Only second day of PS and so far I am not impressed.

[Just a Jen in Mississippi]

My friend's son started getting terrible, debilitating migraines about the time he hit middle school. They would hit him fast, and he would be out of commission for the rest of the day, often vomiting his guts out. It was horrible. His doctor prescribed a type of medicine that he could take the moment he felt a migraine coming on. He was very anxious about this, because he was not allowed to carry medicine on his person, and by the time he made it to the nurse's office, and she made all the appropriate phone calls to okay the medicine (if there was even a nurse on campus that day), it would be too late for the meds to be effective.

 

This family is extremely conservative, very respectful of authority and not at all rule breakers. You can see how this would be a dilemma. So the doctor leaned in and looked right in this boy's face, and told him that she authorized him to keep the pill in his sock. If he felt a migraine coming on, he simply had to be excused to the bathroom to take the pill, and for heaven's sakes, don't get caught!

 

I was so saddened that this is what we've come to. This whole thread is distressing.

 

Big hugs to those of you who have to deal with all this weirdness.

 

This is the first year all my kids have been in public school and I've been pleasantly surprised. My high schooler can self medicate and bring advil or whatever with her. She can use her cell phone any time she is outside or at lunch. I have been able to pack whatever I want them to have for lunch and they can talk at lunch. It's not been bad at all and they've loved it. I'm sure it varies by state and school district, but our schools so far, are much kid and parent friendlier than I ever remember.

[alexfam]

Good Luck! I hope that everything in a couple of weeks will calm down.

[GoVanGogh]

Re: Peanut-free schools.

My homeschooled DS is allergic to peanuts, as is my public schooled nephew. We live in different states, see different doctors. Our doctors have always said the same thing - do not push for peanut-free schools. The rate of children having severe allergy attacks in peanut-free schools is higher than in non-peanut-free schools, as there is a 'false sense of security' so the child and school staff tend to overlook the early signs of an allergic reaction. I can't find the article my doctor cited now and don't know what FAAN's stance is on the subject.

But the truth of the matter is - you simply cannot create totally peanut-free areas. Kids are always going to have food traces on their skin, hands, lunch boxes, backpacks, etc.

And - truthfully - I think adults are the worse. My son was exposed to peanuts at preschool by his teacher on several occassions, despite being told repeatedly by the office that his room wasn't allowed any peanuts. Same thing has occurred with my nephew in his school. They are suppose to be peanut-free, but parents forget or don't know what to look for on the food labels. I know my nephew's worse reactions have been at his "peanut-free" school. :tongue_smilie:

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Re: Peanut-free schools.

My homeschooled DS is allergic to peanuts, as is my public schooled nephew. We live in different states, see different doctors. Our doctors have always said the same thing - do not push for peanut-free schools. The rate of children having severe allergy attacks in peanut-free schools is higher than in non-peanut-free schools, as there is a 'false sense of security' so the child and school staff tend to overlook the early signs of an allergic reaction. I can't find the article my doctor cited now and don't know what FAAN's stance is on the subject.

But the truth of the matter is - you simply cannot create totally peanut-free areas. Kids are always going to have food traces on their skin, hands, lunch boxes, backpacks, etc.

And - truthfully - I think adults are the worse. My son was exposed to peanuts at preschool by his teacher on several occassions, despite being told repeatedly by the office that his room wasn't allowed any peanuts. Same thing has occurred with my nephew in his school. They are suppose to be peanut-free, but parents forget or don't know what to look for on the food labels. I know my nephew's worse reactions have been at his "peanut-free" school. :tongue_smilie:

 

I tend to agree that you cannot make a whole school peanut/tree nut free. However, as a mom to a ds with severe peanut/tree nut allergies I think that classrooms (not lunchrooms) should be peanut/tree nut free if not food free since this where the child spends the bulk of their time in school. I think that lunchrooms should have a peanut/tree nut free table or a table where peanut/tree nut products can be eaten. I also think that sanitizing wipes or hand washing should be done before and after lunch along with wiping down tables.

 

Just my 2 cents:)

[Renee in NC]

This is the first year all my kids have been in public school and I've been pleasantly surprised. My high schooler can self medicate and bring advil or whatever with her. She can use her cell phone any time she is outside or at lunch. I have been able to pack whatever I want them to have for lunch and they can talk at lunch. It's not been bad at all and they've loved it. I'm sure it varies by state and school district, but our schools so far, are much kid and parent friendlier than I ever remember.

 

My 16yo's school is this way, but it is a charter school in NC and there are only 475 students K-12. The students are treated as people, which is very, very important.

[KidsHappen]

That's one of my worries, though, with allergy bans - - you can't expect a classroom full of 7-yr-olds to remember the many items that may contain peanut oil, or to wash their hands with precision and thoroughness if they happen to have peanut butter in the morning, or to make sure their backpack/lunch bag/whatever doesn't touch peanut butter at any time.

 

If a child dies at a school that has a peanut ban, I'm sure they'll try to figure out how it happened. The kid who accidentally brought the allergen is going to suffer horrible guilt.

 

I personally would have no problem trying to accomodate an allergy if it's as simple as "don't bring peanut butter sandwiches to school" but I'd hate to be responsible for ensuring that not a drop of peanut dust is on my child or her belongings, kwim? It's very hard for even the parents of the allergic child to figure out labels and such, isn't it?

 

I would never have imagined that Chik-fil-A was a problem, and I can easily imagine sending leftover nuggets for lunch. A 7-yr-old might be very careful about protecting his classmate, while never thinking that a non-peanut-butter granola bar could be a danger.

