Do you send peanut butter and/or nuts in your kid's lunches?

[Anonymous]

DS is starting K and I'm trying to brainstorm lunch and snack ideas. The school is not nut-free, but there is a nut-free table in the cafeteria (obviously he wouldn't sit at that table if he has nuts in his lunch). DS likes peanut butter and almonds, both of which would be easy to pack for lunch. Should I wait and see whether there are kids in his class with allergies?

[Anonymous]

Yes. Wait. I'm from a country where such allergies are practically unheard of but even I know better than to risk it with someone else's child given how common allergies are here.

[Anonymous]

I send peanut butter with my DC. I follow the school's policy, which allows it.

[Anonymous]

I am going to check my schools policy - and go with whatever they recommend.

[Anonymous]

If school policy is nuts are allowed - why are you making yourself crazy about this?

There are also kids allergic to blueberries and strawberries - are you thinking about not sending these foods.

There are kids with intense allergic reaction to gluten - are you cutting this out?

Seriously - follow the school policy and move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I send peanut butter with my DC. I follow the school's policy, which allows it.

+1

[Anonymous]

I plan to send peanut butter sandwiches.

[Anonymous]

As a parent of a kid with a tree nut allergy I thank you for your concern. But the policy is there and you shouldn't worry about following it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If school policy is nuts are allowed - why are you making yourself crazy about this?

There are also kids allergic to blueberries and strawberries - are you thinking about not sending these foods.

There are kids with intense allergic reaction to gluten - are you cutting this out?

Seriously - follow the school policy and move on.

+1

It's one thing if the school has a policy where certain things are not allowed. However, if they say you can bring PB and your child eats it, by all means pack it. The school has a system in place for children who are peanut allergic I assure you.

Along the lines of the poster above, my child is allergic to soy. There is no way anyone would expect you to pack a soy free lunch (and I'm not talking meat substitutes only here). Pack what you know your child will eat and move on.

[Anonymous]

No, never. There are so many alternatives and it isn't worth the risk. If I knew of other allergies in the class, I would not send that either. We have a fruit allergic child and I appreciate when others avoid it around my child. Otherwise, we just avoid them.

[Anonymous]

I follow the school policy. One year I knew of a child with a peanut allergy in my son's class so I avoided PB, even though the school allowed it. Honestly, it was hard, as my son is VERY picky, doesn't get enough food or protein, and dislikes the PB substitutes.

And then I chaperoned a field trip where the school provided lunch to the kids and they promptly told the peanut-allergic kid to eat his school-provided PB&J (and then the ambulance came, and the child went off on his own to the ER....)

Which is to say that dangers to an allergic child are everywhere.

[Anonymous]

We use sunbutter for DS. He seems to like it just as much as peanut butter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
And then I chaperoned a field trip where the school provided lunch to the kids and they promptly told the peanut-allergic kid to eat his school-provided PB&J (and then the ambulance came, and the child went off on his own to the ER....)

Which is to say that dangers to an allergic child are everywhere.

Now this is upsetting! The danger of having an allergic reaction should NOT come from the people that are responsible for your child.

[Anonymous]

We use sun butter because we already have it (DH likes it), and DS's class shares activities with a child who has nut allergies. Just seems better safe than sorry.

[Anonymous]

I follow school policy. We can send nuts in the lunch, but not snack (since there was an allergy and snack is shared)