Nightmare lunch box type ban at school

[lunchme]

DS is 7 and attends a special school.

They have a new pupil coming in and the new list of banned foods are things containing -

Peanuts
Cashews
Sesame
Milk
Wheat
Barley
Almond
Pork

They announced this on our class up this afternoon and no further instruction! But they insist on DS having packed lunch and not school dinners since he likes lunches better because he's seen other kids having crisps etc

My DS has an allergy of sesame and his other classmate was peanuts. The other allergies are all from one child

This isn't to slag off a poor child. I just wish they'd give more notice than a Thursday afternoon

Astonished at the selfishness and ignorance expressed by some here. There are many allergies that can be airborne that are outside the 14 most common ones listed on food by law.

I would expect the school to check that there are good medical grounds for excluding these foods. I would expect that the distinctions, between airborne , contact and ingestion be examined for the allergic child. I might also expect that they look for a way to reincorporate some foods with a workaround that allows the allergic child and children with other needs to eat with a peer group even if it means taking turns a bit.
But anaphylaxis is life threatening on a single incident. (Not to mention a sword of Damocles affecting the life choices and relationships potentially for this child’s entire life.)
This isn’t culture wars, strongly held belief stuff - anaphylaxis is medical science and it kills people of any age. It can also strike people at any age.
I realise that a claim of allergy is also abused sometimes ( there is a special place in hell for that type, given the harm it does) but the lack of compassion and certainty that unchecked assumptions are facts is depressing.

If a child does have this many severe allergies then they absolutely should be protected, but the answer is not to restrict other children's lunches this much.

They should have a safe place for this child to eat away from other children, and choose 1 or 2 kids with safe foods each day to join them.

If my son was at this school he wouldn't have anything left to eat after this list.

My child doesn’t have any additional needs and there’s still no chance I’d be doing this. It’s far too much to expect of people.

Sounds difficult.
I once came across a child who was 'allergic' to any tomato based sauce other than Heinz.

It makes you think.

Is that menu a joke?

What are you going to do op?

be really interested to know what op ends up/has ended up doing!?

It really doesn't.

Just because one parent describes a food issue incorrectly as an allergy, doesn't mean you have to question the validity of every parent request. It may even be that the child in question had a melt down if faced with other brands and this is how they dealt with it.

Those scoffing at pork allergies need to hope karma doesn't find them. Meat allergies are increasing at a dramatic rate, and, as a pp said, can trigger allergies to lots of other foods. It's a nightmare.

It is absolutely up to the school to make this work, I hope you can get them to see this, OP.

thats a bit of a problem if you have a kid who only eats certain food and one or more of those is listed. When DS (now 15) was in year 5 they banned bananas because a kid in year 3 had a banana allergy. Obviously I know it’s not the kids fault but bananas are one of the few fruits that are cheaper. When DS left for High school the first thing he said was , “ yes I can have bananas again”

Oh really? Honestly, that is how I cook for my toddler and it isn't an issue but then I just batch cook a couple times per week and then its really easy. I also love to cook and I am not a big fan of packaged foods so that makes a difference. But really roasting some squash, or boiling lentil pasta isn't really hard.

Nope. Typical menu for my toddler but he doesn't have special foods needs so that makes it easier for me.

@Got2besoon Thank you for your informative post. This is really important information and will make me far more mindful in the future of others who have food allergies.

This is what my toddler eats for lunch and takes for a packed lunch but he doesn't have special food needs and so menu planning and cooking is much easier for our family I don't know what the OP child does or does not eat but I was just trying to give some examples based on what works for our family.

@rosewater20 That's kind to say, thank you.

I knew nothing about allergies until BAM! full body hives after some milk fell on 5 month old DS while he was in a sling and I was eating cereal (not an ideal breakfast set up, in hindsight).

I've learned a lot about IGE allergies in 3 years and I do get really upset/frustrated by the misinformation that's out there, as it can be really dangerous for those with allergies.

You can get pastas made from just chickpea, corn, lentil, edamame etc not wheat - some free from dairy pesto on top?

Pesto often has cashews in it. And dairy.

