At what point do allergies become unmanageable?

[Woahthehorsey]

DC1 has a new child starting in their school after half term. It's a really small school so they often do whole school things, like play time, lunch time, assembly etc. It's not clear what class this child is entering in.

Information has been shared by the school about this particular child (with parental permission). The child has a number of severe food allergies and as a result we can't bring them for snacks or packed lunch and they're also being taken off the school menu and we're being asked that our children clean teeth and wash hands after eating them at home. This is the list:

Peanuts (were a nut free school anyway)
Tomatoes
Melon
Strawberry
Dairy
Eggs
Legumes (beans & chickpeas)
Lentils
Soya (including as an ingredient)
Oranges and orange citrus fruit
Celery
Coconut

My kids thankfully don't have allergies and we aren't vegetarian or vegan but I can only imagine what parents of Vege kids or coeliac kids are thinking about what their kids will be fed. The school runs a breakfast club and we've been told milk will be replaced with oat alternative.

I just wonder at what point does it get too much? I'm terrified I'll forget something and inadvertently harm this child. Especially soya which is in everything. The parents must be terrified!

For further info, my kid has school lunches but takes packed lunches for holiday club and is in breakfast club sometimes and after school club 3 times a week, one of the reasons we chose the school was great wrap around provision. We eat a lot of the banned foods at home.

Suggestions for lunch boxes appreciated, we usually do homemade pitta pizza and veg sticks, hummus, yogurt and fruit (melon and strawberries being the favourite!).

I agree that the school need to step up and provide a solution, I would write to them and ask for a parents meeting with the Head, the cooks, a dietician and a/doctor nurse to discuss what alternatives are being offered, what do they suggest. Water and dry baked potatoes every day.

Pitta breads have milk in them ?

I couldn't make a packed lunch for my veggie child excluding all foods from that list

In fact it's so unworkable I'd have to tell them

As a family of oat sensitive vegetarian coeliacs I would be telling them in no uncertain terms what they could do

Nobody tells people they can’t eat gluten or oats when my kids are eating and we’ve had incidents of kids deliberately trying to contaminate our food by shaking their sandwiches over the DC’s lunch

I do get it, I’m also nut/celery and cinnamon allergic and DC2 has a life threatening shellfish allergy as well and we carry epipens

But this is wholly unreasonable to decide one child’s needs are greater than others, separate eating area should be arranged but other than that the family need to be realistic as do the school

Is the school also suggesting that this poor DC never ever ever goes anywhere just in case those allergens are present?

So said child wouldn't go to any sort of Cafe, ever - even if they took their own food or didn't eat anything? The child doesn't/hasn't ever gone to the cinema, to an indoor play place?

If the risk is contact, the other children need to be supervised washing their hands properly after eating and the allergic child supervised at lunch to ensure other children don't touch them.

It's manageable and can be done so kindly, discreetly and carefully. But having a child with severe allergies will always mean there is an element of risk and all you can do is manage the risk, it can't be totally eliminated.

I personally would be absolutely fuming if my child's diet was limited to essentially something far poorer, because of one child's needs. 79 children not getting the dairy and nutrients they need, isn't an acceptable way to deal with this. They need a balanced diet and they have a right to that. Especially, like PP said, if they are on free school meals.

That’s a good point about vegetarians and vegans. What would they actually eat? They need to be provided with, or take in, protein every day, and not the same thing each day. What options would there be?

How do they think this will work for kids travelling on buses, they will be in contact with other people, what about school visits, are they going to tell the coach driver, museum staff and visitors they cannot eat these foods. Presumably the staff and other parents will also have to follow this, no more milk in their coffee or tea.

I'd say no.

@Overthebow

That’s a good point about vegetarians and vegans. What would they actually eat? They need to be provided with, or take in, protein every day, and not the same thing each day. What options would there be?

I don't know. There's at least 2 vegan kids (1 for religious reasons) in the school. The school cooking is usually very good with little reliance on near alternatives but now I suspect it'll all be Quorn, which I'd be very unhappy with.

*meat not near

I've never heard of soya/ dairy/ egg being banned in a school setting before.

Nuts, sure. The odd fruit like Kiwi or peach, sure.

It's just totally unsustainable to ban such an extensive list.

