to be upset over nutella

[lemonadesparkle]

DC 3(so not pfb) has just started Yr R and stayed for lunch at school today for the first time. DC is allergic to many things including nuts and has epipens (2 at school, one in the bag that goes everywhere and 2 at home - so basically covered at all times). School are aware of all the allergies and what this might mean and have reassured me that the dinner staff have all been informed and that school is nut free anyway.

So, mummies had been asked to accompany their children for lunch today as part of the settling in period. There was a brief talk at the beginning reitterating what was and wasn't allowed in packed lunches and then we all sat down to eat. The mummies chatted and amongst other things discussed the non permissable foods only for one parent whose dc was sat next to mine announce that her child was having nutella sandwiches Surely the clue is in the name "NUTella" !!!!! I tried not to be overconcerned and moved dc further down the table to try and prevent contamination but I am extremely worried that had I not been there dc could have had an anapylactic reaction on the very first day having lunch at school

AIBU to be upset about this and perhaps speak to school again and request that they send out a letter clearly stating that nuts are incredibly dangerous for my child and that includes Nutella?

Have you read Brufin's post about what the Anaphylaxis Society opinion on 'nut free' schools is ?

Lets put it this way

One child has a prawn allergy
Another has a dairy allergy
Someone else has seseme seed allergy
Another child has a tomato allergy
Someone else a potato allergy
another child a banana allergy
Egg allergy

all potentially can cause anaphylaxis and not uncommon allergies so theoretically would be found in a school, do we ban every other child from bringing those into school as well, doesn't leave them much to eat.

Why doesn't the allergic child eat in a different area ?

The nuts issue aside I'm surprised Nutella is allowed in a school packed lunch, don't they have these ridiculously strict rules about "healthy lunches"?

Don't really mind the nut ban at my children's school, it's no great hardship to avoid nuts for those few hours and if it makes life easier for some children with allergies I'm happy to comply.

I wonder why so many children now are allergic to nuts?

Could it be that a couple of generations ago a person with a severe allergy would have died in childhood and not passed on his genes.Now thankfully these children are surviving but the downside of that is the gene pool is getting more and more contaminated with unhealthy genes.Kind of evolution working backwards.

Could be.
But how many of the parents also have it.
Like asthma is also on the increase, but I´m not sure how many of the children also have asthmatic parent(s)

Katiestar, you really REALLY want the OP's child to have to eat on his own every day at school so that your child can have peanut butter sandwiches?

Wow.

I have never posted on AIBU but have been really shocked by this thread. I cannot cannot cannot understand how it is OK to put a nut allergic child at risk for the sake of other children wanting nuts. It totally baffles me. My DS has a nut allergy and has just started school. He has never had an anaphylactic reaction, in fact only ever had one reaction, but I would be mightily p**d off in the OP's position. My DS is already incredibly sensible about his allergy and always asks if something is OK for him to eat before doing so. Having said that, he is only 4 years old!!! School is supposed to look after him as I would, and I would not allow him to be around peanut butter or similar.

Now, I understand that it is entirely necessary for him to understand that the world is not going to be 100% safe for him, and we are dealing with that on a daily basis, but come on, surely other people can help him out with that? By not having nuts around him? It's a very sad world if that's not the case. I understand that you can't monitor what people have before and after school, but that can't mean that you don't try at school.

And as for sitting him on a different table to everyone else - I would be livid if that happened! It's enough that he can't have all of the foods that he would like (cakes, icecreams, chocolates etc) but to stigmatise him for that.......no no no!!

Sorry, rather a rant, but as I said, I am very shocked by some of the posts on here.

beggsie

Lemonade - My son has special needs, he also has a food phobia and extremely limited diet.

The only thing he will eat in a sandwich is.....nutella. If schools banned it, he would be sandwichless!

begssie,don`t you think it would be easier to sit allergic children together rather then making sure that there are NO traces of nuts whatsover at school(some kids have whole meal bread with traces of nuts),that is NUTS!!my dd sits with few children in a classroom that have packed lunch and the others go to the canteen,so what!

