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RSSOMFG – Peanuts are illegal now?
Aug 31
Illinois, Mount Vernon, School 80, allergy, District, gluten, honey, idiot, Illinois, Mount, peanut, School, stupid, Vernon 8 Comments
Christ. Apparently I can’t send Amaya or Erich to school with a peanut butter sandwich now because the Primary Center is now a ‘nut-free zone’. I have many wisecracks about that assumption, given this idiotic decision, but I’ll hold them for now.
I know that some people are allergic to nuts, fine. Sucks to be them, especially as a kid, and I agree we should accomodate them as well as is possible. Unfortunately, I also feel that attempting to make an entire school nut-free is idiotic.
This point was made very evident to me tonight. Em sent a note to Erich’s teacher about bringing cupcakes in for his birthday on Wednesday. The teacher sent home a nice little note about how that would be fine and that right after lunch would be a good time. Unfortunately, we must go purchase the special nut-free cupcakes from Kroger or Wal-Mart since the ones on the shelf are made at a plant where they may have been breathed-on by someone who had a peanut butter sandwich 3 months ago.
Yes, I exaggerate, but it’s to make a point. What happens if Erich is allergic to honey? Do we get to ban honey and honey containing products from the school, school lunches, etc.? How about gluten? Gluten is a new hot-button allergy that people are scared of.
I understand that a kid with a bad nut allergy needs to have special accomodations, but damn. There has to be a line drawn somewhere. Perhaps I’ll send him to school with peanut butter cookies.
Aug 31, 2009 @ 17:29:13
ffs!
that’s all I can say here… ffs.
STOP REGULATING EVERYTHING! STOP BANNING EVERYTHING!
no wonder today’s kids are as fucked up as they are!
Aug 31, 2009 @ 18:20:59
Your Uncle David agrees that this is NUTS he had to say that. Needless to say you CAN NOT get peanuts on the plane any more for the same reason DLK
May 05, 2010 @ 22:52:13
The difference between your child being allergic to honey or gluten is that they will not die from it. A honey or gluten allergic person will experience a very bad stomache if ingesting that food. On the other hand, a peanut allergic child or person will go into analphaltic shock closing his airways within seconds of ingesting a peanut. it is deadly!! But, i too was as ignorant as you are before my child was diagnosed. Until you walk in my shoes!!
May 06, 2010 @ 07:20:50
Courtney, any allergy can cause anaphylactic shock. The key difference is in how severe the allergy is for any particular person. The stomach ache you refer to is for a less-allergic reaction. Those same foods can cause anaphylaxis just as easily if the person has a more severe response to that allergen.
I hope you realize that I do have sympathy for people with these conditions, but when do we stop making everyone suffer for the comfort of the few? Accommodate, yes. Remove every bad thing from everywhere? No.
May 27, 2010 @ 13:40:26
I used to agree with you – I hated parents of peanut kids and what they were trying to do. “You can’t tell me I can’t send peanut butter to school” is what I would think, usually with an expletive attached. So what happens? I’m blessed with a first child who has a severe allergy to peanuts. Now I’m that ahole parent I always hated.
I get your point, it’s crazy. But at the end of the day, I don’t care about your “right” to send peanut products with your kid to school. All I care about is protecting my son’s life. Such is the reality of being a parent.
I hear ya though – it sucks.
May 27, 2010 @ 14:17:28
Jon, I appreciate your level-headedness with a subject so close to your heart. Again, I agree we need to accommodate allergies to a reasonable level.
I think making everyone suffer for the benefit of the few is unjust. Still, it’s just my opinion. As we all know, opinions are not necessarily factual or even right. So, I’ll just leave it at that.
(yes, I know headedness is not a word)
May 27, 2010 @ 15:15:22
We’re going through this now – he’s going to Kindergarten in the fall so we had the first meeting about a 504 plan today. My wife and I are still sorting out what we’re going to request.
We’re less concerned about the cafeteria…well concerned, but not looking to make the whole school peanut free. While he’s small I think we’re going to request either an “allergy-free” table, or more likely just that an aide checks the lunches immediately next to and across from him for actual peanuts/peanut butter. We don’t want him sitting by himself, but you know 5/6 year olds – peanut butter ends up all over their hands, which means it’s all over their table, chairs, and each other.
I think we’ll ask them to be stricter in the classroom, where he’ll be spending the majority of the day. Also requesting an in-service where all teachers are educated on these types of allergies, symptoms, and what to do. Nothing major – just 30 mins or something, so they have some level of awareness.
As he gets older, and he can read/understand food labels, and have more ability to realize something is wrong and tell someone promptly, we’ll be able to ease up and let him manage more of it himself. When he’s small, though, we’re going to regrettably have to push a little harder. If they’re going to be responsible for him for 6 hours each day, then we need to have the confidence he’ll be in an environment where he won’t have to worry about a trip to the ER (we’ve already been once, and since he has asthma anaphylactic shock is extra dangerous for him).
May 27, 2010 @ 15:49:47
Jon, that sounds totally reasonable to me. Precautionary, but not intrusive to everyone. I agree on the classroom part. The tough one will be to make sure he’s cool at lunch, but not singled out as well.
We all know how mean young kids *can* be to each other, especially if someone is different in any way.
I suppose a large part of my issue with this local matter is that our ‘Primary Center’ (a joke) is for our whole town. This means no child in the city can have a nut product during the school year, at school.