Primary School Food Allergy Policy - Thoughts??

Hasufel

Folks,

I'd appreciate your thoughts on this one. For some time my kids' primary school has banned some nuts and peanut butter as part of the packed lunches that they take to school. The rationale is that because there are peanut allergic kids at school and those kids might accidentally come into contact with peanut or swap sandwiches at lunchtime This was quite frankly a pain in the neck but we went along with it because it was one ingredient and an accident could have been serious. However, we have recently had a letter saying that the ban has been extended to include all nuts and eggs! Although the school have yet to think this through (I shall write explaining) this means that in theory the kids cannot take in cereal/fruit bars, mayonaise, snack/scotch eggs, sausages and sausage rolls, quiches, most pastry (egg glaze), custard, cakes, pretzels, crackers oh and anything containing pasta! I bet there is lots more too.

I feel a bit put out. The school doesn't provide school dinners so packed lunches are the only option. My kids have no allergies whatsoever, but because of the school's policy, they might as well have loads of allergies because Mrs H and I now have to check the ingredients of all food we buy for packed lunches. I mean what is going to happen when a celiac child (wheat intolerant) comes to school? Are they going to ban bread too?

Dont get me wrong I know that these allergies can be serious things with dangerous reactions. But this blanket ban seems OTT. Why couldn't those kids with allergies be closely supervised in a secure eating area rather than having every child in the school being unfairly limited to lunch time food options? What do you reckon? Am I being unreasonable?

H :twisted:

redddraggon

I'd ignore the letter, most primary school kids are fussy with what they eat, if my sister's children's school told them they couldn't take anything like to school they would end up eating nothing.

I don't see how they can ban normal food.

In the words of Ronnie Johns - they should harden the f!ck up!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unkIVvjZc9Y

term1te

The schools my children attend have banned all nuts and chocolate products (just in case a nut slipped in). Eggs are OK, but there does seem to be a lot more children allergic to nuts in particular these days. My wife teaches and has to keep an epipen (?) in the classroom for one child.

We even had a note back from a teacher to say my daughter’s lunch box wasn't healthy enough! It turned out they were looking at healthy foods at the time.

La cucaracha

The nuts one is the only one I can almost accept as some allergies to peanuts can be so severe that a reaction can be triggered by being in a room in which someone has just opened a bag of peanuts. However, as these are so rare, I don't see the point in the school having this as a standard policy - I think that it should only be applied if there is a child with such an allergy.

And as for how some schools are monitoring the "healthiness" of the contents of children's lunch boxes, don't even get me started on that... :evil:

Hasufel

Yes I always thought the peanut thing seemed reasonable so I complied even though it seemed unlikely that someone would peg it from putting their elbow on a smudge of nutella. Eggs though?Eggs??

8)

Tom Butcher

Yes the peanut one seems reasonable if there is a kid with a severe allergy in the school - but as you say an outright ban on nuts and eggs is putting too much of a restriction on your own child's diet - I wouldn't go along with it.

Hasufel

Tom Butcher wrote:

Yes the peanut one seems reasonable if there is a kid with a severe allergy in the school - but as you say an outright ban on nuts and eggs is putting too much of a restriction on your own child's diet - I wouldn't go along with it.

Glad you said that mate. I sent a letter a few mins ago saying I thought this had gone too far and that closer supervision of the allergic kids was the key.
:twisted:

meagain

No you are not being unreasonable, H. For starters (sorry!), demand a statement of PRECISELY what is allowed.

ricadus

Sounds like the school is passing the buck here.

vermooten

World's gorn mad. Wasn't like this in my day I can tell you, we had peanuts and eggs and no-one died or even got injured. Next thing you know they'll stop kids taking knives into school with them. Political correctness gone too far.

Health and safety? Don't get me started. As I say, the world's gorn mad.

etc etc you can read my new column in the Daily Mail

whyamihere

In my younger days, I was allergic dairy, to the point where it would cause my eczema to flare up, and I am quite seriously allergic to both nuts and citrus (both, when eaten, cause my throat to swell up and can impair breathing, being in the same room as peanuts causes my lips to itch). As a result, when I was at school, even at nursery from the age of 3, I was told by my mum what I wasn't allowed to eat and why. As a result, I didn't eat them. This appears to be just another example of parents not bothering to educate their children properly and expecting the teachers to do it for them. Teachers should do academic education, that's all, everything else should be the responsibility of the parents.

Hasufel

vermooten wrote:

World's gorn mad. Wasn't like this in my day I can tell you, we had peanuts and eggs and no-one died or even got injured. Next thing you know they'll stop kids taking knives into school with them. Political correctness gone too far.

Health and safety? Don't get me started. As I say, the world's gorn mad.

etc etc you can read my new column in the Daily Mail

Har har
Absolutely right mate!! I mean when kids only have to carry peanut butter sandwiches or mayonnaise in order to protect themselves then we really will have circumvented too many Darwinian barriers. I mean what will happen to the human race if we allow all these allergy carriers to breed?? :roll:
:twisted:

BigStu2

Looking at Vermo's avatar I think he's had 2 much peanutbutter and eggs in his time but I dont believe its the teachers fault or even the schools its the insurance companies and the increasing cost of insurance payouts, better to ban everything than investigate how to prevent something from happening ,piss poor motto but thats what weve let ourselves become....
Ohh I just had a serious moment
I've just previewed my reply and I've been censored... Pees poor
________________________________________________________________________

synchronicity

Oh my. :roll:

Yes okay, the peanut one is fair enough...

