Let's have the nut discussion again

[LiveWhatULove]

I think school lunches should be nut free. Like there’s a kid in our troop who is allergic to carrots. Can’t have beta carotene which is a coloring. So we plan menus that don’t include that ingredient. Now if one of us brings our own food that’s fine. Or the adults sometimes cook our own meals. But we think we should consider the allergic child and we teach the boys to do likewise as they’re buying the food for themselves. It’s really not a big deal to accommodate someone, at least in a small setting. Read a label, have substitutes, learn how to use an epipen if needed. No the world won’t be considerate or sacrifice. But one’s friends or club can make life easier for a person. Otherwise I have no opinion on nut free schools. If they do it fine. If they have nut free tables that’s fine too. I’m okay with some sort of accommodation. And if all your autistic child will eat is peanut butter that’s fine. Accommodate that too. But he or she needs food sensitivity therapy. They can’t live like that. My son hates vegetables. They make him gag. But slowly he’s learning how to prepare them so he can eat them. Because he has no choice tbh.

So no home lunches or snacks? How else would you enforce that as school admin that would be more effective than a different dining area or table?

That is my main issue with the policy, you are asking a lot of people to sacrifice for little benefit, KwIM?

Wait.. as someone that works in a hospital are you truly saying that saving a student from death is LITTLE BENEFIT?? Am I reading that correctly? If so.. wow.

I'm the mom that goes out of her way to accomodate any kid that comes to my house. My girls have friends that have food allergies, texture issues, one is vegan..dairy free, gluten free. Yeah.. I will never be okay with possibly causing one of their friends to have a reaction or die because of my selfishness or non-willingness to make sure they are safe in my home. That would extend to school as well. They make sure that their lunches on Mondays will not affect any of their friends. It was the same when they were in private school and not homeschooled. I read labels then and I still do so I can make sure their friends stay safe.
I find it shocking that someone in the healthcare field of all fields would say there is little benefit to making sure a child does not die at school because of allergies.

You ate not even comprehending what I am saying…. Of course you could enforce a policy in your home. Of course you can even enforce it Boy Scouts. Of course it was easier to enforce at daycare.

But a high school? 1200 kids with backpacks, potential lunches, and snacks. Even if 1100 kids followed the rule — 10 kids sneaking in nuts — either that’s Paige threatening and if that is the cased the child need alternative education OR it’s a low enough risk, that then o a exclusionary lunch table would do the trick anyway.

My child had anaphylactic nut allergies, I don’t even need professional experience to tel you it’s a CYA policy that is not effective in large schools for anyone with severe nut allergies due to the inability to enforce it. And if their allergy is not that severe, then a ban is not needed.

I feel like every time you respond to me, you’re hostile & judging.

[Traci_Momof2]

I think school lunches should be nut free. Like there’s a kid in our troop who is allergic to carrots. Can’t have beta carotene which is a coloring. So we plan menus that don’t include that ingredient. Now if one of us brings our own food that’s fine. Or the adults sometimes cook our own meals. But we think we should consider the allergic child and we teach the boys to do likewise as they’re buying the food for themselves. It’s really not a big deal to accommodate someone, at least in a small setting. Read a label, have substitutes, learn how to use an epipen if needed. No the world won’t be considerate or sacrifice. But one’s friends or club can make life easier for a person. Otherwise I have no opinion on nut free schools. If they do it fine. If they have nut free tables that’s fine too. I’m okay with some sort of accommodation. And if all your autistic child will eat is peanut butter that’s fine. Accommodate that too. But he or she needs food sensitivity therapy. They can’t live like that. My son hates vegetables. They make him gag. But slowly he’s learning how to prepare them so he can eat them. Because he has no choice tbh.

So no home lunches or snacks? How else would you enforce that as school admin that would be more effective than a different dining area or table?

That is my main issue with the policy, you are asking a lot of people to sacrifice for little benefit, KwIM?

Wait.. as someone that works in a hospital are you truly saying that saving a student from death is LITTLE BENEFIT?? Am I reading that correctly? If so.. wow.

I'm the mom that goes out of her way to accomodate any kid that comes to my house. My girls have friends that have food allergies, texture issues, one is vegan..dairy free, gluten free. Yeah.. I will never be okay with possibly causing one of their friends to have a reaction or die because of my selfishness or non-willingness to make sure they are safe in my home. That would extend to school as well. They make sure that their lunches on Mondays will not affect any of their friends. It was the same when they were in private school and not homeschooled. I read labels then and I still do so I can make sure their friends stay safe.
I find it shocking that someone in the healthcare field of all fields would say there is little benefit to making sure a child does not die at school because of allergies.

