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.

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

In terms of confidentiality, I don't think there needs to be a name. But even ' There is pupil/ member of staff in school with a severe allergy....' would suffice. Just introducing a ban and expecting people to think it MUST be the result of someone with a problem, is asking people to infer and read things into it. On the face of it, the school have introduced a ban, which causes hassle to people, because maybe one day there may be a child/ member of staff/ someone in the park after school, like this.

Merry - I know its hard when your DC will only have certain foods.

But DO have a good look around for non-nut muesli bars, there are some available and you can try those for your DC.

Or perhaps let them know why they have to change their lunch, but agree that they can have a muesli bar or whatever you think works best as a nutricious snack as soon as they get out of school to you.

There is probably a child starting school in September that has a nut allergy, even if you have eaten peanuts and breath near a person hthat has a serious allergy you could kill them.

Will your child really only eat bread, biscuits and nuts/nut bars? If so he probably needs dietetic/medical input. I'm not being a passive aggressive twat, but really if that is the case it isn't a balanced diet.

Blimey, do you really need it spelled out for you? Why on earth would the school bother to go nut free unless they had a child/adult with a severe allergy?!! I cannot believe that you really think that the school could have introduced this without cause. The first thing I would have thought after reading that letter would have been "oh, they must have a new child starting that had allergies". It really isn't a hard thing to infer!

In terms of confidentiality, I don't think there needs to be a name. But even ' There is pupil/ member of staff in school with a severe allergy....' would suffice.

But why? A school doesn't ban nuts for fun. If they do then obviously it's because someone in the building has a nut allergy. That's common sense surely?

My 2 year old has been referred to the allergy department after a suspected reaction to peanuts. Her eyes swell up even with the slightest exposure to nuts in her food.

Allergies like this apparently get worse with every reaction, and not everyone carries or has been given an epi pen (like my dd). You never know when your next reaction might end in a anaphylactic shock if you've only had mild reactions previously.

You're being completely OTT about your kid's nutrition. What a load of doodaa. Not having nuts in your diet for one meal won't leave the poor mites suffering from vitamin deficiency ffs. Such a selfish post, some people can't see beyond themselves.

But saying "there will be a child joining next term who" surely just invites rumours and finger-pointing.

That is standard but a bit more specific, so I would guess parents have been smuggling nuts in products.
The only odd bit was Turkish Delight etc., as none of those products would be usual in packed lunches in schools I know.

It doesn't prevent you feeding your children nuts, just not in school hours. A good balanced diet (even Vegan) does not require nuts as part of lunch. Are you food choices worth more than a child's life?

The worst nut allergy I knew had an anaphylactic shock triggered by using a Crunchy Nut Cornflakes box in art. People working with her were asked to refrain from eating nuts, which everyone I knew did willingly.

In fairness to the OP, though, peanut butter is often the only form of protein my DS will eat.

My DP has a severe nut allergy. I'm sure you can find but free alternatives for your DC lunch boxes.
Like others have said the allergic child doesn't need to necessarily consume the food to have a reaction.

In DD's class - there is someone allergic to eggs.

In DD's cub scout pack - there is someone allergic to nuts (reasonably mild) and someone with an anaphylaxis allergy to kiwi (which is an ingredient in many types of jelly sweets) - who's DF attends every meeting and carries the epipen in his back pocket.

In DD's sailing school - there are people with nut allergies.

A DUncle is allergic to the brassica family (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli etc), ham, MSG and a range of E numbers. Not anaphylaxis levels but misery if he gets it wrong.

A DCousin is allergic to milk and chocolate.

A DAunt is gluten intolerant.

And we also know someone with a severe strawberry allergy.

We always have to think carefully about who we are dealing with when putting together menus for visitors and for packed lunches. But there are always options available to us if we think creatively. And, as I said, I have a DD who is very fussy and underweight, and on meds which suppress her appetite further - so getting her to eat enough healthy food and enough calories is vital (and she's also extremely active so really really needs those calories as she burns off a LOT).

I work in a school with a nut ban and yes we have had parental complaints. However, as staff we are acting in loco parentis and the safety of all the pupils has to take precedence over the inconvenience to parents. Some children have very severe allergies and a pp is correct in stating that an epipen only gives time for emergency services to arrive. It's not just a question of a pupil getting a bit wheezy, administer epipen and they'll be fine! There are many cereal bars that do not contain nuts and any parents who want to include nuts in their child's diet are free to do so at breakfast, tea and weekends and holidays. Please put yourself in the position of the parent of a child with a severe allergy - it must cause anxiety every time they eat out as a family and makes going to friends' houses for tea very difficult.

