said that at college, there don't seem to be people with serious allergies. He assumes those with allergies are there of course, but has noted that while everyone was very vocal about it when living at home, they seem to be managing without much talk now that they are away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, no no... don't do that as its really selfish. There are tons of things they can eat from pretzels to cereal/granola bars, etc. that have no nuts.

What you are saying is ridiculous.

I guess you also feel that hundreds of people on a plane should have to put up with a peacock because one person swears it is her emotional support animal, right?

What you are saying is ridiculous. A kid with a life threatening nut allergy is not a peacock.

The point, duh, is that the burden is not on the whole world to change its behavior for one individual.

Depends on whether it is a kid with a deadly allergy or a person who wants to bring a peacock on a plane.

Look in the mirror. You are the peacock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - I hear ya about the nuts. My child also needed foods like that to manage through the day. It was hard, and especially hard if you have to avoid nuts. I've yet to find a substitute that was as good for him since sunflower seeds (often acceptable) didn't agree with his gut.

Interestingly, he said that at college, there don't seem to be people with serious allergies. He assumes those with allergies are there of course, but has noted that while everyone was very vocal about it when living at home, they seem to be managing without much talk now that they are away.

That is why the riskiest time for kids to die of allergies is around college age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, no no... don't do that as its really selfish. There are tons of things they can eat from pretzels to cereal/granola bars, etc. that have no nuts.

What you are saying is ridiculous.

I guess you also feel that hundreds of people on a plane should have to put up with a peacock because one person swears it is her emotional support animal, right?

What you are saying is ridiculous. A kid with a life threatening nut allergy is not a peacock.

The point, duh, is that the burden is not on the whole world to change its behavior for one individual.

I totally used to think like this, then I witnessed a young family member have a serious allergic reaction to peanut butter. It’s really freaking scary and serious. I’m sorry for the heavy burden carried by those kiddos and their parents. NP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, no no... don't do that as its really selfish. There are tons of things they can eat from pretzels to cereal/granola bars, etc. that have no nuts.

What you are saying is ridiculous.

I guess you also feel that hundreds of people on a plane should have to put up with a peacock because one person swears it is her emotional support animal, right?

What you are saying is ridiculous. A kid with a life threatening nut allergy is not a peacock.

The point, duh, is that the burden is not on the whole world to change its behavior for one individual.

I would much rather that my kid's school had a no-nuts policy than my child accidentally caused the death of one of his classmates. I'm *fine* changing behavior if it means keeping kids safe.