Wait, so now sunbutter/ sunflower seeds and oils are an allergen?

[Anonymous]

I thought the new advice was that allergen free environments are increasing allergies? My kids are crazy for nuts and it's been a big change to have to send chips instead of healthier options like nuts.

Are allergens going down as parents introduce them much earlier? With my oldest we were told no allergens until 1. By the time my youngest was born we were rubbing peanut powder on his cheeks when he was a few weeks old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought the new advice was that allergen free environments are increasing allergies? My kids are crazy for nuts and it's been a big change to have to send chips instead of healthier options like nuts.

Are allergens going down as parents introduce them much earlier? With my oldest we were told no allergens until 1. By the time my youngest was born we were rubbing peanut powder on his cheeks when he was a few weeks old.

Well something is. What in the fresh h*ll is going on. Why all the allergies? I literally recall no one having allergies growing up. Sure they existed- but were rates. School cafeterias definitely served peanut butter sandwiches and those delicious peanut butter chocolate bars on a regular basis. Now schools have to have a special cabinet to house the plethora of EpiPens kids have to keep on hand

[Anonymous]

What do we do about the tree nut bans though? Once they are in place, I feel like it's impossible to get rid of them. Our school as "We are a tree nut free facility" signs all over the building. I feel like raising the issue with the parent community is just inviting the parents who have kids who have allergies to accuse me of not caring about their kids' lives (I really do), and raising with administration will just get a no -- it's the risk averse choice for them and I bet you anything admin and teachers who want to eat tree nuts still bring them in and figure they aren't eating with the kids so it doesn't matter. So it costs them nothing.

How do we change the approach? Where does the push come from. I have a kid with dietary and nutritional issues that are made much harder by total bans on allergens. I don't want to put my kid's needs over those of others, but also... my kid does have needs that could be easily solved with a peanut butter sandwich and cup of milk, which I'm not allowed to give her at school.

[Anonymous]

Yes we know a child with a very severe sunflower oil allergy. If you think it's hard on you, wait until you find out how many skin lotions and sunscreens have this in it!

Now, the kid's allergies are severe across the board, so banning everything this one kid is allergic too would be extreme. So the parents work with the teacher and the kid to keep the kid safe at lunch at school. Mainly: kid does not touch a single food item that does not come from their own sealed lunch box.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm at a parochial school and we got a list of what we can bring to the Christmas party and it basically consists of gummy snacks, Capri Sun and chips, all individually packaged of course. Everything else is an allergen.

and my son is allergic to strawberries which is in a lot of gummy candy and Capri Suns.

If a child cannot even breathe in an allergen as present in a typical school, they need to be in a different environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought the new advice was that allergen free environments are increasing allergies? My kids are crazy for nuts and it's been a big change to have to send chips instead of healthier options like nuts.

Are allergens going down as parents introduce them much earlier? With my oldest we were told no allergens until 1. By the time my youngest was born we were rubbing peanut powder on his cheeks when he was a few weeks old.

Well something is. What in the fresh h*ll is going on. Why all the allergies? I literally recall no one having allergies growing up. Sure they existed- but were rates. School cafeterias definitely served peanut butter sandwiches and those delicious peanut butter chocolate bars on a regular basis. Now schools have to have a special cabinet to house the plethora of EpiPens kids have to keep on hand

I knew kids with allergies growing up but everyone knew what allergy they had (teachers, other kids, other parents, there were few enough kids with allergies that it was not hard to remember "never give Sarah K. shellfish"), and it was addressed by teaching the kid to be self aware and then making sure responsible adults (teachers, school nurse, parents at play dates) knew where the epi pen was. So it's not like allergies are brand new.

But yeah, the proliferation of allergies is out of control. Something has obviously gone wrong. Yell at me if you want, but it seems obvious that:

1) Our approach to allergies is causing more allergies, or at least more allergy diagnoses, and
2) At least some of the kids who have allergies to the "big 9" or whatever would actually be fine being in environment with these allergens and might even benefit from it

Yet if I bring my kid a a PB&J to a playground, I may get literally yelled at by a parent who feels I'm endangering their kids life. I just do not know. I'm not insensitive to that kid's life -- obviously I don't want to harm a child. But I also don't think that child will be harmed if my kid eats peanut butter 20 feet away. I really, really don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do we do about the tree nut bans though? Once they are in place, I feel like it's impossible to get rid of them. Our school as "We are a tree nut free facility" signs all over the building. I feel like raising the issue with the parent community is just inviting the parents who have kids who have allergies to accuse me of not caring about their kids' lives (I really do), and raising with administration will just get a no -- it's the risk averse choice for them and I bet you anything admin and teachers who want to eat tree nuts still bring them in and figure they aren't eating with the kids so it doesn't matter. So it costs them nothing.

