Nuts as a snack in middle school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 6th grader is having some eating issues at school. The dr recommended snacking multiple times a day. Nuts are an easy snack to take and keep in her backpack. I won't send peanuts but by middle school can I send almonds or cashews?

Can't answer this but you know those little round cheeses...they are so yummy. We love the gouda. Babybel is the brand.

They are good. And a good snack since they are sufficiently shelf-stable. Not as much protein as nuts, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 6th grader is having some eating issues at school. The dr recommended snacking multiple times a day. Nuts are an easy snack to take and keep in her backpack. I won't send peanuts but by middle school can I send almonds or cashews?

Can't answer this but you know those little round cheeses...they are so yummy. We love the gouda. Babybel is the brand.

They are good. And a good snack since they are sufficiently shelf-stable. Not as much protein as nuts, though.

Cheese has a much higher percentage of calories from protein than nuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most people don't need as much protein as those on here are pushing.

Totally missing the point.

The kids with nut allergies aren't "most people."

The kids needing nuts to maintain their weight are also not "most people."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^i would send her with wipes so she can clean her hands after eating them.

lol, that’s what jeans are for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^i would send her with wipes so she can clean her hands after eating them.

lol, that’s what jeans are for.

There was a kid in my son's preschool class who had an anaphylactic reaction because her parent ate pb and j at work and then wiped his hands on his jeans. He picked her up and she ran and wrapped herself around his leg and pressed her face into it.

Of course, if a middle school is hugging other people's legs that's another problem, but it seems to me that eating nuts and then washing your hands, whether it's with a wipe or a sink is a reasonable compromise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bring in all the nuts you wish. Ideally, we can ship off the nut allergic to an island or something where they are out of the way. Worked for the lepers.

Actually, it might just be their moms we need to ship off somewhere out of the way.

Yes to both. Thank you!

I knew I should have ignored this thread to avoid people like you all. If only you knew how terrifying it is to have allergies. My 10 year old has such fear of food that many times he would rather go hungry than even try. If he touches people who have been eating nuts he gets a horrid reaction. I don’t expect the word to change around him so I am teaching him to be vigilant and trying to train him to never leave the house without medication. But not one day goes by where I don’t get up fearing for his life. I don’t understand how you people cannot have compassion for these children!
BTW if someone goes out of the way to change their menu or bring him something he can eat, he certainly goes and thanks them for their kindness and effort. I pray and hope that he never meets people like you guys in his life. He feels isolated enough.

Same here. What PPs don’t seem to get is that deadly food allergies can appear at any time - and seafood allergies in particular tend to develop in young adulthood. It very well could be their kid someday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Do you have a teenager with an anaphylactic food allergy? I don't think you do. Those of us who have older allergic kids are not having the same reaction as you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Are you sure it was from the odor, and not from ingestion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Are you sure it was from the odor, and not from ingestion?

It sounds like he died from an asthma attack, not from a smell. It is very possible to die from a sudden asthma attack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Do you have a older kid or teen with an anaphylactic food allergy? Most of us do not actually trust others to understand or maintain nut free and would rather not be lulled into false security that everyone else has taken care of keeping our kids safe.

All of my kid's anaphylactic reactions after diagnosis were from eating supposedly nut free foods prepared by others who thought they were following correct food safety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bring in all the nuts you wish. Ideally, we can ship off the nut allergic to an island or something where they are out of the way. Worked for the lepers.

Actually, it might just be their moms we need to ship off somewhere out of the way.

Yes to both. Thank you!

I knew I should have ignored this thread to avoid people like you all. If only you knew how terrifying it is to have allergies. My 10 year old has such fear of food that many times he would rather go hungry than even try. If he touches people who have been eating nuts he gets a horrid reaction. I don’t expect the word to change around him so I am teaching him to be vigilant and trying to train him to never leave the house without medication. But not one day goes by where I don’t get up fearing for his life. I don’t understand how you people cannot have compassion for these children!
BTW if someone goes out of the way to change their menu or bring him something he can eat, he certainly goes and thanks them for their kindness and effort. I pray and hope that he never meets people like you guys in his life. He feels isolated enough.

Kids can work themselves into hives due to anxiety, fyi

(Mom of anaphylactic teenager)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 6th grader is having some eating issues at school. The dr recommended snacking multiple times a day. Nuts are an easy snack to take and keep in her backpack. I won't send peanuts but by middle school can I send almonds or cashews?