I am certain that is NOT what Live meant by "little benefit". What she meant, as she's pointed out in other responses, is that "nut free" is not truly nut free. Nuts will still get on campus, either because students forget or students just don't care and bring it anyway or students bring something that they genuinely didn't realize had nuts in it. So the danger is still there to the allergic child, and perhaps even a higher danger exists now if the allergic child lets their guard down. I'm almost certain that is what she meant by "little benefit" - that the safe environment they are trying to create will never truly exist. Hundreds of students have to alter their choices, and the allergic student STILL has to be JUST AS VIGILANT as if it were not a nut free environment, otherwise the allergic student still risks death. Does that make sense?

[LiveWhatULove]

The one comment I keep seeing is how ‘the whole world won’t cater to the kid with the allergy’. I’m pretty certain the parents and the kid already know this, they’ve been living in the real world, they aren’t asking the whole world, they’re asking the school.

We don’t give young people enough credit, most aren’t going to want to put another student in harms way, most will try to reduce the risk, most won’t have an issue with it. It’s the parents who tend to get all bent out of shape.

I totally agree with the last part, which supports instead of on blanket policy, letting students choose their lunch mates & lunches accordingly, no? I know my son had friends who would bring but free lunches so they could sit with him, it was awesome. But then the other kids who didn’t know my son, could enjoy the lunch they pleased in elementary school!

[LiveWhatULove]

So no home lunches or snacks? How else would you enforce that as school admin that would be more effective than a different dining area or table?

That is my main issue with the policy, you are asking a lot of people to sacrifice for little benefit, KwIM?

Wait.. as someone that works in a hospital are you truly saying that saving a student from death is LITTLE BENEFIT?? Am I reading that correctly? If so.. wow.

I'm the mom that goes out of her way to accomodate any kid that comes to my house. My girls have friends that have food allergies, texture issues, one is vegan..dairy free, gluten free. Yeah.. I will never be okay with possibly causing one of their friends to have a reaction or die because of my selfishness or non-willingness to make sure they are safe in my home. That would extend to school as well. They make sure that their lunches on Mondays will not affect any of their friends. It was the same when they were in private school and not homeschooled. I read labels then and I still do so I can make sure their friends stay safe.
I find it shocking that someone in the healthcare field of all fields would say there is little benefit to making sure a child does not die at school because of allergies.

I am certain that is NOT what Live meant by "little benefit". What she meant, as she's pointed out in other responses, is that "nut free" is not truly nut free. Nuts will still get on campus, either because students forget or students just don't care and bring it anyway or students bring something that they genuinely didn't realize had nuts in it. So the danger is still there to the allergic child, and perhaps even a higher danger exists now if the allergic child lets their guard down. I'm almost certain that is what she meant by "little benefit" - that the safe environment they are trying to create will never truly exist. Hundreds of students have to alter their choices, and the allergic student STILL has to be JUST AS VIGILANT as if it were not a nut free environment, otherwise the allergic student still risks death. Does that make sense?

Thank you!

[mcginnisc]

So no home lunches or snacks? How else would you enforce that as school admin that would be more effective than a different dining area or table?

That is my main issue with the policy, you are asking a lot of people to sacrifice for little benefit, KwIM?

Wait.. as someone that works in a hospital are you truly saying that saving a student from death is LITTLE BENEFIT?? Am I reading that correctly? If so.. wow.

I'm the mom that goes out of her way to accomodate any kid that comes to my house. My girls have friends that have food allergies, texture issues, one is vegan..dairy free, gluten free. Yeah.. I will never be okay with possibly causing one of their friends to have a reaction or die because of my selfishness or non-willingness to make sure they are safe in my home. That would extend to school as well. They make sure that their lunches on Mondays will not affect any of their friends. It was the same when they were in private school and not homeschooled. I read labels then and I still do so I can make sure their friends stay safe.
I find it shocking that someone in the healthcare field of all fields would say there is little benefit to making sure a child does not die at school because of allergies.

You ate not even comprehending what I am saying…. Of course you could enforce a policy in your home. Of course you can even enforce it Boy Scouts. Of course it was easier to enforce at daycare.