Well in my opinion, the kids that have serious allergies SHOULD BE TOLD BY THE PARENTS NOT TO TOUCH ANYONE ELSE'S FOOD OR RISK DEATH!

It's a simple fix. Why should all other kids have to suffer? It's just unreasonable & if the parents of the highly allergic kids don't like it, put them in another school and/or seal them in an airtight container (the kids, not the food ). It's too unreasonable to expect other people to change their way of life just for the sake of the risk of prosecution or public liability or whatever.

What about when they get exposed to fried egg on a public street (in a burger type of establishment for example)? What are you going to do, ban the sale of eggs? No wonder people are allergic to everything... they've had no chance to build up their tolerance level to eggs and what not... cause they request everyone to leave it at home!

Yes the world (at least in some parts) has gone nuts (no pun intended). For instance, while this hokey-pokey is going on with allergies, you've got a serious violence problem, right, and the 'solution' is to install cameras all over the place. What about finding out WHY kids are so violent in the first place? eh?

Boy am I glad I don't have to put up with this kind of shite in Spain. Seems to me that people have too much time on their hands in the most advanced countries.

In the words of Ronnie Johns - they should harden the f!ck up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unkIVvjZc9Y

That makes me proud to be an Aussie. Sort of. :?

Brains

The Nut ban is not unreasonable in a nursery or primary school.

I am unaware of any other food product that can cause the instant reaction that nuts can.

However, as a small child I had a similar reaction to mown grass.
This resulted in my parents having to arrange for all the local gardens to be mown on the same evening each week, when I was safely in bed in a sealed room. It also ment that by the time I started school if the playing fields were mown I was not allowed out that day, and classroom windows had to be closed. That was as far as went. If I had an attack, it was my problem, even at 6 or 7 I dealt with it, worst case was my parents dealt with it.

By today's standards, the school would be concreting over the playing fields for my convenience.

The only remaining legacy of my allergy (other than avoiding direct contact with mown grass) is birch pollen.

So please could the government arrange all birch trees to be cut down so that I don't have 6 weeks of sniffles and runny eyes each year ?

Hasufel

Heehee. Nice one Brains!
:twisted:

scapaslow

This type of thing puts schools in a difficult position. But lets not lose sight of the fact that they are for learning and teachers are educationalists not surrogate parents.

Nut/Seed butters are available of many types and and are classed as health foods. They contain lots of essentail proteins/omega oils etc... By not allowing the majority to have these because of the minority that may react badly to them strikes me as unjustifiable. It would be interesting to hear a legal opinion on this.

I'd say that it's the case of the parents not taking enough responsibility. Get the parents of the allergic children into school at lunchtime and let them supervise what they eat if they are so concerned. Make them eat in a separate location. OK is not 'inclusive' but practical.

We seem to be having a catastrophic loss of common sense in the UK where the acts/needs of minorities adversely affect the majority.

My wee lad has an ongoing kidney problem and has to watch his salt intake. I haven't asked the school to search through everyone elses' lunchbox for items high in salt and ban them. You tell them what they can and can't eat and why and they soon develop the technique of asking others "Is there salt in that"? or "Sorry, i can't eat that it's got salt in it". If you don't educate them at Primary age what are they going to be like when they are older and off down the local shops at lunchtime with their friends?

I know my local nursery bans homemade food for sharing e.g. birthday cake and will only allow shop bought cakes with an ingredient list. Now what about the E numbers in there?

I understand that some of these allergic reactions can be very severe but the list is endless... honey, wasp/bee stings etc...

Hasufel

I thought the legal angle would be interesting too. That said, I'm not trying to make a big deal of this (the school has!! ) I just want my kids to have a varied lunchbox that doesn't take hours to shop for and fill. They are fussy enough wee bissums as it is :?

:twisted:

synchronicity

Brains wrote:

However, as a small child I had a similar reaction to mown grass...........................
By today's standards, the school would be concreting over the playing fields for my convenience.

What about those with an allergic reaction to the alkaline content in the cement? :P

iainment

Hasufel wrote:

I thought the legal angle would be interesting too. That said, I'm not trying to make a big deal of this (the school has!! ) I just want my kids to have a varied lunchbox that doesn't take hours to shop for and fill. They are fussy enough wee bissums as it is :?

:twisted:

Why not stand as a governor and put your point of view or talk to your parent governor and get the topic debated at next governors meeting. might not change anything but at least would put your point of view into the formal area.

I used to grumble about school decisions - got myself coopted onto governor's and realised that often the problem was communication from the school leading to ill informed gossip about decisions. parents need to ensure that this type of decision is explained fully - and the rationale behind it. also it might be a lea decision and not made by the school itself.

Myself - I couldn't live without peanut butter mmmmmm.

Hasufel

A good point but believe me in our tight little community the competition is fierce and some people need it more than me. No I've been quite happy to canvass opinion over the last few days. if I put my mind to it I could direct the insurrection :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

heavymental

Peanut butter is actually quite good for you according to the results of my googling the other day. It came as welcome news to me as I lurve the stuff.