Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am wondering what to do about this. My kid loves pb and nuts in general. He is just starting full day school and I'll be packing his lunches for the first time.

The school asks parents not to send in peanuts or tree nuts. But the school cafeteria has pb&j on the menu 4 days a week. So PB isn't officially off limits, but the staff "ask" parents to not send it. But that just seems crazy to me since its served by the school. This is a PG County public school.

Not yet sure how I'll handle this.

Asking you not to send peanuts or tree nuts isn't the same as asking you not to send peanut butter.

PP here. Can you elaborate on that? How is asking parents to not send peanuts different than asking them to not send peanut butter? I can only imagine how that would be different if infants or young toddlers were involved and the issue was choking hazards. But that is not the case here.

Sigh. Basic reading comprehension

Don't send nuts or peanuts. Meaning actual nuts or peanuts. You know, the things squirrels store for winter. Opening a pack can throw tiny particles airborne. Or drop a few the roll away. Easier to contaminate an area with these.

Don't send peanut butter. Meaning dont send pb&j sandwiches or PB crackers.

Clearly your school serves pb, and they ASK for you to not send nuts. Ergo you should feel free to send PB sandwiches. You know, like the one your kid can buy there.

Follow the school policy. For us, we can send pb and other nut foods for lunch because there is a nut free table in the lunch room. No nuts at snack time. If she wants to sit with a friend at the nut free table she told us ahead of time and we packed a nut free lunch.

Goodness no. The school policy bans such things for a reason. It would be awful to send something that ended up triggering some serious reaction in another child.

I follow school policy, which for us is nut free.

I don't send anything with nuts to the classroom as I know there is an allergy. I do send it for lunch occasionally as I know my child does not sit at the reserved table for those with allergies. Sometimes when I'm 100% sure her lunch is nut free (reading labels at least) I will tell her so she can sit at that table if she wants.

I am another who said that they follow school policy. I am in no way making light of the life-threatening difficulties that those with allergies face. But we have to rely on the school to have a policy on these matters. Some kids are allergic to peanut butter, but others are allergic to other things. Children cannot be kept safe by every parent coming up with their own policy on these things. Peanut butter is one of the most common foodstuffs for kids. If it is not safe, the schools need to make this clear and enforce the rule.

Yes I send my kids with peanut butter sandwiches, peanut butter cookies, and other nut products.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am wondering what to do about this. My kid loves pb and nuts in general. He is just starting full day school and I'll be packing his lunches for the first time.

The school asks parents not to send in peanuts or tree nuts. But the school cafeteria has pb&j on the menu 4 days a week. So PB isn't officially off limits, but the staff "ask" parents to not send it. But that just seems crazy to me since its served by the school. This is a PG County public school.

Not yet sure how I'll handle this.

Asking you not to send peanuts or tree nuts isn't the same as asking you not to send peanut butter.

PP here. Can you elaborate on that? How is asking parents to not send peanuts different than asking them to not send peanut butter? I can only imagine how that would be different if infants or young toddlers were involved and the issue was choking hazards. But that is not the case here.

I'm one of the ones that said I follow school policy. I in no way feel that allergies are a joke, or something to not care about. I simply assume that since (1) the school serves nuts and (2) they allow nuts, that they someone manage to keep any kids with allergies safe in some other way. Maybe I am being naïve, but my assumption is that if there were a kid in my son's class with a severe allergy, and that kid sat at the same table (or even close), that they would change the rule and prohibit nuts. Or at least ask parents to not pack them. We double checked with the teacher before packing any, and she said it was fine.

The story about the field trip is frightening.

Anonymous wrote:I am wondering what to do about this. My kid loves pb and nuts in general. He is just starting full day school and I'll be packing his lunches for the first time.

The school asks parents not to send in peanuts or tree nuts. But the school cafeteria has pb&j on the menu 4 days a week. So PB isn't officially off limits, but the staff "ask" parents to not send it. But that just seems crazy to me since its served by the school. This is a PG County public school.

Not yet sure how I'll handle this.

Asking you not to send peanuts or tree nuts isn't the same as asking you not to send peanut butter.

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.

Please tell me someone lost their job for this.

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.

Great for the kid allergic to peanuts. Sucks for a kid allergic to sunflower seeds.

Where do you draw the line?

I am wondering what to do about this. My kid loves pb and nuts in general. He is just starting full day school and I'll be packing his lunches for the first time.

The school asks parents not to send in peanuts or tree nuts. But the school cafeteria has pb&j on the menu 4 days a week. So PB isn't officially off limits, but the staff "ask" parents to not send it. But that just seems crazy to me since its served by the school. This is a PG County public school.

Not yet sure how I'll handle this.

Peanuts have a history of deadly reactions more so than a lot of other allergies. I did get the nasty view of kids with nut allergies and no I am not sensitive just being real. Have been in the presence of too many people who complain about no nuts not realizing that I am supportive esp in younger grades when you can't trust a child to not touch someone's food. A mistake shouldn't be a death sentence.

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.