How do we change the approach? Where does the push come from. I have a kid with dietary and nutritional issues that are made much harder by total bans on allergens. I don't want to put my kid's needs over those of others, but also... my kid does have needs that could be easily solved with a peanut butter sandwich and cup of milk, which I'm not allowed to give her at school.

My nephew is growing up in Japan and has severe tree nut allergy. He learned from the age of 3 to ask if food had nuts in it. I don't know if my sister even bothered to tell the school because he is so careful!
Conversely my father on dialysis cannot eat salt and yet never bothers to ask about the salt content of the food he is eating...if he was a kid would it be a salt free zone? Because the real worry is that a kid will inadvertently eat something. Breathing in peanut dust is farfetched.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought the new advice was that allergen free environments are increasing allergies? My kids are crazy for nuts and it's been a big change to have to send chips instead of healthier options like nuts.

Are allergens going down as parents introduce them much earlier? With my oldest we were told no allergens until 1. By the time my youngest was born we were rubbing peanut powder on his cheeks when he was a few weeks old.

Well something is. What in the fresh h*ll is going on. Why all the allergies? I literally recall no one having allergies growing up. Sure they existed- but were rates. School cafeterias definitely served peanut butter sandwiches and those delicious peanut butter chocolate bars on a regular basis. Now schools have to have a special cabinet to house the plethora of EpiPens kids have to keep on hand

I knew kids with allergies growing up but everyone knew what allergy they had (teachers, other kids, other parents, there were few enough kids with allergies that it was not hard to remember "never give Sarah K. shellfish"), and it was addressed by teaching the kid to be self aware and then making sure responsible adults (teachers, school nurse, parents at play dates) knew where the epi pen was. So it's not like allergies are brand new.

But yeah, the proliferation of allergies is out of control. Something has obviously gone wrong. Yell at me if you want, but it seems obvious that:

1) Our approach to allergies is causing more allergies, or at least more allergy diagnoses, and
2) At least some of the kids who have allergies to the "big 9" or whatever would actually be fine being in environment with these allergens and might even benefit from it

Yet if I bring my kid a a PB&J to a playground, I may get literally yelled at by a parent who feels I'm endangering their kids life. I just do not know. I'm not insensitive to that kid's life -- obviously I don't want to harm a child. But I also don't think that child will be harmed if my kid eats peanut butter 20 feet away. I really, really don't.

Its not the eating. Its the lack of management of the PB- are you washing their hands and face afterwards? If not, the PB can get transferred onto play equipment. People didnt really eat that much outside of the house 40-50 years ago. Food is everrrrryyywhere now and the variety of food at each event is a lot.

And no the approach isnt the problem JFC. It's the environment. Black and non-white hispanic kids in urban areas are seeing the largest increases in allergy diagnoses. They also have the largest increases in eczema and asthma. Their diagnosis - as a cohort- tends to lag behind white suburban or white urban kids because of access to healthcare and/or education. So, it's not just uppity anxious white moms with special snowflakes anymore which is the vibe you get from most parents- as if it's done for attention.

Close to 5% of kids in the US have a food allergy. Adults can also have food allergies diagnosed in adulthood, without any issues previously. Our kids are constantly in environments with the top 9 but for kids under the age of 3-5 it is really hard to navigate being outside because of how much food is present in social events or even outdoor spaces.

I PROMISE you that you arent doing more than the parents of kids with allergies are and it does feel like a big inconvenience to be out of your normal, but again, almost all of the discussions on this board about allergy kids seems to make it their fault, the parents fault, or that they should just be excluded from any normal kid event. Your kids have more empathy for their peers than the adults do and it is frustrating because that lack of awareness and action trickles down over time.

I am the biggest proponent for getting rid of X free schools and environments but in return, there needs to be a general awareness that food doesnt belong in shared spaces for children without cleaning up after yourself, including your child and their physical body.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am over other people’s allergies. Schools can separate kids that have extreme allergies to their own table/room.

Agree. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

Wow, that seems pretty harsh. I’m willing to be inconvenienced so that a child doesn’t end up in the hospital.

