Peanut Allergies

[SoonerTexan]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504744_1...-10391703.html

Curious to hear what they parents on here think. Personally, I say leave the poor girl alone and deal with the relatively minor inconvenience to your child.

[corn poffi]

Wow! That's terrible. The poor girl has an allergy! It's not like she's a picky eater whose parents don't want her to have to deal with foods she doesn't like. Sheesh.

[HouseofWool]

holy balls, what a bunch of bigots. Do they think it would be okay to discriminate against a kid who has diabetes or is in a wheelchair. Methinks they are the same assholes who wouldn't want a non-Caucasian in the child's class.

[SuzySunshine]

Washing their hands is an inconvienence? I'm sorry shouldn't they be washing their hands when they come in to the classroom anyway?

I guess I don't understand why they should have to rinse their mouths but the hand washing objection is ridiculous!

[SoonerTexan]

Haha, their children are being taught hygiene--that should be a bonus!

[diggitydot]

The whole thing makes me sad. Sad for a poor kid with a horrible allergy and sad for the adults who are acting like a bunch of tools and projecting their own issues onto a feakin' elementary student. Really?! Handwashing and mouth rinsing is worthy of their foot-stomping hissy fits?

Yes, some people are unreasonable with preferences and I understan the frustration with those who seem entitled to preferential treatment. This isn't a preference -- it's a medical condition. The kind that can quickly become deadly.

[BonBon]

Honestly, if her reaction is so severe as to cause her breathing problems by merely being in the same room as a pb sandwich, then she probably shouldn't be in school. I say this as a person with a severe food allergy (chickpeas though, much easier to avoid. Most kids don't bring hummus to school). Not for the comfort of those jackasses who are protesting, but because you're in an environment with other kids. Kids are messy, someone is bound to bring in something with peanuts at some point either because their parent is being an ass or accidentally. If it's like mine though, where you have to actually eat it or perhaps bathe in it to die, then I would definitely send her to school. Either way, those parents who are protesting need to STFU. It's not a preference, idiots.

For my own peace of mind, I would keep her home (or at a peanut-free school) if it's as bad as they say. At least until she's older.

[MissCrabette]

^ Yes, what she said.

Those other parents are asses for protesting, but if this were my kid I wouldn't put her life in danger just to stand my ground and because I'm right and they're wrong.

[madeintaiwan]

I have no issues with the hand washing. The mouth washing is borderline, but whatever. My issue here is that the father has been quoted stating that his daughter is SO allergic to peanuts that even SMELLING peanuts can cause a fatal reaction. The ENTIRE school has gone no peanuts and has eliminated snacks in the classroom as well as prohibiting outside food at holiday parties. In addition they had to have a peanut-sniffing dog inspect the school before school was let back in after spring break. For ONE child.

I am all for equal opportunity and fairness, I believe in mainstreaming, but there comes a point when an ailment becomes a HUGE burden for everyone. SED children are not typically mainstreamed because of the burden that their behavior and needs bring upon classes, teachers, and schools. And her condition is completely different than a diabetic child. I have interned in classrooms with diabetic 1st graders, they monitor their own blood sugar and ask to go see the school nurse if necessary. Some of them had tubes of frosting in their back packs that they took hits off when necessary. This had very little effect on the class.

Personally, if I had a child who had such a severe allergy I would not be comfortable putting that immense responsibility on others. It's sad and unfortunate, but there is no way I would leave my fatally allergic child in the care of a school who has hundreds of other students that they have to look after.

[scrub-jay]

I'm with Bon Bon on this one, if that were my child, I would probably find an appropriate school or homeschool. BUT - not everyone has that luxury, so I understand the accomodations. It is defined as a disability and by law the school has to provide an environment in which she can receive her education. So what if the other kids have to wash out their mouths and wash their hands. If they are truly concerned about how much time it takes up, perhaps the school could get a classroom with multiple sinks stations (they build them for labs) to ensure that it takes less time. The parents of the other children are being completely discriminatory. Way to teach children to be accommodating to those around them.

