To think this 'nut free policy' is OTT for a school

[MerryMarigold]

So, letter home about next term's 'nut free' policy and I think it's a bit extreme but tell me what you think. In packed lunches (I will have 3 having packed lunch next year), we are not allowed to include:

• Fruit and cereal bars which contain nuts
• Sesame seed rolls
• Nutella
• Peanut butter
• Cakes made with nuts
• Muesli bars
• Baklava/ Nougat/ Turkish Delight
• Any packets of nuts

I would assume we are not allowed to give them pistachios in a Tupperware box either.

Anyway, my point is that how can they police it this closely? I know some kids cannot come into ANY contact with nuts, but for example, my kids would have nuts in granola at breakfast and probably not always wash their hands before school (if they remembered to clean their teeth when they first get up). I also refuse to check the ingredient list of everything I put into a packed lunch for 3 children so there are bound to be nuts in something they end up having.

Nuts are very healthy and nutritious, so we basically need to swap nut based products for something less healthy. I am most upset about the Muesli bars and no cakes made with nuts. Ds1 is a major food-refuser. He has never managed school dinners and food at home is an issue too. He nearly always has a muesli bar in his lunch, which I suppose I will need to substitute with biscuits. And sometimes I would include cakes made with nuts just to up his nutrition at lunchtime a bit. He doesn't like any form of meat, fish or cheese in his sandwiches.

I do sympathise that there are (a very few) people who have a 'life threatening reaction to nut products' (quoted on the 'nut free policy' letter). However, I would assume they do carry an epi-pen as it is impossible to create a completely nut free environment in a large school of children who are eating nuts at least at home. So, in reality it is not life threatening unless there is a child who has an unknown severe nut allergy. I would even be compassionate if it was stated that a child (without mentioning names) had had a reaction several times in school, but I very much doubt a child has reacted at school, and there may not even be a child with a severe nut allergy, so this is just scare mongering really.

SO, I do need to feel more positive about this and the extra work it will cause me, the extra moaning from my child and the reduction in nutrition. Please tell me off gently! I've had a bad night with not much sleep though, so please bear with me.

Notcitrus mines 14, he hasn't relaxed at all. things I used to be able to blag past him "its not rice its fairy pasta" don't happen any more.

I think the allergy UK advice is really clear. they are against a ban. I have similar concerns that for the school it might be a bit of a tick box exercise and that they haven't thought of the issues like:

-nuts hidden in certain foods.
-people not knowing what the definition of "nuts" is

• people who struggle to read/understand labels.

-kids who struggle to read/understand labels and buy food on their walk to school.

I think you need to do much more than just ban nuts if you want to tick the "inclusion for people with food allergies" box

Ds had a 2 huge reactions, one to touching nuts as I said earlier and one from sun cream which had almond oil in it- reaction was so bad his face and eyes swelled up so badly he couldn't see. The hospital / consultants didn't say anything about it being rare.

I get this from contact allergies, it's horrible :(

If you get allergic reactions like this it does of course increase your risk of anaphylaxis but it really isn't the same thing.

A school in our area banned all pork products, lest some Muslim or Jewish kids would eat it or be offended being around it. Some kid drowned in a lake. What did they do? Drained the lake. Some chestnuts fell on a kid's head. They cut down the tree.

Dave here joining us from Daily Mail land

Haven't read the entire thread but, the anaphylaxis campaign actively discourage nut bans in schools because they lead to a false sense of security where children never learn to manage their allergies as the assumption is that their environment has been made nut free.

More children have severe egg and dairy allergies than nut allergies and yet schools are unable to ban those products, nuts are an easy win for them really.

Secondary schools don't have nut bans - it is impossible when you have over 1000 children some of whom will buy their own lunches on the way into school etc.

DS has a friend who has a nut allergy severe enough that he carries an eppipen, he was rushed to hospital in the first year of secondary as he ate a cake containing nuts and never thought to check.

I can see why schools do ban nuts because they don't want the responsibility of dealing with a child's anaphylactic reaction, let's not kid ourselves that they do it for the good of the child - they do it for the good of themselves.

But in truth children need to learn to manage severe allergies from as early as is possible so that it becomes a way of life for them. More teenage and student-aged people die from reactions to nuts because they are more complacent. Ensuring that managing allergies is a way of life early on would likely reduce these reactions in teenage years.