If my child had multiple food allergies and intolerances I wouldn’t be relying on others to keep my child safe at lunchtime. I would be asking if there was the possibility to supervise my child one on one to be sure that they only eat what’s provided and nothing is given by other kids. If this one on one wasn’t possible I would see if it was possible for me to supervise my child’s lunch break or if there was a carer that could do this. I know that there is a cost to this both in terms of work and paying for a carer. I don’t know if help could be provided at no cost.

No, that is an unreasonable thing to ask of you. School dinners have those ingredients and they are managing it, so they need to manage the packed lunch kids in the same way. Separate eating areas, lunch boxes not removed from the lunch room, hand washing, or whatever is required.

Sigh. Maybe I worded my post incorrectly but that was my point, one child's needs does not trump another's, so hopefully a solution can be found that suits both children.

Although, thinking about it, a deadly anaphylactic reaction is probably worse than another child not eating a cheese sandwich, so....I don't know. I don't have much experience with SEN children or ARFID but surely they can't survive on cheese sandwiches for their entire lives, nutritionally.

And I have the same question as a PP, why are allergies so prevalent in this day and age? Also SEN seems a lot more prevalent too, I guess we just get more diagnoses now. I don't remember any food bans when I was at school. I feel for the children that have to deal with all of this.

I am dairy and wheat/gluten free too.

You should know that coming up with ideas like this, finding the products that you are happy with takes time.
It took me ages to find a couple of brand of gluten free pasta that I enjoy (yes the new ones with peas and the rice based ones).
Same with recipes. No good to say a gluten free muffin if you don’t have a recipe that you KNOW works before sending your dc to school with it.
Its not that easy and making up it is because you ‘just’ have to do the same than me isn’t helpful.

And that’s before talking about the fact changing a child lunch dramatically can be an issue with ANY child. Let alone one with SN who might well have particular requirements.

And before you say anything, it’s not as easy as ‘just using gluten free flour instead’. Those floors are rubbish - both in their content in how they taste. Always very chalky.
Your toddler might be happy with it if that’s what they have always known. I doubt they would if they are used to wheat flour and it’s consistency.

If my son’s school sent this list home, his packed lunch would consist of a banana and some raisins. That would be it. He has ASD and he will not eat just anything - has the exact same packed lunch every day, which includes all of the banned foods here apart from nuts - it’s a nut free school, which we can work with. But remove bread, dairy and all the rest? He’d starve throughout the day, with commensurate effects on his behaviour. We’ve tried introducing new foods. We’ve tried all the hidden vegetables and homemade this and that. He will not eat it. So he has the same packed lunch everyday and the same breakfast and the same two evening meals on rotation. Because that way, he does actually eat!

The school needs to find a better way to balance everyone’s needs here.

Although, thinking about it, a deadly anaphylactic reaction is probably worse than another child not eating a cheese sandwich, so....I don't know.

there was no need for the sigh. Your post clearly made a heirarchy of children, and the restrictive diet child with the cheese sandwich wasn't it.

And sure a deadly reaction is definitely worse, but how about a whole class not being able to follow their restrictive diet because of one child? I would suggest a better solution needs to be found. As many schools do.

Good luck to them finding a suitable solution, as you can see on this thread it will be impossible to please some parents unless their kids are put at the top of the priority list!

And I have the same question as a PP, why are allergies so prevalent in this day and age?

Better diagnosis, and children surviving the first allergic reaction. Years ago, children "choked" on a peanut butter sandwich. More accurately, their airways did get blocked, but it was due to swelling from anaphylaxis not a food blockage.

Also SEN seems a lot more prevalent too, I guess we just get more diagnoses now

Quite a few reasons

• more diagnoses - in the past children with ASD were "just a bit odd", "slow" etc (or in the case of one elderly family member, who I suspect had ASD, it was attributed to a traumatic event he may or may not have witnessed as a 5 year old).
• we see them out and about in society more; only a few decades ago parents were advised to leave them in an institution
• better survival rates thanks to modern medicine - a lot of children would simply have died years ago. In the early 1940s a relative was essentially told that if her child was diagnosed with hydrocephalus he'd be allowed to die; nowadays it's routinely treated. Premature babies in particular now have fantastic survival rates, but often have some lingering health issues.

Honestly, my 4yo is NT and a good eater and we'd struggle with this list.

I don't have much experience with SEN children or ARFID but surely they can't survive on cheese sandwiches for their entire lives, nutritionally.

Clearly no experience.