[Vanquisher]

I have no issues with the hand washing. The mouth washing is borderline, but whatever. My issue here is that the father has been quoted stating that his daughter is SO allergic to peanuts that even SMELLING peanuts can cause a fatal reaction. The ENTIRE school has gone no peanuts and has eliminated snacks in the classroom as well as prohibiting outside food at holiday parties. In addition they had to have a peanut-sniffing dog inspect the school before school was let back in after spring break. For ONE child.

I am all for equal opportunity and fairness, I believe in mainstreaming, but there comes a point when an ailment becomes a HUGE burden for everyone. SED children are not typically mainstreamed because of the burden that their behavior and needs bring upon classes, teachers, and schools. And her condition is completely different than a diabetic child. I have interned in classrooms with diabetic 1st graders, they monitor their own blood sugar and ask to go see the school nurse if necessary. Some of them had tubes of frosting in their back packs that they took hits off when necessary. This had very little effect on the class.

Personally, if I had a child who had such a severe allergy I would not be comfortable putting that immense responsibility on others. It's sad and unfortunate, but there is no way I would leave my fatally allergic child in the care of a school who has hundreds of other students that they have to look after.

This.

Yes those parents are toolboxes, but also it seems to be taking away instructional time akin to 30 minutes daily. Hand washing is a definite good thing, but the mouth rinsing kind of bothers me. I'm not sure I'd want my daughter taking a half hour to do these kinds of things daily.

[Pollyanna]

The whole thing makes me sad. Sad for a poor kid with a horrible allergy and sad for the adults who are acting like a bunch of tools and projecting their own issues onto a feakin' elementary student. Really?! Handwashing and mouth rinsing is worthy of their foot-stomping hissy fits?

Yes, some people are unreasonable with preferences and I understan the frustration with those who seem entitled to preferential treatment. This isn't a preference -- it's a medical condition. The kind that can quickly become deadly.

This. I think I would want to keep my child home if they had such a severe allergy but at the same time that child needs to learn to function in the real world so keeping her home might not be in her best interest.
The dad complaining about the process wasting 30min of teaching time has clearly never been in a school. Way more than 30 minutes is wasted everyday

[Vanquisher]

This. I think I would want to keep my child home if they had such a severe allergy but at the same time that child needs to learn to function in the real world so keeping her home might not be in her best interest.
The dad complaining about the process wasting 30min of teaching time has clearly never been in a school. Way more than 30 minutes is wasted everyday

Yeah, but that's 30 MORE wasted minutes. It adds up.

[peggyfromwastate]

I have heard of people so sensitive to peanuts that they can not fly (as in on airplanes) bc they can react to peanut dust in the air. So legally they are not supposed to fly if the allergy is that bad.

I have a very hard time believing this girls allergies are already that bad. Ds was diagnosed with a peanut allergy at age 2, and of course we've done what we can to limit his exposure to peanuts bc after repeated exposure he can increase in sensitivity to urge point where he won't be able to fly. There is a quantitative test for how "allergic"one is to peanuts, and he's basically at the highest end (98-99% anaphylactic rxn) but he's still far from this sensitive.... I think the parents are exagerating the risk here for their daughter.

I expect the other kids to not force feed Steven peanuts. Or to stick their peanutty fingers in his mouth. He could go into anaphylaxis from someone touching him with their peanutty fingers, but more likely that would result in a nasty rash and severe swelling on the skin only. The real risk is with ingestion.

Anyway I guess I think everyone is being an idiot in this particular school.

And Steven has type 1 diabetes too so he gets to feel like a total freak at any school party. He had to read all the labels for peanuts and also for carb counts. His classmates don't even know what carbs are. Some of them told Steven that there are no peanuts in peanut butter even!!! Whatever!!!

My advice to the parents of the allergic lid would be to not dwell on worse case, make sure all the staff knows how to operate an epipen, and to relax a little. If that's not possible, pull her out of that school.

[scrub-jay]

I think about a year ago I saw a documentary about a girl in school with the same affliction, except she was given a peanut dog to stay by her side and warn her immediately if he sensed peanuts nearby. So, when she came in from recess, the dog went in first scoped things out and then let her come in. Honestly, it made her a little more popular because she was the girl who got to have a dog at school! I wonder why this girl cannot have the same solution if her allergies are that severe.