Re: Peanut and nut and may contain nut ban in public school

More | Report Post

Bonnie,

Maybe you can lend me some advice. My husband and I have been blessed
so that we had the opportunity to enroll our children in private
school. We researched and enrolled our oldest son based on academic
ratings and what we thought was a loving environment. This was long
before I ever knew about peanut allergies.

Then our youngest was diagnosed with a severe peanut allergy.

Now I find myself having two children in a Catholic school where there
is NO understanding of how serious this situation for my youngest is.
Everyone has this idea that private is safer but it really isn't. Since
they don't receive federal funding, I don't believe they are protected
under law? I just found out that they don't bring epipens on field
trips, is my only alternative to uproot my children mid school year? I
have tried talking to the principle but they give me lip service and
then I find out things like Epipens are locked up.

I am beside myself with worry. I need to know that if he is exposed, he
has access to an Epipen. Since he is only 6, I am not comfortable with
him having the responsibility to carry it with him.

On 10/16/05, Teresa S wrote:
> On 3/29/05, Bonnie wrote:
>> Children with peanut allergies have a disability that is protected
>> by law, just as children with learning disabilities or physical
>> disabilities are protected. Here's the law:
>>
>> Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
>>
>> "No otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the United
>> States...shall, solely by reason of...handicap, be excluded from
>> participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
>> discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal
>> financial assistance."
>>
>> Learn more at The Peanut Patrol at
>> http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/~bvparks/peanut_patrol/htm/
>>
>> Don't let people tell you to keep your allergic child home or that
>> s/he doesn't deserve a free, public school education! You wouldn't
>> tell the mother of a mentally retarded child that she should keep
>> her kid home because the other children are inconvenienced and will
>> suffer! Peanut allergies are sharply on the rise...YOUR kid could be
>> the next one. Accomodations are not difficult. Let's all follow the
>> law and teach our children to have compassion for others.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 9/29/04, Jamie wrote:
>>> On 8/27/04, Lisa Turner wrote:
>>>> My 5 yr old daughter will be starting school this year. The
>>>> school she will be attending has just issued a ban on all tree
>>>> nuts, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, fresh fruit
>>>> that contain pits such as peaches, nectarines, cherries and so
>>>> forth. ONE child in the school has peanut allergies.
>>>>
>>>> To the mother of that child, I cant even imagine what it must be
>>>> like to wonder if your child is going to make it thru lunch with
>>>> out getting a severe possibly fatal reaction caused by someone
>>>> else eating a nut containing product. However I feel total ban
>>>> is not the answer.
>>>>
>>>> Its completely impractical to ban these food products from
>>>> coming into the school and blanket bans could actually do more
>>>> harm than good. It could lull the child(ren) in question into a
>>>> false sense of security and make them feel safe in dropping
>>>> their guard, potentially leading that child to exposure of
>>>> dangerous foods.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I would think educating the child and the children immediately
>>>> around him would do a much better job of protecting them against
>>>> reactions. To rely on the vigilance of others to screen the
>>>> product that they send to school with their children would scare
>>>> me more if I were a parent of a nut allergic child.
>>>>
>>>> With that being said. I am the mother of a nonallergic child and
>>>> why does my child need to suffer because ONE child has an
>>>> allergy. I understand it is a severe allergy that could kill in
>>>> seconds, but if a child reacts that badly, I believe they should
>>>> not be put in a public school and made the responsiblity of
>>>> everyone.
>>>
>>>
>>> I am a teacher and I have a daughter that is severly allergic to
>> peanuts. I am in awe that you
>>> are a mother at all. Have you no compassion? Believe me, you
>> will when you watch your
>>> daughter in ICU after a severe reaction to peanuts. Is your child
>> truely going to "suffer"
>>> because they can't have peanut products for lunch? I am
>> intrepreting your post to say that
>>> the death of one child is justified, because the other children
>> will "suffer" without PB & J for
>>> lunch, 180 days out of the year. Maybe I'm selfish. You're
>> right. Your child being forced to
>>> go without peanut products from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm every school
>> day, far outweighs the
>>> price that another child will pay after your child touches them.
>> GET EDUCATED! You are not
>>> worth my time.
>
> Your post is very well written! The person who wants children to be
> banned from a school has obviously never seen an allergic reaction.
> My own sister had a very similiar attitude. She thought I was just
> being over pretective. She would be upset at X-mas parties if we
> would leave because they had put peanuts out. Then her son was stung
> by a bee. He started to go into shock and almost died. Now she
> understands that allergies are not something we would ever chose for
> our children and that it can be fatal. Hopefully the people who think
> that their PB&J rights exceed the children who are allergic, never
> have to have to have the first hand knowledge that would change their
> minds. I would never wish that on any mother.