It’s more than an inconvenience to say you can’t bring several major ingredients for your own child’s lunch. The kids with severe allergies can have their own table were they are placed with enough distance to not contaminate each other’s areas. That is reasonable. Telling the whole school they can’t peanuts, soy, almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame, wheat, dairy, etc. for their own personal consumption in a lunch room is not reasonable.

I agree with this. Our school doesn't ban anything. The kids wjth allergies sit elsewhere. One year my son chose not to bring pb because his good friend was allergic and they wanted to sit together. Its not hard to place the burden on the child with the allergy and the school to find a safe solution rather than set a blanket ban.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought the new advice was that allergen free environments are increasing allergies? My kids are crazy for nuts and it's been a big change to have to send chips instead of healthier options like nuts.

Are allergens going down as parents introduce them much earlier? With my oldest we were told no allergens until 1. By the time my youngest was born we were rubbing peanut powder on his cheeks when he was a few weeks old.

Well something is. What in the fresh h*ll is going on. Why all the allergies? I literally recall no one having allergies growing up. Sure they existed- but were rates. School cafeterias definitely served peanut butter sandwiches and those delicious peanut butter chocolate bars on a regular basis. Now schools have to have a special cabinet to house the plethora of EpiPens kids have to keep on hand

I knew kids with allergies growing up but everyone knew what allergy they had (teachers, other kids, other parents, there were few enough kids with allergies that it was not hard to remember "never give Sarah K. shellfish"), and it was addressed by teaching the kid to be self aware and then making sure responsible adults (teachers, school nurse, parents at play dates) knew where the epi pen was. So it's not like allergies are brand new.

But yeah, the proliferation of allergies is out of control. Something has obviously gone wrong. Yell at me if you want, but it seems obvious that:

1) Our approach to allergies is causing more allergies, or at least more allergy diagnoses, and
2) At least some of the kids who have allergies to the "big 9" or whatever would actually be fine being in environment with these allergens and might even benefit from it

Yet if I bring my kid a a PB&J to a playground, I may get literally yelled at by a parent who feels I'm endangering their kids life. I just do not know. I'm not insensitive to that kid's life -- obviously I don't want to harm a child. But I also don't think that child will be harmed if my kid eats peanut butter 20 feet away. I really, really don't.

Its not the eating. Its the lack of management of the PB- are you washing their hands and face afterwards? If not, the PB can get transferred onto play equipment. People didnt really eat that much outside of the house 40-50 years ago. Food is everrrrryyywhere now and the variety of food at each event is a lot.

And no the approach isnt the problem JFC. It's the environment. Black and non-white hispanic kids in urban areas are seeing the largest increases in allergy diagnoses. They also have the largest increases in eczema and asthma. Their diagnosis - as a cohort- tends to lag behind white suburban or white urban kids because of access to healthcare and/or education. So, it's not just uppity anxious white moms with special snowflakes anymore which is the vibe you get from most parents- as if it's done for attention.

Close to 5% of kids in the US have a food allergy. Adults can also have food allergies diagnosed in adulthood, without any issues previously. Our kids are constantly in environments with the top 9 but for kids under the age of 3-5 it is really hard to navigate being outside because of how much food is present in social events or even outdoor spaces.

I PROMISE you that you arent doing more than the parents of kids with allergies are and it does feel like a big inconvenience to be out of your normal, but again, almost all of the discussions on this board about allergy kids seems to make it their fault, the parents fault, or that they should just be excluded from any normal kid event. Your kids have more empathy for their peers than the adults do and it is frustrating because that lack of awareness and action trickles down over time.

I am the biggest proponent for getting rid of X free schools and environments but in return, there needs to be a general awareness that food doesnt belong in shared spaces for children without cleaning up after yourself, including your child and their physical body.

Well said.

You have more patience than I do. These nasty people are actually on here trying to gang up against nut free zones that can save a child’s life just so that they can feel self righteous because THEIR child doesn’t have any food allergies obviously due to their superior wisdom and parenting abilities. Curse them all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm at a parochial school and we got a list of what we can bring to the Christmas party and it basically consists of gummy snacks, Capri Sun and chips, all individually packaged of course. Everything else is an allergen.

No fresh fruit? Dried fruit? Crudite? Cookies for crying out loud?

It has to be manufactured in a nut free factory and labeled as such. Fresh fruit chopped up in some moms kitchen might be contaminated!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought the new advice was that allergen free environments are increasing allergies? My kids are crazy for nuts and it's been a big change to have to send chips instead of healthier options like nuts.

Are allergens going down as parents introduce them much earlier? With my oldest we were told no allergens until 1. By the time my youngest was born we were rubbing peanut powder on his cheeks when he was a few weeks old.

