Is it okay for DC to have peanut butter for breakfast?

[TwentyOneTwentyTwo]

I took my son to nursery today and as I was saying bye I mentioned in passing that he'd got peanut butter in his hair this morning. The teacher seemed worried and asked if it was still in there. I said no, maybe there's a tiny bit. I'd got it all off but hadn't washed his hair. She said it's probably fine it's just she had a nut allergy. As I was walking back though, I thought maybe it's irresponsible to give him peanut butter in the morning? He has it every morning really and now I'm worried he could make someone ill. How much should I worry about it? I have no idea how much allergen is on him. And even on a bus or in a shop or something it could hurt someone maybe. I guess it's more concerning for a toddler because they are such messy eaters, it could be anywhere on him really.

There are life threatening allergies to everything.

So yea she can make that comparison.
It is down to the allergy sufferer to protect themselves.
Care can be taken but not guaranteed.

DS school asked that children didn’t have peanut butter for breakfast as at least one child had an allergy.
I was happy to oblige, he had it at weekends, there are plenty of other foods.

It’s not like that for all nut allergy sufferers though. It’s rare to have a reaction without actually consuming any of the nut.

Porridge tomorrow

It’s rare for a life threatening allergic reaction if not consumed, but usually nut allergy sufferers do get mild to moderate skin and/or respiratory allergic reaction(s) from skin contact or inhaling particles.

Thanks for all the replies. I'm sorry to all those with the allergy or knowing someone with it, it must be really very scary. I feel very lucky to not have ever had experience of it. And yeah I never thought before how it must sound to someone with the allergy when talking about liking peanut butter, that must feel surreal to say the least 😅

I'm not sure what to do, we've started during term time so I might not have all the info other parents had at the start of the year. But I imagine if it was very serious she wouldn't have let him in today and would have told me to not have peanut butter before coming in. When I picked him up nothing seemed to have happened either. Still, I think I'd feel better if I swapped the peanut butter for something else. Will see how well that goes as I think he'd have it with every meal if he could.

Worked in a nursery

We were a no nut nursery

Staff werent allowed to bring any food with nuts in and they werent allowed nuts for breakfast before going to work

There are not life threatening allergies to everything otherwise we’d all be dropping dead of anaphylactic shock. Absolutely ridiculous to think of a peanut allergy as equivalent to hay fever from mown grass. Feel like I’m in some sort of alternate reality.

How can you be so loud and so stupid.

There are life threatening allergies to almost everything but not everyone suffers with them.

Some have life threatening allergies to fur, dairy, medication

And a lot of people get sick of the idea that nut allergies are above others

She has an allergy. She has chosen to work in an environment that she can not control and involves messy eaters

This is something she needs to manage

Nobody is telling OP to smother him in it and back pass him to her like a rugby ball.
But she doesn't need to overrhink his diet at all

@AskingforaBaskin I physically teared up giggling. Thank you for that opening sentence

There are varying levels of allergy to nuts. My DD’s school has always had a no nut policy but when a child with a very severe nut allergy started we were sent a letter asking children not to have nut products for breakfast unless they were thoroughly cleaned and teeth brushed afterwards. I think if it were that severe for the staff member you spoke to, you would have been told this and she would have refused him entry when you commented about the pb in his hair.

If I were allergic to PB I wouldn't be working in a nursery. It's a standard toddler and young child food and they are not the neatest eaters plus often too rushed in the morning to be thoroughly hosed down.

I think if parents haven't been notified or asked to avoid it you're ok.

It was very responsible of you to tell the teacher. I imagine it wouldn't cross the mind of many parents.

@Discovereads
It’s rare for a life threatening allergic reaction if not consumed, but usually nut allergy sufferers do get mild to moderate skin and/or respiratory allergic reaction(s) from skin contact or inhaling particles.