I think you'll need to check directly with your school to determine their policy.

They will say no.

However my son sometimes brings those snack packs. Eats them between classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cheese is more of a fat than a protein, and peas are not a protein at all. There's no way in hell my daughter would touch beef jerky. As for Beans, really? Do you see a middle school or eating any kind of beans during the school day? I would imagine they would get teased: you know, beans beans they're good for your heart...

You can't really argue that you're eating cashews instead of cheese because cheese is mostly fat. Look at the comparison:

A babybel cheese (just choosing an easy form of cheese that would last in a pocket until snack time) has

60 calories

4.6 grams protein

4.6 grams fat

0 grams of carbs.


60 calories of cashews would have about

2.0 grams protein

4.8 grams fat

3.4 grams of carbs


I already posted above that I think that nuts are fine, as long as they aren't at a desk and the kid uses some reasonable caution, but for a kid looking for more variety cheese is also a good source of protein and fat, both of which a kid needs.

In all fairness, cashews are more shelf stable and have more nutrients and fiber than cheese. I wouldnt send my kid with unrefridgerated cheese in his pocket.

We always have those 100 cal raw nut packs hanging around. Mostly raw almonds and walnuts. Super easy, super healthy snack food you can just throw in your pocket or bag. My son always has a few of them (and Lara bars) stuffed away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bring in all the nuts you wish. Ideally, we can ship off the nut allergic to an island or something where they are out of the way. Worked for the lepers.

Actually, it might just be their moms we need to ship off somewhere out of the way.

Yes to both. Thank you!

I knew I should have ignored this thread to avoid people like you all. If only you knew how terrifying it is to have allergies. My 10 year old has such fear of food that many times he would rather go hungry than even try. If he touches people who have been eating nuts he gets a horrid reaction. I don’t expect the word to change around him so I am teaching him to be vigilant and trying to train him to never leave the house without medication. But not one day goes by where I don’t get up fearing for his life. I don’t understand how you people cannot have compassion for these children!
BTW if someone goes out of the way to change their menu or bring him something he can eat, he certainly goes and thanks them for their kindness and effort. I pray and hope that he never meets people like you guys in his life. He feels isolated enough.

Kids can work themselves into hives due to anxiety, fyi

(Mom of anaphylactic teenager)

He didn’t have a clue that this person ate nuts. He hugged him and he had a reaction. We figured it out the next morning. It’s different for every kid. You should understand this more than anyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bring in all the nuts you wish. Ideally, we can ship off the nut allergic to an island or something where they are out of the way. Worked for the lepers.

Actually, it might just be their moms we need to ship off somewhere out of the way.

Yes to both. Thank you!

I knew I should have ignored this thread to avoid people like you all. If only you knew how terrifying it is to have allergies. My 10 year old has such fear of food that many times he would rather go hungry than even try. If he touches people who have been eating nuts he gets a horrid reaction. I don’t expect the word to change around him so I am teaching him to be vigilant and trying to train him to never leave the house without medication. But not one day goes by where I don’t get up fearing for his life. I don’t understand how you people cannot have compassion for these children!
BTW if someone goes out of the way to change their menu or bring him something he can eat, he certainly goes and thanks them for their kindness and effort. I pray and hope that he never meets people like you guys in his life. He feels isolated enough.

Kids can work themselves into hives due to anxiety, fyi

(Mom of anaphylactic teenager)

He didn’t have a clue that this person ate nuts. He hugged him and he had a reaction. We figured it out the next morning. It’s different for every kid. You should understand this more than anyone else.

I wasn't talking about the hives from hugging, just so you know.

You posts tone are very anxious, and if it comes through on paper it must be 100x more in real life. Please know I am saying this very kindly, which might not come off through written word, you need to fix your anxiety about this. It is not fair to your allergic kid to keep nurturing this level of fear about his allergy. It is not rational, and it does not make him safer. Please, for the sake of your kid, talk to someone about your anxiety. If not a therapist, then a mom of a teen with severe allergies. He can live a very normal and safe life, but not if he maintains this level of fear and anxiety (which feeds off of fear and anxiety).

--mom of allergic/anaphylactic teen