Well something is. What in the fresh h*ll is going on. Why all the allergies? I literally recall no one having allergies growing up. Sure they existed- but were rates. School cafeterias definitely served peanut butter sandwiches and those delicious peanut butter chocolate bars on a regular basis. Now schools have to have a special cabinet to house the plethora of EpiPens kids have to keep on hand

I knew kids with allergies growing up but everyone knew what allergy they had (teachers, other kids, other parents, there were few enough kids with allergies that it was not hard to remember "never give Sarah K. shellfish"), and it was addressed by teaching the kid to be self aware and then making sure responsible adults (teachers, school nurse, parents at play dates) knew where the epi pen was. So it's not like allergies are brand new.

But yeah, the proliferation of allergies is out of control. Something has obviously gone wrong. Yell at me if you want, but it seems obvious that:

1) Our approach to allergies is causing more allergies, or at least more allergy diagnoses, and
2) At least some of the kids who have allergies to the "big 9" or whatever would actually be fine being in environment with these allergens and might even benefit from it

Yet if I bring my kid a a PB&J to a playground, I may get literally yelled at by a parent who feels I'm endangering their kids life. I just do not know. I'm not insensitive to that kid's life -- obviously I don't want to harm a child. But I also don't think that child will be harmed if my kid eats peanut butter 20 feet away. I really, really don't.

Its not the eating. Its the lack of management of the PB- are you washing their hands and face afterwards? If not, the PB can get transferred onto play equipment. People didnt really eat that much outside of the house 40-50 years ago. Food is everrrrryyywhere now and the variety of food at each event is a lot.

And no the approach isnt the problem JFC. It's the environment. Black and non-white hispanic kids in urban areas are seeing the largest increases in allergy diagnoses. They also have the largest increases in eczema and asthma. Their diagnosis - as a cohort- tends to lag behind white suburban or white urban kids because of access to healthcare and/or education. So, it's not just uppity anxious white moms with special snowflakes anymore which is the vibe you get from most parents- as if it's done for attention.

Close to 5% of kids in the US have a food allergy. Adults can also have food allergies diagnosed in adulthood, without any issues previously. Our kids are constantly in environments with the top 9 but for kids under the age of 3-5 it is really hard to navigate being outside because of how much food is present in social events or even outdoor spaces.

I PROMISE you that you arent doing more than the parents of kids with allergies are and it does feel like a big inconvenience to be out of your normal, but again, almost all of the discussions on this board about allergy kids seems to make it their fault, the parents fault, or that they should just be excluded from any normal kid event. Your kids have more empathy for their peers than the adults do and it is frustrating because that lack of awareness and action trickles down over time.

I am the biggest proponent for getting rid of X free schools and environments but in return, there needs to be a general awareness that food doesnt belong in shared spaces for children without cleaning up after yourself, including your child and their physical body.

I'm not the PP but I really have to say- if a child will suffer an anaphylactic reaction to touching playground equipment that a child who had eaten peanut butter 10min ago had also touched, then that child is severely ill enough that being out in public in general probably isn't safe. Kids are going to eat peanut butter and banana on an english muffin at home for breakfast, and then get onto the school bus without thoroughly scrubbing their hands sometimes. Airports, malls, sporting events, Target, etc are going to be full of people who may have recently touched peanut product, or even may be currently eating peanut product. Not to mention grocery stores and restaurants. But I'm assuming a child with an allergy so severe that contact with a surface that another hand had touched earlier, when that hand had microscopic PB remnants on it, would cause a life threatening response, would never be able to enter a grocery store or restaurant. So saying that no one should ever be allowed to eat peanut products in public is not reasonable.

Signed, someone whose son had a severe anaphylactic milk allergy which we thankfully eliminated after years and years with an allergist, who never told other parents that they weren't allowed to give their infants milk-based formula in any public settings where other children might be present.

[Anonymous]

My son had egg and milk allergies as a kid and also tested very high for peanut sensitivity. He had been eating peanut butter all his life and never reacted. We took him to a pediatric allergist who told us to continue feeding him peanuts or peanut butter every single day until at least age 5 or 6 because he was at risk of developing a peanut allergy if we stopped the continual exposure to peanuts that he had been getting. I don't know if it's even still a thing to do allergy bloodwork for one year olds with eczema, because that's how we found out, but 12 years ago that's what his pediatrician did. Anyways, it was such a hassle when he started at a preschool that was nut free. I had to give him PB sandwiches for dinner for that entire year because I wasn't allowed to give them for lunch. We switched him to a different school the following year because of it actually.

