A Nut Free School?

[gazzalw]

Have always thought it slightly odd that we've put the occasional pot-full of peanuts/raisins and chocolate bits in DD's lunchbox and it has never caused a major alert at school But finally an edict was issued yesterday saying that the school is now officially a nut-free zone.

We are slightly about it really. It seems like yet another nail in the coffin of freedom of expression in schools (albeit in a different medium!). Whilst I fully appreciate that there is an issue about nut allergies and have every sympathy for families with children/parents with such dietary restrictions, I can't help feel that for some children nut-based products are a healthy option at lunchtime.

Surely the easiest solution would be to put children with sever allergies on one table at lunchtime? And who is to say that other lunchbox products might not have been in contact with nuts anyway?

Am I wrong to be rather annoyed? I seem to recall not so long ago there was talk of banning ham from lunchboxes and possibly cheese too (for health reasons) - what will we be allowed to put in the children's lunchboxes?

Surely if the powers that be want to be so dictatorial about what goes into children's lunchboxes, they should actually consider providing all children with Government-funded lunches as the Scots do?

our school doesn't have a nut ban. The last thing ds needs it to sit next to another 7 year old who is trying to persuade him that they can share the peanut cereal bar because it can't possibly contain nuts in a nut free school. In the nicest possible way, I don't trust other parents to be vigilant and I don't want ds to be under the impression that he is surrounded by safe food when he almost certainly isn't.

I think pita or misguided is more proportionate way of putting it than "nail in the coffin of freedom of expression". It is annoying though.

I can't see the problem. Nuts are, as you say, a healthy option, but they are not crucial to a healthy diet. No child will suffer from lack of lunchtime nuts.

There is the question of how effective a blanket ban is but that is a separate issue.

My DD has lots of allergies but nothing that can send her into shock; have her throat swell, tongue swell - or cause death. I count myself lucky.

Really is it too much for people to feed nuts to their kids at home rather than risk the lives of others???

Really to much???

It's not really an issue of every school banning every potential allergen. Each school will know about their own pupils with severe allergies, and they will know what the trigger allergens are for those pupils. So a school with no nut-allergic pupils might not need to ban nuts; another school with a pupil with a life-threatening nut allergy might decide that a complete nut ban is safest; if a pupil has a dairy allergy which causes non-life-threatening symptoms, the school might find a different way to manage that.

"Really is it too much for people to feed nuts to their kids at home rather than risk the lives of others???"

Apparently it is. Always gobsmacked when threads like this come around.

I am smacked that nobody ever bothers to read these threads properly, or they would noticed that its people who no nothing about allergies agree with nut bans and the parents of children with allergies are saying they are not necessary.

As I said children with allergies need to learn about which foods they can have and can't. At 3yrs dd2 (now reception) could tell you all about different milks, she still asks if offered yoghurt, ice cream etc whether it contains cows milk or not (even though her symptoms now are very mild, and she is no longer dairy free), but in a busy canteen I wouldn't like to bet that she would ask her friend if the cake was made with dairy free marg or not if it looks the same as the ones I make for her, also what if her friend says yes, not really understanding the problem or knowing what is in the cake.

In my opinion three approaches - educating the children affected (essential outside of school anyway), not sharing food and not sending in nuts is the most effective approach. I really doubt that there are many children in this country who will waste away if they are deprived from having nuts one meal a day, and I speak as a parent of a child v small and underweight and encouraged by dietician to eat peanut butter and crisps once a day. Agree though it isn't necessary if no one in the school has a nut allergy.

No it's not too much to ask to expect us to feed our children nut products at home but that is not really my gripe. I think it is an infringement of freedom to choose...are Offices allowed to impose such rules and regulations? I think there might just be an insurrection!

And it would be easier to stomach if the school actually explained the rationale for doing so. It just seems like one of those draconian rules in a list of many which are not backed up by a reasoned argument! Why now and not five/ten years ago?

Cynically I am wondering whether it's part of some bid to get an outstanding Ofsted?

And yes if nuts then why not sesame seeded, diary, fruits too....It is not necessarily a very well-thought through thing to do.