My son is Anaphylactic to dairy/ egg/ nuts, legumes and about 10 other things. I'd never expect all of them to be banned from his school because I know it's not fair on the other kids. It took us about a year to find a "menu" that works for him.

Also, mistakes would inevitably happen and the child would be at more risk as they think all the packed lunches are "safe" to be around.

I have a feeling the guidance is going to change soon...

If not, where's this school? I'll be along to register DS!

@BlanketsBanned

How do they think this will work for kids travelling on buses, they will be in contact with other people, what about school visits, are they going to tell the coach driver, museum staff and visitors they cannot eat these foods. Presumably the staff and other parents will also have to follow this, no more milk in their coffee or tea.

No kids travel on buses but yes, it does raise issues of the wider arena. Yes, teachers are having to abide by this as well.

I suspect it's a term long trial for the whole thing but seems long term unworkable to me.

There is no way that 79 sets of parents are going to produce 20 meals a month that meet these criteria.

I can tell you this with absolute certainty because I am intolerant (not allergic ) to one ingredient - gluten. And many restaurants / cafes / coffee shops ( with professional catering staff) and many of my friends ( all middle aged adults who have been cooking food for decades ) are unable to produce ONE meal per year that is gluten free.

And that’s just one intolerance. Even though I can eat every single food in the world except wheat, barley and rye.

Omitting just three commonly eaten foods is totally beyond most people. Once.

Omitting that long list AND making something that has to sit in a hot classroom for 3 hours without refrigeration and be easily and quickly eaten at school is almost impossible?

It’s basically rice cakes or oat cakes with some jams or vegetarian spreads, some fruit or veg, some crisps and some vegan desserts.

Meat is not safe in hot weather unless refrigerated.

I note with interested that fish is not on the banned list, which is odd.

Who is going to fund this for all the parents who can only afford basics like bread and jam / cheese slices?

Or what about the SN kids who will pay eat certain things? One of mine would only eat square sliced ham on square bread and one brand of yoghurt .

@M0RVEN

There is no way that 79 sets of parents are going to produce 20 meals a month that meet these criteria.

I can tell you this with absolute certainty because I am intolerant (not allergic ) to one ingredient - gluten. And many restaurants / cafes / coffee shops ( with professional catering staff) and many of my friends ( all middle aged adults who have been cooking food for decades ) are unable to produce ONE meal per year that is gluten free.

And that’s just one intolerance. Even though I can eat every single food in the world except wheat, barley and rye.

Omitting just three commonly eaten foods is totally beyond most people. Once.

Omitting that long list AND making something that has to sit in a hot classroom for 3 hours without refrigeration and be easily and quickly eaten at school is almost impossible?

It’s basically rice cakes or oat cakes with some jams or vegetarian spreads, some fruit or veg, some crisps and some vegan desserts.

Meat is not safe in hot weather unless refrigerated.

I note with interested that fish is not on the banned list, which is odd.

Who is going to fund this for all the parents who can only afford basics like bread and jam / cheese slices?

Or what about the SN kids who will pay eat certain things? One of mine would only eat square sliced ham on square bread and one brand of yoghurt .

Finance isn't an issue thankfully but yeah, it does leave me wondering what people are going to eat. Fish must be fine for the child I question.

I say this as someone with a child who has a severe allergy, just reply to the school and say, sorry this is unworkable.
If you have a pta Facebook page or WhatsApp group say it there too. I can guarantee you that all the parents will be feeling the same and actually it's far better to voice it now.

As a pp said, banning potential airborne allergens such as nuts is doable.

In order to minimise other contact it would be reasonable to work through a list of things that could be done in order to significantly reduce problems such as the child eating their lunch away from food prep/serve areas, frequent hand washing, no physical contact with other children, their own separate desk etc.

The child must come into potential contact when in the outside world, so they need to learn how to keep themselves safe. Risk is everywhere and all you can do is minimise not eliminate it.

Is that child sooo severely allergic to all of those?! Wow

A child in DD1 nursery class was allergic to a long list of things but they just warned parents to not bring "sharing food" with those ingredients. For lunch time the only rule was no nuts. Maybe the child was supervised during lunch or something.

I think you need to talk to the school. That is a too long list for parents to enforce in their lunches