But a high school? 1200 kids with backpacks, potential lunches, and snacks. Even if 1100 kids followed the rule — 10 kids sneaking in nuts — either that’s Paige threatening and if that is the cased the child need alternative education OR it’s a low enough risk, that then o a exclusionary lunch table would do the trick anyway.

My child had anaphylactic nut allergies, I don’t even need professional experience to tel you it’s a CYA policy that is not effective in large schools for anyone with severe nut allergies due to the inability to enforce it. And if their allergy is not that severe, then a ban is not needed.

I feel like every time you respond to me, you’re hostile & judging.

I am trying to understand your POV.. You said and I quote: Little Benefit. What the heck does that even mean? The benefit is a child NOT dying. I mean..isn't that the benefit?
You are not privvy to their medical information so you have no idea if a ban is not needed. Obviously, the BOE or school is not going to ban it for kicks and giggles. There has to be a serious reason for a school that has never been nut free to issue a complete ban. To me, that says- there is a student that has a life threatening allergy and to protect that student the school is going to ban nuts.

[mcginnisc]

So no home lunches or snacks? How else would you enforce that as school admin that would be more effective than a different dining area or table?

That is my main issue with the policy, you are asking a lot of people to sacrifice for little benefit, KwIM?

Wait.. as someone that works in a hospital are you truly saying that saving a student from death is LITTLE BENEFIT?? Am I reading that correctly? If so.. wow.

I'm the mom that goes out of her way to accomodate any kid that comes to my house. My girls have friends that have food allergies, texture issues, one is vegan..dairy free, gluten free. Yeah.. I will never be okay with possibly causing one of their friends to have a reaction or die because of my selfishness or non-willingness to make sure they are safe in my home. That would extend to school as well. They make sure that their lunches on Mondays will not affect any of their friends. It was the same when they were in private school and not homeschooled. I read labels then and I still do so I can make sure their friends stay safe.
I find it shocking that someone in the healthcare field of all fields would say there is little benefit to making sure a child does not die at school because of allergies.

I am certain that is NOT what Live meant by "little benefit". What she meant, as she's pointed out in other responses, is that "nut free" is not truly nut free. Nuts will still get on campus, either because students forget or students just don't care and bring it anyway or students bring something that they genuinely didn't realize had nuts in it. So the danger is still there to the allergic child, and perhaps even a higher danger exists now if the allergic child lets their guard down. I'm almost certain that is what she meant by "little benefit" - that the safe environment they are trying to create will never truly exist. Hundreds of students have to alter their choices, and the allergic student STILL has to be JUST AS VIGILANT as if it were not a nut free environment, otherwise the allergic student still risks death. Does that make sense?

I take exception to her wording. Her wording makes it sound like a child not dying is little benefit. Maybe it was just a poor choice of wording, but for once I agree with Bob on something. I never ever thought that would happen in a million years.
Honestly, I see this as a parenting issue- the parents need to make sure students know another student could die being exposed since nuts are also an airborne allergy. If parents are flippant, which here we area again with the parents not willing to help another child, this is what happens- students bringing stuff that can harm another.

[Traci_Momof2]

Dude… these responses are sad.

Y’all literally don’t give enough of a shit about your kids schoolmates SURVIVING THE DAY to pack a nut free sandwich.

Have you ever seen it? I mean have you ever seen someone going blue, gasping for air as they lost consciousness from anaphylaxis?

I have, it’s F***ing horrific. Luckily the person I saw lived, but it’ll stay with me forever and I can’t imagine knowingly allowing the ability for my kids to see that, and ON TOP OF THAT, for them to know it was their fault.



Lol I mean seriously… it’s pure F***ing evil to stand there in the kitchen making your kid’s sandwich for the day, and after you’ve been told not to bring nuts because it could kill a student to just do it anyways and say to yourself in your mind “ Oh well, if she dies she dies, it’ll be her own fault”…

Your last statement, I highly doubt anyone is actually doing that, and that's a very cynical POV to take. But let me ask you this - what about accidents? I shared my examples of not even realizing right away that something contains nuts. What happens if someone brings something that they truly didn't realize has nuts, and then it causes the allergic student to have a reaction? What's the liability there? It's been suggested that the school is doing this for liability reasons, but is the parent and the student protected from liability if it's a genuine mistake or oversight? Are the parents of the allergic child going to understand that mistakes happen?

