School rules and nuts

[Bagsalot]

My daughter is 11 yesterday was her birthday. She took an asda tray bake to school with her. She wasn't allowed to share it as apparently some where on the box it says may contain nuts. This has never been an issue before. Today an email came out stating no nuts or seeds allowed in school including lunchboxes. My daughter's in year 6 has been at the school since nursery age 2, this has never been mentioned. I've asked to see the risk assessment. I feel it's an unreasonable policy but possibly I'm being unreasonable

Glad you have realised yabu OP. Doesn't happen often.

To others, my son has a nut allergy and of course teaching him to check and ask is very important, we do that every day when we are together. When he is at school amd not as closely supervised it's a relief to know it is nut free.

Our DD's school had a no Nuts, no Kiwi rule, as several children and staff had life-threatening allergies to them. Happy to comply. It really isn't a sacrifice.

@BlatheringWuther no one is saying the world should be nut free.

While little children are learning how to handle allergies and eat safely, it can be helpful.

You ask 'when does it stop?'. By god I'd like to know!! I've being coming to terms with managing DS2's allergies for 10 years and I would love him to be well. It's exhausting.

Here's a cheery thought though - my friend's dad had an almost fatal allergic reaction to a food he'd previously eaten without issue on a weekly basis. It can happen to anyone.

So more animals must be killed then just in case a human has a nut allergy? I should add I'm just exploring ramifications at this point, no annoyance involved, and that inconsistency from a vegetarian is kind of noticeable..

Eh? Literally nothing in Iaim’s post said anything remotely like that!

@BlatheringWuther

I don't understand how not eating nuts during school hours will cause more animals to be killed? We manage just fine avoiding nuts when making packed lunches. And working in a small office or shared kitchen space would be the same. It's one meal, lunch. Avoiding nuts in one meal doesn't stop my kids being vegetarian.

Why the hell is everyone reacting as of the OP sent in nuts?

She didn’t, it’s like people can’t read !!!

I can’t speak for everyone else but I’m talking to the posters who are against nut bans, not the OP

arethereanyleftatal

If your allergy is to any other foodstuff, that assessment goes:

1. Identify the hazard. Death.
2. Decide who might be harmed. Peter.
3. Decide on precautions. Isolate at lunchtime, tell child to stay away from anyone who has eaten the allergen, tell child off when accidental exposure causes illness, make child aware that they have primary responsibility for their own safety

I'm not against a nut ban at all. I just wondered if it was common. I work in a hospital with no nut ban and my daughter's been at this school with no nut ban since age 2. I've no intention of sending my children in with nuts.

YABVU. Nuts can kill. Even if a child does not actually eat them or even touch them but if they are even in the vicinity of nuts they could die. Why would any school take that risk? Don't be the parent that sends things with nuts into school and another child is seriously ill or even dies. Think how you would feel if your dd had a serious food allergy.

I agree @HeckyPeck

Ok I'm prepared to be told I'm unreasonable. I'd still like to see the risk assessment though. I don't think that's unreasonable. < it is

Seriously. @Andro?
Isolating a child from others is a better strategy than others avoiding nuts for one meal?

OK, ok... it sounded like you were saying that you would reverse the choice to be vegetarian quite happily. I'm not, incidentally, going to deliberately send nuts in now a ban is in place. However, nuts have always been a major source of protein for the human race, quite possibly since before meat crept in. I'm more interested in finding out why nut allergies have suddenly become so common than banning them for all of us.

I've asked to see the risk assessment because I can.

Do you not think school staff have better things to do than waste time digging out risk assessments and sending to parents for no valid reason?

YABU to question a policy that has obvious reasons and YABVU and deliberately obtuse asking for a copy of the risk assessment. Surely you must be able to find better things to do with your time?

Tbf the poster bought a cake that did not actually contain nuts but potentially could contain traces due to presumably been made in a factory that made nut products.

A friend has a child with severe allergies (dairy/nuts etc) and she said that one of the consequences of the recent pret cases is that more products now contain warnings that did not before to cover the fact that it might contain nuts. It makes her life a lot harder as it removes stuff he was eating before

I'll say it again I've no intention of sending in nuts. The cake was a plain sponge I didn't look at ingredients. I wasn't aware of the policy.

Andro, I agree with you that nut bans help generate the belief that only nuts can kill and that other allergens are way less serious. My DD is anaphylactic to dairy but regularly had to put up with her primary school's mixed messages..... a complete nut ban but happy to allow kids to splat other children in the face with double cream as part of a mini market . also no children in her year group with a nut allergy but on an overnight trip all nuts were banned and yet the kids (except DD) were all given hot chocolate containing milk - the one thing that could kill her and was a totally unnecessary part of the trip.

Yes, nuts can cause dust in the air that could cause a reaction but not every person with a nut allergy is that sensitive

So you don't disagree with a nut ban? In that case - and sorry to ask again - why do you want to see the risk assessment?

Asking to see the risk assessment has only one possible outcome. It makes the op look like a twat.
Don't worry - it won't take long, it'll have been written, so just a quick copy and paste.

I wondered what had changed after 8 years. But obviously unreasonable to ask...

arethereanyleftatall - Not necessarily.

My question, from childhood, was why were children with nut allergies protected with a blanket ban when I was isolated every single school lunchtime from diagnosis?

I was pointing out the disparity in the protection children with allergies receive.

We have a nut policy. There is also an epipen shortage so it's even more paramount that it's adhered to. I don't think it's unreasonable. I know I wouldn't want to have to administer life saving first aid for something that can easily be avoided

@PolkaDoting I was thinking that! It says 'may contain nuts' like absolutely every blooming thing does these days which makes parents of children with nut allergies despair of being able to tell what actually contains nuts (sprinkled nut topping) or just prepared in the same factory as nuts (which I imagine is the case with the Asda tray bake sponge with butter icing) DD has a nut allergy to actual nuts but not nut traces and would have happily scoffed the tray bake. It's not realistic to expect children to not bring in something for example in their lunch box which doesn't have this warning on it. No nut products or actually contains nuts is a safe policy but no products which 'may contain traces of nuts' is too heavy handed.

Why are people not allowed to question anything? Then labelled as potential child killers for wanting to know the logic and science behind a decision?

The anaphylaxis society didn’t use to endorse but free schools or areas, has this changed?

What had changed over 8 years?
Seriously? See, how schools work is each year there's a new intake of people. These people have different reactions to things.