And before anyone says that this shouldn't be the expectation of the child, yes, unfortunately it should. Children with allergies to mainstream products have to do it, this is no different.

I agree that children do need to learn how to manage their allergies, I don't think throwing them into a school dinner hall where nuts are aplenty at reception age is sensible though. Nor do I think it fair that children with severe allergies be made to eat their lunch elsewhere away from all their peers either, thus missing out on an experience. Children are children and they don't always think about the consequences. It's a gradual process that takes time for them to learn, I'd imagine by secondary school age they will be well versed in managing their allergies and avoiding risks.

I haven't rtft. But I feel very strongly that these outright nut bans the schools adopt is not a helpful way for for anyone .

I say that as an adult with a very severe allergy to nuts. It is life threatening and I have to take lots of measures to avoid the allergens. Luckily I was brought up to know how to handle my allergies, at school, at parties, at restaurants, at friends' houses, on holiday. How on earth would I have learned to handle all of these situations if my parents and schools had ensured that I never came into contact with the allergens in any form?

This is very worrying. The highest incidence of serious allergic reactions is amongst young adults as when they leave home they start taking risks their parents never did and they haven't built up the skills to look after themselves.

Mollycoddling allergic children might help them avoid harm in their younger years, but I actually think that in the long run this approach is far more likely to lead to the allergy-sufferer not having learned to look after themselves with possibly devastating consequences.

except if its your child that has a nut allergy that is. I am spending the day at home after my face has blown up yet again and I start yet another round of steroids to get it under control. The only explanation that I have is that either I have touched something or my husband or children have come into contact with them and have kissed me, touched me etc..
My life depends on other people keeping nuts away from me. Small children are not able to discern what might have nuts in and what might not.
It is a terrifying place to be in, fighting for your life because you let your guard down for a moment. I have been there - trust me. I carry 2 epi pens now but have been warned that they might not be enough to save my life.

I'd imagine by secondary school age they will be well versed in managing their allergies and avoiding risks.

Not if they don't have experience of managing their allergies.

Even quite small children can be taught not to eat any food they are unsure of - actually, in my experience, it's easier with young children who are more impressionable.

If you get allergic reactions like this it does of course increase your risk of anaphylaxis but it really isn't the same thing

Yes it does,Guy's made that very clear.

I can see why schools do ban nuts because they don't want the responsibility of dealing with a child's anaphylactic reaction, let's not kid ourselves that they do it for the good of the child - they do it for the good of themselves.

Hilarious - there are people on here saying if you don't support a ban you clearly don't care if children die, then wannabe comes along to say that if a school imposes a ban, it's because they care about themselves and not about children.

Our school has a "no packets" healthy eating policy. It's not obligatory but hey discourage anything in a packet eg muesli bars etc and I think it's great. They are full of sugar anyway and sugar is not nutritious so no matter how worried you are re your DS, muesli bars and cakes are not the answer.

My kids love peanut butter and it's such a great last minute fix go a sandwich when the cupboards are bare so does annoy me that I can't give it to them but if that what it takes to keep another kid out of hospital/alive then so be it!

if that what it takes to keep another kid out of hospital/alive then so be it!

But the evidence is conflicting about whether it does protect children. So should we just ignore the conflicting advice and do it anyway? Even if it doesn't keep children safe?

Diazepam yes, that's what I said, it does increase your risk, but that sort of facial swelling (I think it's called quincke's oedema) is not in itself a sign of anaphylaxis. It tends to be a reaction to contact and airborne allergens rather than to ingested ones.

My son has a peanut allergy and an epi pen just in case.
However I believe children should take whatever they want to school for lunch a she can smell a peanut from a mile away and doesn't want to be anywhere near them. He hates the smell and is very unlikely to ever eat them. He's been like this through primary and he's now in year 7

My gs is deathly allergic to dogs. Obv we are not going to ban dogs ?? We have taught him not to touch dogs and to announce he is allergic if any off the lead dogs approach him.

*Not if they don't have experience of managing their allergies.

Even quite small children can be taught not to eat any food they are unsure of - actually, in my experience, it's easier with young children who are more impressionable.*

But not having nuts at school doesn't mean they will have zero experience of managing their allergies.There are plenty of opportunities outside of school, that don't involve sharing a dinner hall with possibly hundreds of other children in which they can begin to learn.

