To think this is NOT good enough?! I am furious!!

[Peanutsaga]

NC’d So dd (8) has a nut allergy and has an epipen that she brings to school. Long story short, a girl in her class brought in a cereal type bar into school with her lunch but it had peanuts and other nuts in it as well as chocolate chips (you know the ones!)
Dd informed me that she saw said girl with the bar and then avoided her for the rest of the day and she could even smell the peanuts. I called into the school to let them know that this had happened but in short I was told, that the school had informed the parents of the no nut policy and sent it out via letter and newsletter, and that there wasn’t much else they can do as they cannot police the lunch boxes every morning. Is that it? I feel really let down and nervous about dd at school now!!

You can't ban the majority to protect a minority. To request that no nut products are bought in is fine but banning food and taking court action is - nuts!

Why can't it be nut free? Bar some cooked lunches so allergy sufferers are aware and children can be reminded to wash their hands afterwards.

Because it's impossible.

People will eat peanuts at home. You can't tell parents what they can and can't feed their DC out of school hours. Children will come to school having eaten peanut butter on toast. They might not have brushed their teeth. They might have spilt their food down their jumper. They might have had a breakfast bar containing peanuts on their way to school.

And if you go to extreme measures over nut allergies, what about DC who have anaphylactic reactions to eggs? Or milk? Or wheat?

Here I’m a lawyer. I’ve never been laughed out of court. It’s totally irresponsible to send a child to school with nuts knowing it’s lethal. But hey you carry on laughing I’m sure the dead child’s parents will pat you n the back.

It’s not about eating nuts it’s about in contact with nuts by the way.

I will not screen my children's meals the way I do for their own allergies. I won't send them in with peanut butter or nuts.
But if I buy something with nuts in then so be it. It's not intentional but I am not liable for that child.

Barbarella1

Here I’m a lawyer. I’ve never been laughed out of court. It’s totally irresponsible to send a child to school with nuts knowing it’s lethal.

Only in this case it isn’t lethal, and goes against all the leading specialist recommendations in dealing with allergens in schools.

I have a nut allergic child with an epipen and honestly, we have made a few mistakes ourselves buying things with concealed nuts or misread labels. When she was school age the schools didn't even do the nut-free thing then. So honestly, I do think they are doing the best you can expect and you can be be happy that your child is so aware herself.

If the school have a no nuts policy and have made parents aware that there is a child with a life threatening nut allergy then other parents do have a duty of care to that child. The risk of causing harm is foreseeable and they could be negligent to not check their children's lunches properly for things obviously including nuts.

I'm surprised the school arent reminding the parents of the child involved again about the nut issue.

Dear god how awful you all are.

What the fuck are you talking about Haud, how do you know it isn’t lethal. I bet the parents of the girl that died on a plane are laughing their head off. I mean what a silly billy they are.

I will repeat myself. If my son is in contact with nuts he could die. Schools should do their best to protect their pupils.

The school is not responsible for having no nuts. You need to educate your child!

Schools cannot be safe zones. There can be nuts anywhere unintentionally. The best thing to do is educate children about not sharing food. Creating a false sense of security helps no one.

Policing lunchboxes really is tough to do. People bring in home-made cookies and cakes, for example, and the lunchtime assistant cannot check all of those.

My DD has a very serious nut allergy, and her school decided a better policy was to teach the children not to share food, to keep their hands to themselves while eating, and to wash hands and faces after eating.

They did do their best to keep nuts out of DD's classroom in elementary school, but fundamentally the goal was to teach all children to keep their allergic friends safe.

The other advantage of this approach was that it helped kids who had other allergies too - and they have kids who are allergic to a very wide range of foods.

Herc for some people suffering from nut allergies it’s dangerous being in the same room as a nut.

@Barbarella1 you know you're not the only allergy parent here right?

DdraigI have allergies and my 2 children havre extremely dangerous allergies. If you don’t give a flying fuck about your children then its up to you.

What the fuck are you talking about Haud, how do you know it isn’t lethal.

Because I read the thread and OP herself states it isn’t lethal and would’n’t be anaphylaxis

I will repeat myself. If my son is in contact with nuts he could die

As could my child if he came into contact with dairy, citrus, dog (all types, including their hair/dander on other people) grass (all types) pollen and dust mite.... all of these cause my child to have grade 6 anaphylaxis shock... some of his allergens are also Sorbonne allergies.

I cannot keep him wrapped in a bubble.... your child could come into with nuts at any point in his life, a child could be eating a peanut butter sandwich in the car on the way to school and be in contact with your child 2 mins afterwards... still have the residue on their hands and faces.

Your “logic” is completely illogical and I say that as a mother whose had to give her own child CPR due to anaphylactic shock.

And again, this child’s school policy goes completely against what Uk Allergy and Anaphylaxis campaign specialist advise is, no matter the grade of the allergy.

Well I have an ana allergy and I have three kids with allergies so do I win?

I give a massive fuck about my kids. Absolutely astronomical fuck.

Why do you think I don't?

I just don't mindlessly plod along with whimsical hysteria.

I like to look at facts.

asthmaallergieschildren.com/nut-free-schools-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

This is a good article about the pros and cons of nut free schools, written by a doctor who is board certified in Allergy/Immunology, and a researcher/advisor in this area.

Dear god haud your awful.
.

Barbarella - you're coming across as unhinged.

Well I disagree HaudYerWheeshtYaWeeBellend, our school does make my child feel safer. She's never 100% safe, nothing can make her feel that (very sadly) but there's very obviously a spectrum of safety. She can't live her life in a constant status of high alert but she knows kids bring nuts into school from time to time, and that school will deal with it when they do, but that she, as a young child, can expect the adults to step and help keep her safer.
In the "real world" when she's older, she'll have to cross busy roads on her own, but I haven't been expecting her to deal with that by herself from age 4 and it's the same with this as far as I'm concerned; school need to support.

How? You keep making these ridiculous statements with absolutely no justification.

So I don't give a fuck about my kids and @HaudYerWheeshtYaWeeBellend is awful.

Want to use some of your lawyer training (interesting choice of terminology) and justify your position?

My dd is a nut allergy, including other things. Very serious, anaphylaxis is frightening therefore it is VITAL you teach her how to be safe. The school have limited actual control. She won’t always be in school so it’s up you to teach her.

A parent at our school had the school issue a letter on her behalf with a pic of her child who has a nut allergy and a letter from the child to not include nuts on lunch and snacks as it could kill her. I think everyone has taken the far more seriously then a paragraph in a newsletter. Might be worth asking if this is something they would consider.

And again. You clearly don't have any intelligent argument.

OP, there have been trials with children with a peanut allergy slowly being brought in contact with peanuts in a controlled enviroment by medical professionals. It lessened their allergy enough so that they could be in the same room as peanuts. It might be worth it to see if they do this somewhere accessible for you. It must be so frightening to have a child with such a dangerous allergy.