My two love nuts, my youngest dc would eat nuts all day long if I allowed her to, but, I always make sure that they never had nuts in their packed lunch, even though I don't know if anyone at their school has a nut allergy.

TBH, i don't think a slice of toast with nutella or peanut butter is substantial enough for breakfast, I like mine to have toast and cereal.

Also, they never have snacks on the way home as they wouldn't eat their teas if they did.

Boggsie.No one is wanting to put anyone's child at risk.I think we are all agreed on that.It is about how schools should best manage the situation.

Hmm, I would never expect a whole school to adjust their eating habits because of my DC.

Nuts are in many many things and if you aren't specifically concerned about allergies you wouldn't even think about it (Nutella is fairly obvious though )

I think the key is educating your DC on how to deal with real life situations to minimise the likelyhood of a reaction and to use his epipen etc.

I can see why you would be concerned, but you can't reasonably expect other parents to be as vigilant as you are.

YANBU. I never realised that someone can have an anaph shock from contact with nuts. I thought it was only from eating a nut or food that had come into contact with the nut or oil from the nut. I did not realise that the particles from nuts can be airborne to the extent that they can be breathed in and still cause the anaph shock. I recently opened a packet of cashews on an almost empty tube train as i was starving and felt nauseas and HAD to eat something urgently. I won't do that again as I now understand the possible risk to others. I do think Nutella kind of implies it is made from NUTS!!!!! Maybe the child's mum just forgot and made an innocent mistake. It must be a worry for you Lemonade.
I definitely do not think the child should be made to eat elsewhere, they would feel completely excluded from their peers.

The secondry school my dd has just started sent a letter home stating that a child had a nut allergy and even told children they were not allowed to eat nutty things before coming to school.

Washersaurus - very sensible post.

Shiver - this seems a little silly seeing as the affected child may have contact with nut eaters randomly outside of school.

Our school is nut free and I got told off for sending a kinder hedghog thingy in the lunches. I completely didn't think about it and had not registered it had nuts in it. I felt really bad. But that mum might not have realised Nutella has nuts in it...

Also I got told off as coconut is also banned at our school. Apparently a nut I sent in mini bars with bounty in for a birthday take home treat. They weren't given out and my ds was mortified. (Until I told him he could eat them all instead...not all at once though)

OK, so I got a bit ranty there - apologies! It is all very raw at the moment! FWIW my ds's school is not nut free and I am happy with that, with my rational head on. I understand that other parents won't be as vigilant (and understandably so - my own mother tried to give ds a pecan danish recently without thinking!). We are very much educating him, but would just hope that those who have been made aware (via me and my big mouth or via a school note) would choose (or at least do their best) to steer clear of blatantly nutty products. I would be more than happy to do this for other children with other allergies/needs.

OK, as you were.

beggsie

I think it is confusing, I have just asked for clarification on 'nut allergy' at our school.

I knew Nutella had nuts in, but what about other stuff? Cereal bars etc.

We need to be told the specific details so we can act accordingly, not just be told nothing with nuts in.

But it's hard too do as other posters have said as it'sin so many things!

I think YANBU in being annoyed with the mother - as Nutella is obv made with nuts.

However, I do not believe that even with the best intentions, a nut-free school will ACTUALLY ever be completely nut-free. I am sure that the vast majority of parents will not be sending in the obv. like musli bars, nutella, loose nuts, nutty cakes etc

However, you have to take into account that there will be mistakes - e.g. a sandwich made with the bread with sesame/poppy seeds on the crust grabbed in haste because it was the last loaf left in the supermkt.

Humans do make mistakes - and is more likely to happen as kids get older, as teens can bring in food from the outside. In this respect, the advice of the association that there is no substitute for "constant vigilance" makes sense even in a nut-free school...