You said in another response that your kids have been at nut free schools for pretty much their entire school career. Well mine haven't. Mine are both in high school and this is literally the first time ever that they've been at a school that's completely nut free. Nut free table, yes. Nut free snacks in the classroom, yes. But never entirely nut free campus. So we are NOT AT ALL used to looking for nut free, and it's entirely possible that we will make a mistake. And it's not about not caring enough or not being concerned. It's about we are human entering an entirely new arena and we could make a mistake. And I won't let my kid feel bad if he accidently grabs the wrong thing one morning while getting ready for school.

[sarah824]

Here is my VERY unpopular opinion on this -

Why do we continue to make rules/accommodations for such a small group of people when the ramifications of these rules/accommodations affect such a large group negatively? It is not just the nut thing, but many different things in society where we cater to the smallest group regardless of how it impacts the majority.

That being said - We are a rule following family so if this rule came up at our high school then we would figure out how to follow it whether we agreed with it or not.

[Deleted User 1990]

So no home lunches or snacks? How else would you enforce that as school admin that would be more effective than a different dining area or table?

That is my main issue with the policy, you are asking a lot of people to sacrifice for little benefit, KwIM?

Wait.. as someone that works in a hospital are you truly saying that saving a student from death is LITTLE BENEFIT?? Am I reading that correctly? If so.. wow.

I'm the mom that goes out of her way to accomodate any kid that comes to my house. My girls have friends that have food allergies, texture issues, one is vegan..dairy free, gluten free. Yeah.. I will never be okay with possibly causing one of their friends to have a reaction or die because of my selfishness or non-willingness to make sure they are safe in my home. That would extend to school as well. They make sure that their lunches on Mondays will not affect any of their friends. It was the same when they were in private school and not homeschooled. I read labels then and I still do so I can make sure their friends stay safe.
I find it shocking that someone in the healthcare field of all fields would say there is little benefit to making sure a child does not die at school because of allergies.

I am certain that is NOT what Live meant by "little benefit". What she meant, as she's pointed out in other responses, is that "nut free" is not truly nut free. Nuts will still get on campus, either because students forget or students just don't care and bring it anyway or students bring something that they genuinely didn't realize had nuts in it. So the danger is still there to the allergic child, and perhaps even a higher danger exists now if the allergic child lets their guard down. I'm almost certain that is what she meant by "little benefit" - that the safe environment they are trying to create will never truly exist. Hundreds of students have to alter their choices, and the allergic student STILL has to be JUST AS VIGILANT as if it were not a nut free environment, otherwise the allergic student still risks death. Does that make sense?

So do both...

Tell the kids not to bring nuts, and be super vigilant when you have a nut allergy.

[Deleted User 1990]

Dude… these responses are sad.

Y’all literally don’t give enough of a shit about your kids schoolmates SURVIVING THE DAY to pack a nut free sandwich.

Have you ever seen it? I mean have you ever seen someone going blue, gasping for air as they lost consciousness from anaphylaxis?

I have, it’s F***ing horrific. Luckily the person I saw lived, but it’ll stay with me forever and I can’t imagine knowingly allowing the ability for my kids to see that, and ON TOP OF THAT, for them to know it was their fault.



Lol I mean seriously… it’s pure F***ing evil to stand there in the kitchen making your kid’s sandwich for the day, and after you’ve been told not to bring nuts because it could kill a student to just do it anyways and say to yourself in your mind “ Oh well, if she dies she dies, it’ll be her own fault”…

Your last statement, I highly doubt anyone is actually doing that, and that's a very cynical POV to take. But let me ask you this - what about accidents? I shared my examples of not even realizing right away that something contains nuts. What happens if someone brings something that they truly didn't realize has nuts, and then it causes the allergic student to have a reaction? What's the liability there? It's been suggested that the school is doing this for liability reasons, but is the parent and the student protected from liability if it's a genuine mistake or oversight? Are the parents of the allergic child going to understand that mistakes happen?

You said in another response that your kids have been at nut free schools for pretty much their entire school career. Well mine haven't. Mine are both in high school and this is literally the first time ever that they've been at a school that's completely nut free. Nut free table, yes. Nut free snacks in the classroom, yes. But never entirely nut free campus. So we are NOT AT ALL used to looking for nut free, and it's entirely possible that we will make a mistake. And it's not about not caring enough or not being concerned. It's about we are human entering an entirely new arena and we could make a mistake. And I won't let my kid feel bad if he accidently grabs the wrong thing one morning while getting ready for school.

Then an accident is an accident... That doesn't mean you don't try to be safe .

Plenty of the comments on the first page include "I wouldn't follow that rule" , so yeah, that last sentence is something they're saying they'd do.