I've had a nut allergy for 25 years, since I where four. No information, no blanket bans and I'm alive. I totally understand why they do it but in all honesty I do think the world has gone a tad crazy. I learnt not to eat nuts or touch them early on. I had to educate adults, teachers etc. nowadays you can not buy anything without it saying " may contain nuts". If I followed all advice I would never eat !!! My other concern is yes nut allergy are terrifying but it is not the only allergy out there. Where does the line get drawn ?

The bottom line here is whether the school are doing this because they have a pupil or staff member with a serious nut allergy. If the answer is yes then they have instigated a sensible precaution under the overall safeguarding banner.
If the answer is no and it is because the school are on some kind of healthy school, show how good they are to oppressed minorities / safeguarding crusade then they are wrong to do it.

"I am smacked that nobody ever bothers to read these threads properly, or they would noticed that its people who no nothing about allergies agree with nut bans and the parents of children with allergies are saying they are not necessary."

Obviously that was aimed at me. Thanks. Interesting that you know all about my parenting background, you must be psychic!

Have you ever seen a child go into anaphylactic shock at school? I have. If it's avoidable I'd rather not have to deal with such a horrid moment again. Just as I safeguard children against other avoidable accidents, if possible.

Schools are aware of which children have which allergies and how severe they are so it's not a case of being precious and banning everything or randomly picking and choosing what to ban.

I do agree that a blanket ban wouldn't be effective in every school, it depends on the nature of the child's allergies and the lunchtime arrangements of the school.

That should have said gobsmacked, but not sure why you think i am referring to your parenting skills
Of course I have seen anaphylatic shock, I said above my son is allergic to nuts and seed and also my DH.
My point is that every time there is a thread on nut bans, the parents of children with allergies, say they are not necessary

anaphylaxis campaign schools advice

I don't think blanket bans are necessary. I suffer from anaphylaxis, triggered by chilli. There was never a ban on chilli at any school or work place I attended and still the only place I've ever at had to use my epi-pen was in my own home, once, when I haven't checked ingredient list on a ready meal carefully enough.
I accept that chilli is not as likely to be in lunch boxes as nuts but curry and chilli con carne were regular features on school meal menus at secondary school. I did have considerate friends though who would never pick something I might react to. Maybe education and risk assessment is better than a blanket ban.

Yes, maybe "education and risk assessment" are the way forwards. But if the child and their peers are too young for the education to be immediately effective it can still cause problems. And maybe the risk assessment has identified a ban is necessary at the moment. Having a "risk assessment" is action which means the school as assessed and acted , just having the paperwork is worthless unless it changes something to prevent risk.

bruffin - you are assuming that I am not the parent of a child with allergies, or at least that's how your wording sounds.

Also I asked if you have seen anaphylactic shock at school. In the situation that I dealt with it was extremely traumatic for the other (very young) children involved and they attributed blame to themselves for what had happened to their friend.

I do think there are a number of things to consider, and it varies from school to school. It's up to the school to decide what is best for them. If a parent has questions or opinions they should raise it with each individual school.

My DC's school has a nut ban and it's a PITA. No child in the school has a nut allergy - it's just in case there is one with a nut allergy not yet identified.

I'm vegetarian and my DC's diet is mostly vegetarian. I don't want to give them processed meat, and hummus has sesame seeds in, so the only option is tuna or cheese (chicken is too pricey to have more than once or twice a month). Nuts are an excellent source of protein and nut paste is a good savoury sandwich filler. I'd much rather give a small handful of nuts for dessert than a pot of something sugary or a sweet cereal bar.

That's why it should be considered on a school by school basis. How silly to ban nuts if there aren't any children with nut allergies!

Exactly, Badgercub. Maybe a new child has joined the school or just been identified, hence the sudden new stance OP.

There is a child in my DS1's class that cannot be in a ROOM where nuts are present. Or they can go into anaphylaxis. Hence the whole school being a nut free school. AND every parent in the school has signed an agreement not to give their DC's nuts, peanut butter (or cashew nut butter), or nut products for breakfast on a school day. This particular DC is SO severely allergic that even a trace of peanut butter on the finger of another DC could kill them.