It's not always about eating it. Some reactions are triggered simply by touch or smell. It can be easy for an allergic child to come into contact with peanutbutter in a school setting, for example. As its so easily smeared on clothes and surfaces and it's impossible for lunch supervisors to keep eyes on individual children at all times.

I'm all for children learning to manage their allergies, I just don't believe school is a particularly good starting point for that, but more like something to work towards. Nor do I think very young children can be reliable in sticking to what they have been taught because well, they're children and sometimes they get carried away, they forget, they want to join in with peers etc.

Diazepam yes, that's what I said

Yes, I was agreeing with you.

It's not always about eating it. Some reactions are triggered simply by touch or smell. It can be easy for an allergic child to come into contact with peanutbutter in a school setting, for example. As its so easily smeared on clothes and surfaces and it's impossible for lunch supervisors to keep eyes on individual children at all times.

There's not much evidence of severe reactions being triggered by smell.

I'd support a peanut butter ban in infant schools, because it's easy to comply with, and the bloody stuff gets everywhere (it's the one food I bann the house). Blanket bans not so much. It's very important that even young children are vigilant and a blanket ban tends to reduce vigilence.

I am going to wade in here with my size 9's and dispel the myth that a child Hamas to eat the food to have a severe allergic reaction. My son is severely allergic to eggs and nuts. At toddler group he had a life threatening reaction after playing with some play doh that a child had touched; this child had, had peanut butter for breakfast. My child did not eat the play doh; he was just playing with it. At pre school his friend had a reaction to a toy and the last time I cooked eggs my son was rushed in an ambulance wheezing. If only you knew how absolutely terrifying and life changing it is to have a child with a severe allergy. To send them off to school every day, making sure u have told them u love them; just in case............. Please have some compassion. I wish we had a world without allergies that can kill, but we don't, so please make the parents of children with allergies sleep a little easier tonight and comply with the ban for the 6 hrs that your child is st school. U really could save a child's life.😢

mishmash1979 I do know how terrifying it is. but a ban on nuts in school would not protect your child if the children he came into contact with, whilst not having brought nuts into school, had had peanut butter for breakfast and smeared it on their cardi would it.

I completely accept that it can be just a smear of it that causes the reaction. but unless you ban all kids from eating nuts at home at all then how is this ban making your particular child safe?

whilst the OP is about nuts there is a perception that these are the only allergic foods. they aren't. as someone up thread said, a school bans nuts but makes the child with other severe food allergies eat on their own. Its tick boxing and passing the responsibility to keep the allergic child safe onto all the other children and their parents.

I have a huge amount of compassion for children like yours. it is miserable. but a mere ban on nuts in school isn't the answer. for really severely allergic children home schooling is sometimes the only way to go.

Do any secondary schools ban all but products?

Nut!

There is evidence that peanut dust on dry-roasted peanuts can become airborne and trigger severe allergic reactions. This issue doesn't seem to apply to other nuts quite so much.

Not airborne, but before I realised just how serious my allergies were, I had a serious allergic reaction requiring adrenaline after playing slaps (a game that was all the rage when I was at secondary school) with a fellow student who had been eating peanuts. All it required was for me to have touched her hands, then touch my face for my face and lips to swell dramatically.

This incident was no-one's fault and was a useful learning curve for me within the safety of school (who made sure I was looked after) before I went out into the big wide world. Had I done similar for the first time whilst at uni, drunk in a nightclub, I doubt I would have sought medical attention quite so promptly so I do value that I found out just how serious my allergies were while I was still in the care of my parents and school.

It can be easy for an allergic child to come into contact with peanutbutter in a school setting, for example. As its so easily smeared on clothes and surfaces and it's impossible for lunch supervisors to keep eyes on individual children at all times.

But this is where the precautions create a false sense of security. A child could come into school with peanut butter on their hands/clothes from home. A visitor could come into school having eaten a snickers in their car.

To effectively mitigate against those risks, the school will automatically neutralise the risks associated with nuts in school lunches - so what purpose does banning nuts in lunches serve.

It suggests that schools aren't taking precautions to protect allergic DCs from the risks they face.