Yabu. There is obviously a child/staff member with a extremely severe nut allergy in the school or joining the school. For some the allergy is that bad that it goes deeper than just not eating or touching a product some can't even be in the same proximity.

peanut butter is often the only form of protein my DS will eat.

Then you can give it to him for breakfast, after school snack, and dinner!

OP just think how you will feel if you can't be arsed to take reasonable precautions and a school mate of your DC dies.

Think how your DC would feel if it was their food that caused the reaction.

My dd has anaphylaxis to fish, it is terrifying when it happens. I have never asked her schools to ban fish because she has always known she wasn't allowed to eat it and I always sent in a packed lunch when fish was on the menu at lunchtime.
Now in secondary the only adjustment I requested was that she was not to use fish in any food tech lessons nor wash dishes that other people had used for any fish based recipes.
The school decided that it was safer for her form to use chicken for recipes that might otherwise use fish in. I don't think it's a huge adjustment tbh much like I don't think the list of foods your school has banned is terribly restrictive tbh.
I'd be pretty pissed off if a parent was bemoaning their child's right to use fish if I'm honest.

In terms of confidentiality, I don't think there needs to be a name. But even ' There is pupil/ member of staff in school with a severe allergy....' would suffice. Just introducing a ban and expecting people to think it MUST be the result of someone with a problem, is asking people to infer and read things into it.

But why not? Surely anyone with half a brain cell will only read into it the fact that there is a child or children in the school, or maybe a staff member, with the relevant allergies?

No you could try your son with Sunbutter, which is a nut free seed butter - similar taste and texture so might be acceptable to him? And there are but free chocolate spreads if Nutella is one of his acceptable foods.

God forbid you should be inconvenienced to prevent the death or physical distress of a child OP

I do respect and understand the issue about "some child/some member of staff has a nut allergy" but actually as an allergy sufferer myself it goes beyond this imo.

people know that I have this allergy. so they know that if I were at a party and for example picked up the wrong drink and the previous person had been at the cheese board, if I then started to go a strange colour, feel sick and basically start yaggling on that this was most likely my allergy. if they didn't know about it then they might think I was drunk. If its just a contact/smear of blue cheese then sometimes I don't smell it until its touched my lips.

I don't mean I introduce myself as "Hi I'm MM and I have a blue cheese allergy" just that I do let people know. so if going on a course at the introduction bit I always tell people.

I honestly think it is really important for people to know. so the school is nut free but the little sister in the pram dropping off/picking up has a nut bar? tell people if you have an allergy. it isn't embarrassing and it isn't an invasion of your privacy. its a really easy way of keeping yourself safe.

MoonStar07 that's so sad you sound a wonderfully supportive family member for your niece. People broke me to tears back in my dd's primary school days with their selfishness regarding nuts. Still hurts today. I have to say talking about limited diets, my dd has allergies to other items too that she was not allowed to have as well as the nuts. I don't honestly think just avoiding nut ingredients to others is that difficult in comparison to the poor allergic children that get it from all ends.

I have an adult friend who is anaphylactic in response to milk products and apples. - see this is where I think it gets tricky, so say that friend was younger and in school would they need to ban apple and milk products as well as nuts? My nan is allergic to citrus fruit (and other things), so if she was there too then a ban on apples, citrus fruit, milk and nuts ... ? I'm not saying I wouldn't adhere to those bans but yes, I would find it mildly annoying. When doing my sons packed lunch I usually pick up multipacks that are on offer otherwise packed lunch becomes far too expensive. He is entitled to free school meals but I'd rather him have packed lunch and he would too. So for me, if all those things were banned then the price of his lunch sometimes be too expensive (depending on what was on offer that week/month).

I agree with a ban if a child is allergic, I know I would appreciate it if my son had allergies, but I can also see why people can find it annoying. (I couldn't see why someone would deliberately ignore the ban though - that would be twattish).

My office is about to go completely nut free.

We have a member of staff with long term health issues. One of those is now causing him to manifest a sudden and severe allergy to nuts.

He's eaten them for years - hell, he used to share my graze boxes! - and then, with no warning at all, a hair from hospitalisation.

He's awaiting referrals/epi-pens/blah but in the meantime, we're removing all nuts as much as we can. He didn't ask - we offered.

It's a pain, I get a lot of my protein from nuts and see aforementioned Graze boxes. BUT, I would rather restrict what I eat for a few days, than risk making my colleague seriously ill.

Most of the reason we're doing it? Second hand contamination. He's a grown man; he's not going to eat nut, even if I had them on my desk. What he might very well do, though, is borrow a pen I've been using, when I've been eating nuts, and get the oils on his skin.

If that's a risk for an adult, how much more is it for a small child. You can't police that, not constantly, and the consequences are so serious. So we're eliminating it as much as we can.