[Anonymous]

My kid has actually been asking me to pack a nut free lunch so he can sit next to his friend with a nut allergy. He's a good kid. I do a lot of cheese quesadillas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought the new advice was that allergen free environments are increasing allergies? My kids are crazy for nuts and it's been a big change to have to send chips instead of healthier options like nuts.

Are allergens going down as parents introduce them much earlier? With my oldest we were told no allergens until 1. By the time my youngest was born we were rubbing peanut powder on his cheeks when he was a few weeks old.

Well something is. What in the fresh h*ll is going on. Why all the allergies? I literally recall no one having allergies growing up. Sure they existed- but were rates. School cafeterias definitely served peanut butter sandwiches and those delicious peanut butter chocolate bars on a regular basis. Now schools have to have a special cabinet to house the plethora of EpiPens kids have to keep on hand

I knew kids with allergies growing up but everyone knew what allergy they had (teachers, other kids, other parents, there were few enough kids with allergies that it was not hard to remember "never give Sarah K. shellfish"), and it was addressed by teaching the kid to be self aware and then making sure responsible adults (teachers, school nurse, parents at play dates) knew where the epi pen was. So it's not like allergies are brand new.

But yeah, the proliferation of allergies is out of control. Something has obviously gone wrong. Yell at me if you want, but it seems obvious that:

1) Our approach to allergies is causing more allergies, or at least more allergy diagnoses, and
2) At least some of the kids who have allergies to the "big 9" or whatever would actually be fine being in environment with these allergens and might even benefit from it

Yet if I bring my kid a a PB&J to a playground, I may get literally yelled at by a parent who feels I'm endangering their kids life. I just do not know. I'm not insensitive to that kid's life -- obviously I don't want to harm a child. But I also don't think that child will be harmed if my kid eats peanut butter 20 feet away. I really, really don't.

Its not the eating. Its the lack of management of the PB- are you washing their hands and face afterwards? If not, the PB can get transferred onto play equipment. People didnt really eat that much outside of the house 40-50 years ago. Food is everrrrryyywhere now and the variety of food at each event is a lot.

And no the approach isnt the problem JFC. It's the environment. Black and non-white hispanic kids in urban areas are seeing the largest increases in allergy diagnoses. They also have the largest increases in eczema and asthma. Their diagnosis - as a cohort- tends to lag behind white suburban or white urban kids because of access to healthcare and/or education. So, it's not just uppity anxious white moms with special snowflakes anymore which is the vibe you get from most parents- as if it's done for attention.

Close to 5% of kids in the US have a food allergy. Adults can also have food allergies diagnosed in adulthood, without any issues previously. Our kids are constantly in environments with the top 9 but for kids under the age of 3-5 it is really hard to navigate being outside because of how much food is present in social events or even outdoor spaces.

I PROMISE you that you arent doing more than the parents of kids with allergies are and it does feel like a big inconvenience to be out of your normal, but again, almost all of the discussions on this board about allergy kids seems to make it their fault, the parents fault, or that they should just be excluded from any normal kid event. Your kids have more empathy for their peers than the adults do and it is frustrating because that lack of awareness and action trickles down over time.

I am the biggest proponent for getting rid of X free schools and environments but in return, there needs to be a general awareness that food doesnt belong in shared spaces for children without cleaning up after yourself, including your child and their physical body.

I'm not the PP but I really have to say- if a child will suffer an anaphylactic reaction to touching playground equipment that a child who had eaten peanut butter 10min ago had also touched, then that child is severely ill enough that being out in public in general probably isn't safe. Kids are going to eat peanut butter and banana on an english muffin at home for breakfast, and then get onto the school bus without thoroughly scrubbing their hands sometimes. Airports, malls, sporting events, Target, etc are going to be full of people who may have recently touched peanut product, or even may be currently eating peanut product. Not to mention grocery stores and restaurants. But I'm assuming a child with an allergy so severe that contact with a surface that another hand had touched earlier, when that hand had microscopic PB remnants on it, would cause a life threatening response, would never be able to enter a grocery store or restaurant. So saying that no one should ever be allowed to eat peanut products in public is not reasonable.

Signed, someone whose son had a severe anaphylactic milk allergy which we thankfully eliminated after years and years with an allergist, who never told other parents that they weren't allowed to give their infants milk-based formula in any public settings where other children might be present.

Did you read my post at all? I am against banning foods.