Let's have the nut discussion again

[Traci_Momof2]

My kids' high school went nut free. New thing for them, they've never been nut free in the past. In the letter sent out about it, it talks about students having a life-threatening allergy to peanuts and tree nuts. In another paragraph it talks about "For the safety of the student..." so people are speculating that this is being done for one individual student. And on the Facebook page for this, most comments are not positive about the school going nut free.

My kids will comply because that's who I am, but it's not easy. My sophomore doesn't like meat and cheese sandwiches. We've been trying to find other things that he can take that aren't nuts. I brought home a bunch of Sargentos snack packs before I even realized one of the main components is nuts (along with cheese and dried fruit). I was shopping with him and told him to look for things and he was going to do snack packs of pretzel sticks and Nutella before I reminded him that Nutella is made from a nut. We both went "duh" on something that so obviously contains nuts but we didn't even think about it. We've never had to. My kids have never attended a nut free school. It's easy to say "there are other things to eat" but it's actually hard to find them when you've never had to look for them.

What are your thoughts? At the high school level, is it better to be nut free? Or should kids know how to accommodate their allergen? Is this catering to one allergen while ignoring all the other allergens that so many other students have?

[Anonymous 1]

I find that ridiculous. I can see in elementary because young children cannot be as responsible with their allergy as older people. But high school? No. I wouldn't even follow it. My kid would get the Sargento. And what is that kid going to do in college or after in the office?

[Olioxenfree]

Yes, there are other allergies, but nuts and peanuts are the much more common causes of allergy related deaths and effect a lot more children. You can say that the teenagers are almost adults, but how often as adults are we required to eat in crowded settings on a daily basis? It isn’t feasible to make sure the tables get sanitized between every student use, so if the school thinks it’s necessary, I wouldn’t have an issue with complying. There are so many other things that are more important to me to focus on for my kids at school than one thing not being allowed in a lunch box. There are so many easy, cheap nut free options that I just don’t see it as hard to work around. Buy a bag of dried fruit and a block of cheese to cut into cubes and there you go, but free sargento that’s going to be a lot cheaper than those snack packs.

[Heyteacher]

I find but free at the school to be ridiculous. First it was nut free tables-ok, no problem. Then completely but free classrooms, then floors and now the school.

I’m sorry but I am responsible for my own food and medication allergies no one else should be.

[LuckyEightWow]

Nut allergies have a range of severity and it sounds like this persons nut allergies are very extreme, if that is the case, I would be good with it, even at the high school level.

[Conweis]

I don't agree with nut free schools. Classroom, yes, entire school, no.
My main reason is that many times children are put Ina safe bubble and then forget to be vigilant on checking ingredients. It's one of the reasons why many food allergy teens and young adults suffer from anaphylaxis.

I speak from experience. My late fiance and even my ex would taste my food before I ate it at a restaurant. Main reason being because in the past, I have told the waitress that I have a food allergy and they would still have that ingredient in my food.
Last week, my neighbor offered me half her sub and I forgot to ask what was in it.... F***ing jalapeños. It was not a good experience for me. As a single chick immersing herself back into the adult populous, I have to remember, no one is going to safe guard me from my allergies or triggers. I gotta be a big girl and do that all by myself again.

[mater-three]

I wouldn’t want to be the cause of someone dying. You can make sunflower (peanut) butter. They also used to make one called Sunbutter.

[Pjmm]

My sons would just eat lunch when they came home from school. They hated school lunches and preferred hot ones. So the whole nut thing is a non issue for us and tbh idc one way or another. In elementary school they had nut free tables. Idk about high school but I think kids were left to figure it out for themselves.

We do have a kid in scouts who apparently can’t have beta carotene. That stuff is in so many things. The moms decided he needs to speak up when the boys plan menus for camping trips. Last one they bought the wrong cheese. So at least we’re all getting lessons in reading labels.

[LiveWhatULove]

I am unsure how that would be enforced in our large high school.

By high school, I think a 504 plan for those with severe nut allergies, assures they can eat in a different area, they can even request some friends that voluntarily agree sit with them. Or the teen enrolls in an online public school. But to make 100’s of kid’s at that age be nut free, I am 100% against that. Nut protein provides many teens the necessary proteins & fats when they are growing. Eliminating it from their diets increases the chance of unhealthy foods — too often calorie dense but lacking in nutrients.

[Deleted User 1990]

My kids would be destroyed for the rest of their lives if they killed one of their friends just because I didn’t care enough to pack what I knew would be safe.


I’d go nut free for the other kid and my kids .