The teacher wasn't consuming the peanut butter from the child's hair so according to you they would get a mild to moderate reaction. And yet when I said I'm allergic to newly mown grass, you belittled my reaction as hay-fever. (Although my sister suffered from hay-feveras a child and it was very distressing and debilitating and not a minor thing at all.) Actually I think you're both rude and ignorant to dismiss things you obviously know nothing about. I don't get and have never had hay-fever. I don't suffer from asthma either. But I have an allergy where I am unable to breathe. I never likened my allergy to dying of anaphylactic shock but only because grass is outside and I can move away.
Honestly, I don't think I said anything rude or controversial so I don't know why you're taking this tone with me.

@AskingforaBaskin Thank you.

I absolutely love peanut butter (literally just finished eating a peanut butter sandwich before typing this!)
I work in a food environment though (factory) which has a strictly no nuts policy.
(Nuts are in one designated place and that's it!)
It's really not hard if I'm in work the next day/week to just not eat it though.
Surely there's something else your child can eat for breakfast?
Allergies can be serious. (I say this as someone who suffers myself)

The first time DS had cheese (so CMPA) his lips swelled up. If he got milk on his hands he got hives all up his arms. And yet our nursery didn't go dairy free and in fact refused to let him eat peanut butter sandwiches when the other children had cheese sandwiches 'in case anyone has a peanut allergy'. So my child's actual, medically monitored allergy was considered less important that a putative allergy.

You can see on this thread that many people believe a) all peanut allergies are life threatening and b) all other allergies are mild. This is not the case. Nuts are one of the major allergens but dairy and eggs are the most common allergies. And no I'm not talking about 'lactose intolerance' and having a bit of an upset tummy, I mean proper, real, allergies.

It depends on the context.

If you knew that you were sending him to nursery and there is someone with a severe peanut allergy, then yes it would be inconsiderate to have it for breakfast on those days.

The important word is 'severe'. If it's a mild/ moderate peanut allergy then I really wouldn't worry. That's like saying you wouldn't play with your dog before nursery because someone had a pet allergy.

If it's not a severe allergy sufferer, just make sure he's cleaned up before he goes in.

Honestly, she probably hadn't thought about it.

If your child ate peanut butter before coming to see me, and I looked after him for the day, I'd be totally fine. (I have to eat peanut butter to actually die.) If, however, he had peanut butter all over him and I touched the peanut butter residue (quite possible, you have to be quite handsy with small children sometimes to keep them out of danger), I would get ill. I wouldn't die, but I'd be unwell for the next few days and I would be scratching my head to figure out what I'd done wrong to have that exposure to my allergens.

Until you pointed out the possibility of your child being covered in peanut butter, I must confess, it's not a scenario I had considered!

Poor thing, the 'it's probably fine' is such a stereotypical British reaction. I bet she spent the rest of her shift worrying about it.

If you want to let him eat peanut butter before nursery and don't want to wash him after eating, I think you need to supervise him quite closely and even then, good luck. Kids can get grubby in the blink of an eye.

We decided not to give DD peanut butter for breakfast before nursery for exactly this reason. She can still have it at teatime and weekends, but it’ll just easier than trying to get her deep cleaned in the morning. It’s not much of a sacrifice to protect the health of other kids so I’m happy to do it.

I think, since you now know someone who cares for him has this particular allergy, I would definitely stop giving it to him for breakfast.

But I have very bad hay-fever and I can't see pollen and dust, I just know it's there when the symptoms start. Is that the same for all allergies

No it absolutely isn't the same.

Well, no. Most people with nut allergies are at a level that they need to eat the nut product to react. Not just be next to it!

It's not for you to worry about others allergens.

It is when it's peanut butter as peanuts are one of the most common causes of anaphylaxis, and are often banned from kindergartens and childcare centres, as well as on some airplanes.

And they are banned within the work.

But nobody cab police others homes where it was consumed so again it is down to the allergy suffer to ensure they are protected

So again it is down to the allergy suffer to ensure they are protected

By not breathing!

I think it’s fine, where do you draw the line? anyone you see outside could be allergic to it so maybe we should just ban it 🙄
I’m guessing your child isn’t allergic to peanuts?🙄