Allergy angst! peanut / shellfish and starting school...

[Lilpickle08]

Hello, my daughter was diagnosed a year ago, have had the usual initial anxieties and then felt slowly better coming to terms with the whole thing. Have regressed in last few weeks though, think it's the anxiety of her starting school, the conflicting information we're getting and just the whole 'letting go'.

We wanted her to have school dinners, the catering team sounded fab and assured us no traces of nuts in anything, they are really vigilant etc, however school nurse team at local health centre have said they would totally advise against that and that she should have packed lunches. They've also said that 'most schools' operate a no nut policy. Her school doesn't unfortunately but I kind of felt ok about it, until the school nurse starting talking about children sharing 'nutty' bars etc.

Arrgghh! Anyhow, as I said am feeling very low and upset and feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders!

Am just looking for some reassurance I guess. Is anyone in the same position, or does anyone have older kids who have been through the school thing and could advise? Have looked for support groups in our area (West Yorkshire) but can't find any. I think I just need to chat to people in the same boat. I don't want to spend the whole of the summer dreading September!

Thanks

Our school is very strict about what children can take in for snacks - its always stressed that it has to be NO NUTS but we also have no Kiwi now too. This is always reiterated on letters coming home about packed lunches for trips, or 'special' snacks on fun days.

I'd be really surprised if they allow anything with nuts in if there's someone in the school with an allergy. Can you find any information on the policies etc - and if necessary press for them to be changed.

My DS is allergic to milk, wheat, eggs and nuts and started school last September. I too was very anxious about the whole thing but meeting with the head, his teacher, classroom assistants and the school nurse really helped. I was able to explain in detail about the sort of precautions that are necessary such as making sure the other children wash their hands and faces after food, cleaning up any food/milk spillages immediately etc and also the early signs of a reaction that they needed to being looking out for (every child is different after all). The staff have been brilliant. I didn't want DS to be sat on his own at lunch time but was worried about possible cross-contamination or food swapping so we agreed that he would sit on the end of the table with a gap between him and the next child plus one of the classroom assistants keeps a close eye on him while he eats his lunch. I also met with the dietician and catering staff so that we could discuss the possibility of him having school dinners a couple of times a week. I was extremely worried about this but he does have school dinners once a week when it's a roast meal, I just supply wheat free gravy granules and they make sure he only has roast or boiled potatoes (no mash as it has milk & butter in). He really loves it so I'm glad I had the courage to go through with it.

As for 'nut free' policies I personally don't think they make that much difference as they are virtually impossible to 'police'. Do you think staff are going around checking every child's lunch box and opening their sandwiches to make sure they don't contain peanut butter? I don't think so. The most important thing is that the school teaches all the children about the importance of not sharing food and washing hands after eating, and being generally aware of allergies and how serious they can be. I think DS's school is 'nut free' but it's certainly not milk, wheat or egg free and I wouldn't expect it to be, even though he's touch allergic and his most severe reactions have been to milk and wheat, not nuts.

My DS has thoroughly enjoyed his first year in school and has taken part in cookery activities etc. His teacher just let's me know in advance what they plan to make and I've found suitable 'freefrom' alternatives so that he doesn't miss out on the experience. He has had to have Piriton a few times due to mild reactions (hives, itching) but this is a regular occurrence anyway and he hasn't had any serious reactions (so far!). I'm just about to arrange a meeting with his new teacher ready for next year to make sure they are fully aware of his condition too.