No, we have to police for traces of nuts too. AND the teachers all check the snacks, (a cereal bar free of nuts AND traces of nuts and/or a piece of fruit is what is stated as allowed) sent in a named sandwich bag, put in a pot, and either TA or teachers checks ingredients, they get to know which ones DO have traces of nuts in, and can go safe, not, safe, safe, safe.

They keep a list of which ones are OK, and which ones definately aren't.

Bet they won't ban dairy products from even the classroom though, when my DS3 starts, despite him going into anaphylaxis from just trace amounts - he even has to have his own pots, pans, crockery, cutlery and utensils at home, and sealed pots with his food in in the fridge, to prevent cross contamination...

We will see...I hold out no hope, they're not going to ban dairy products like milk, cheese, yoghurts, chocolate from his class, much less the whole school, are they? And when you bear in mind that he goes into anaphylaxis by touching someone's hand when they have eaten a packet of skips crisps (they have milk protein in...), I can't see how they can keep him safe without a ban throughout the whole school, never mind the class...

Once again, I am saddened by people's lack of tolerance towards children with allergies. I have a 12 year old who is allergic to nuts and carries Epipens. He has never gone into anaphylactic shock and we hope that, with careful management, he never will. His primary school was a nut free environment and I believe for all concerned this was the right decision. He is now at secondary school and (rightly) now has to take more responsibility for his own medicine and food choices. Incidentally, he has always been cautious since a young age. Why can't primary school children be able to go to school and feel secure in the knowledge they aren't likely to feel ill due to someone else's lunch choice? I would hasten to add that I've never heard any of his peers complain about the nut restriction, only parents. Perhaps some adults could learn something from their own children's attitudes?

As for Quip who has chosen to restrict her child a mainly vegetarian diet - that is super that you have that choice. I didn't choose for my son to have a severe allergy. Is it really too difficult for you to find alternate protein choices for your child for one meal a day, five days a week?

I appreciate that people say, 'oh well we all survived and there were no restrictions when we were younger'. Times have changed and who knows how many children have been spared anaphylaxis due to nut free schools.

All my son would ask for his some tolerance of his needs. He has no wish to take away your 'freedom'!

I really dislike nut bans, I do worry about the sense of false security, I cannot and will not guarantee that dd's lunch is nut free. If a child has an allergy I will aim to send in nut free stuff but think it is unfair to shift the responsibility to me, I buy lots of products not labelled or not labelled on English. I don't think they contain nuts but wouldn't want to be held responsible if they did. The situation with labelled products isn't much better 'may contain traces' seems to be the manufacturers way of avoiding responsibility.

I think the school should take responsibility and put measures in place to protect children with allergies, not pass it on to uninformed (like myself) parents.

I am in two minds over this.
DS is allergic to all tree nuts, but he is also allergic to eggs, fish and sesame. All are anaphalactic reactions.
Ds is just about to leave primary school. He is very aware of what he can and can't eat and checks labels and if in doubt says no. That's great! however the last few reactions he has had (one requiring the epi-pen) we have no idea what he reacted to. We can only assume that it was trace food from someone else's hand - on a door handle or something - and given the severity of the reaction probably (but not necessarily) nuts. His school is supposed to be nut free but people do flout the rules.

I think that in primary schools when the children are very young it can be difficult for them to know what they could eat. I have always made egg free cakes for DS for example and one day in reception they had a food tasting. Before they could stop him DS had tried some of the cake because
" it looked just like the ones you make, mummy".

So for the younger children I think that it may help safeguard them, but as they get older they are going to have to manage their own allergies and avoid whatever it is they are allergic to. I have never told DS that he would be "safe" in school an he has to be somewhat responsible for himself too.

My kid has allergies and I'm in favour of the ban on nuts even tho' it's not one of her allergies. It's really not the end of the world to find something for lunch that is nut free. Feed 'em nuts for breakfast, nuts after school, nuts for dinner and nuts for a bedtime snack. Just don't put kids lives at risk because your children have a RIGHT to have nuts in their lunches.

those with dc's at schools advocating a nut free environment, do you know if the school have checked the ingredients of the glue and soap they use in class?

some contain nut oil