 

I'm not sure what the solution is. If a tiny amount of peanut dust could cause my child to die, I don't think I'd ever be comfortable assuming that any place hundreds upon hundreds of people inhabit can be made peanut-free. I realize that not everyone can homeschool, but if it's at all a choice, I certainly think it's a better one.

 

I'm wondering why children with severe allergies can't be in a classroom with an aide trained to use an Epi-pen? They aren't difficult to use.

 

Schools routinely assign aides to classrooms with kids who need assistance of various kinds - - kids on the autistic spectrum, and with other special needs, physical or academic. When my nephew was suffering from seizures, he was always in a room with an aid (and there were aids on duty during lunch/recess/assemblies).

 

If I had a child in school with severe allergies, I'd certainly look into this. Should the school tell me it wasn't for kids with allergies, I'd read the actual law and/or regulation, or hire a lawyer to do so. In this age of inclusion, I can't imagine there are many schools who don't have at least one aid per grade level.

 

 

That is one thing that I did see at the elementary school that I do like. Apparently they have peanut free classrooms. That makes so much sense with so many kids having allergies these days that I wonder why I had never heard the idea before.

[KidsHappen]

This is the first year all my kids have been in public school and I've been pleasantly surprised. My high schooler can self medicate and bring advil or whatever with her. She can use her cell phone any time she is outside or at lunch. I have been able to pack whatever I want them to have for lunch and they can talk at lunch. It's not been bad at all and they've loved it. I'm sure it varies by state and school district, but our schools so far, are much kid and parent friendlier than I ever remember.

 

The middle school is pretty close to this and as I posted in my follow-up I am pretty happy with it. I haven't really figured out the elementary school yet though. There seems to be an over abundance of rules and a lack of actual academic work. On the other hand they are getting tons of art, music, PE (games), recess and such so it's FUN. Not at all how I remember the 5th grade. There is an open house/parent orientation tomorrow night so maybe that will help clear things up a bit.

[Lovedtodeath]

 

On the other hand they are getting tons of art, music, PE (games), recess and such so it's FUN.

I would be glad for that!

[ConnieB]

 

What's next? Showing up at their birth and installing a device to track their every movement?

 

 

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH PLEASE!!! Don't give them any ideas. :tongue_smilie:

[MrsMe]

I tend to agree that you cannot make a whole school peanut/tree nut free. However, as a mom to a ds with severe peanut/tree nut allergies I think that classrooms (not lunchrooms) should be peanut/tree nut free if not food free since this where the child spends the bulk of their time in school. I think that lunchrooms should have a peanut/tree nut free table or a table where peanut/tree nut products can be eaten. I also think that sanitizing wipes or hand washing should be done before and after lunch along with wiping down tables.

 

Just my 2 cents:)

 

I agree with this poster 100%. Just because some have allergies doesn't mean that everyone else shouldn't or isn't allowed to eat a candy bar with nuts or a peanut butter sandwich in a lunchroom. I think it's ridiculous. Go ahead throw the tomatoes.

[Pixie]

I agree with this poster 100%. Just because some have allergies doesn't mean that everyone else shouldn't or isn't allowed to eat a candy bar with nuts or a peanut butter sandwich in a lunchroom. I think it's ridiculous. Go ahead throw the tomatoes.

 

The problem with this is that some schools, like the one my kids went to, don't have a lunchroom. They ate lunch in the gym. That said our school isn't peanut-free, they even serve pbj sandwiches. I assume they don't have kids severly allergic to peanuts.

[Guest Katia]

As for a child feeling guilt if he caused another child to die, that's nothing compared to what the family of the dead child will feel.

 

What an awful thing to write.

 

Guilt and grief and two very different emotions and are handled very differently, especially by adults and children. This statement is not good logic to prove your point. It sounds horribly insensitive.

[AuntPol]

This is all pretty typical of the of the government bureaucracy that I experienced in the public schools.

 

**Lunch was silent except last 5 mintues. Some classes had assigned seating and others did not. It depended on teacher.

 

**I was not allowed to send in cupcakes for a birthday (even store bought) because they were not healthy and promoted childhood obesity. However I could send in cupcakes (even homemade) for teacher's lounge and was encouraged to do so often. Also teachers could give out skittles and treats for rewards all day long and the cafeteria sold cakes, cookies and ice cream as extras.

 

**To pay for lunch, you gave a number. After several weeks of my daughter running out of lunch money, I got a read out of what she was buying (she was a one treat a week kid). She had treats for every day. After discussing it with her for that and her denying it and her teacher denying it and the fact some of the treats were things she just doesn't like, we discovered that the cafeteria person was ringing up kids of a certain demographic as having treats daily whether they did or not.

 

**We had peanut issue too but it was worked out by not having her in same class as peanut allergy kid. My dd is a vegetarian, has many sensory issues, and is hypoglycemic. The only thing I could pack that had enough protein was peanut butter. If she did without so another child would die, she would end up in hospital herself from passing out from low blood sugar. (we dealt with this especially when they reached 2nd grade and were no longer allowed snacks -she can't go more than 3 hours without having issues). Now we could have worked around sending something other than peanut butter if she could have used the microwave in the cafeteria but apparantly the allergy kid was not so bad as to allow another child use of mircowave.

 

 

OT: But I have no problem in general with need for peanut free schools or no sweets schools. I think there should be a choice though. I should be able to chose whether the school I send my child to is peanut free or not, sugar free or not, wheat bread or not, just like I should be able to chose whether the school we pick uses new math or traditonal math, phonics or whole language, etc.

[JudyJudyJudy]

What an awful thing to write.

 

Guilt and grief and two very different emotions and are handled very differently, especially by adults and children. This statement is not good logic to prove your point. It sounds horribly insensitive.

LMAO. After the insensitive things that have been written about food-allergic kids, what I wrote is insensitive?