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

[Anonymous]

Yes. It's one of the few things they'll eat in a lunch box and our school policy allows it. At camp they are not allowed it, so younger DS brings sunflower seed butter and older DS brings cold cheese pizza.

[Anonymous]

Wouldn't it be the best idea for parents to teach their children, with the lifelong food allergy, not to eat unsafe food instead making sure no unsafe food is around them? I had a neighbor who was allergic to nuts. His mom told me but this kid, at 5, knew what foods he could eat and to tell people he had a nut allergy and ask if he was allowed to have it before he just ate something he was unsure about.

There is no way someone could've handed him a pb sandwich that he knew had pb on it, and he eat it without saying he was allergic to it. If that happened, and am adult still forced him to eat it anyway, I certainly hope there was a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the adult and school system that took place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Oh please. They told a known allergic child to eat a BP&J? I doubt that anyone would be so stupid to do this. Where was the child's teacher?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I haven't seen that (in this thread). People have said, "adhere to the school policy," which you yourself advocate. Unclench.

You're kids don't have peanut allergies, correct? CORRECT.

SO, you are suggesting that even if the school policies permit peanut butter and peanuts, etc., parents should disregard that policy? And if they don't, they are guilty of this vast insensitivity towards allergic kids? Please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Oh please. They told a known allergic child to eat a BP&J? I doubt that anyone would be so stupid to do this. Where was the child's teacher?

Come on, I just don't believe this story. It would have hit the news if there was that degree of neglect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Parent of a kid with food allergies here. This is my worst nightmare. There was a boy who died from the same scenario during a field trip a few years ago - he actually turned the PBJ back in but ate the cookie, which had peanut butter in it.

[Anonymous]

PP again. Here's the story I was thinking of:

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Death-of-boy-allergic-to-peanuts-leaves-1055896.php

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is not a perfect world. You're right.

But, I think what PP is saying is not to change what you're doing, just don't be so crappy about it.

By all means, if the school policy allows peanut butter and your kid likes it, then go ahead and send it. BUT... there seems to be a "screw the kids with peanut allergies... their problem, not mine" type of attitude about it, and that's a bit cold, don't you think?

FWIW, my kids do not have peanut allergies.

I haven't seen that (in this thread). People have said, "adhere to the school policy," which you yourself advocate. Unclench.

Oh look - it's the "unclench" poster again, who seems to have it out for kids with food allergies. Welcome back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't it be the best idea for parents to teach their children, with the lifelong food allergy, not to eat unsafe food instead making sure no unsafe food is around them? I had a neighbor who was allergic to nuts. His mom told me but this kid, at 5, knew what foods he could eat and to tell people he had a nut allergy and ask if he was allowed to have it before he just ate something he was unsure about.

There is no way someone could've handed him a pb sandwich that he knew had pb on it, and he eat it without saying he was allergic to it. If that happened, and am adult still forced him to eat it anyway, I certainly hope there was a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the adult and school system that took place.

The problem is that some kids don't know that their store-bought products may have nuts in them - like a muffin, for example. The child might think it's just a banana muffin and offer a bite to a nut allergic friend. Neither child realizes that the muffin also has nuts in it. Small children may not be able to make those kind of complex judgment calls. That's why our school tells parents no nuts at all.

[Anonymous]

Follow the school's policy. If your child happens to become BFFs with a child who is allergic to nuts and wants to sit at the nut free table with him, then reevaluate. Otherwise, follow the school policy.

-- signed, a mom of two boys with severe tree nut allergies

[Anonymous]

I don't. My child doesn't bring nut products outside the home and after eating them at home I make sure she washes her hands completely and usually try and change her clothes.

I grew up with a brother who had horrible food allergies and my daughter has two friends with bad allergies including life threatening peanut allergy.

There are so many other things my child can eat (lucky for us she doesn't have food issues).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is not a perfect world. You're right.

But, I think what PP is saying is not to change what you're doing, just don't be so crappy about it.

By all means, if the school policy allows peanut butter and your kid likes it, then go ahead and send it. BUT... there seems to be a "screw the kids with peanut allergies... their problem, not mine" type of attitude about it, and that's a bit cold, don't you think?

FWIW, my kids do not have peanut allergies.

I haven't seen that (in this thread). People have said, "adhere to the school policy," which you yourself advocate. Unclench.

Oh look - it's the "unclench" poster again, who seems to have it out for kids with food allergies. Welcome back.

+1

My thoughts exactly. When you tell someone to "unclench" because they express concerns about something deadly, there is some sort of other issue looming. The PP recommending "unclench" from thread to thread probably "clenches" several times a day.

[Anonymous]

Yes of course

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't even though my kids are not allergic. There are so many good alternatives, including sunbutter. I don't want my kids to cause some other kid to go into anaphylactic shock.

Unfortunately, Sunbutter is made on the same equipment as roasted soybeans, which means it is not an alternative for my soy-allergic kid.

I have a kid with a soy allergy too and in some ways it's worse because soy is in EVERYTHING. My kid is allergic to most fresh fruits (peaches will kill him almost instantly) and many fresh veggies. He'll have skin reactions to fruit juices, yet he can eat almost all of them if they have been cooked or frozen.

I bake bread and give him peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because his options are pretty limited. Luckily his school allows peanut butter or we'd be screwed.

[Anonymous]

I never do anything if it offends or might be intolerable to even one individual.