Did I just divorce my PTO? Yes.. I think I did.

[Bang!Zoom!]

Gotta draw a line sometimes in life.

 

I just withdrew from the parent organization at the school.

 

What utter absolute completely unbelievable bs. All done with that. :)

 

Bonus: More free time! :)

[BabyBre]

Do tell...

[Bang!Zoom!]

Well, a nice story first...

 

I have this awesome naturopath I have worked with in the past. Just amazing, near voodoo-magical awesome. Her office has this sign on the outside door before you enter: "Please refrain from wearing fragrances or other known allergy triggers before entering this office."

 

Pretty reasonable huh? They even second you a nice long letter about it before your first appointment explaining things. All's cool.

 

I'm hep on the idea of allergy problems, I'm on-board with it all..speaking of "on board"..I'm quickly reminded of a time I was on a flight once...and the PA system had an announcement about this being a "peanut free flight" and there would be no snacks of this kind served, please refrain from using...etc. Again, hey cool, no problem.

 

Now...imagine yourself in a mall. You have zillions of people coming and going, eh? You have rich offenders such as Bath and Body works even...oooh...scary for a person with allergies, right? So do allergy prone folks go marching into BBW and demand they stop business? Heck no, they stay out of the mall.

 

Pretty reasonable, right?

 

Now, imagine yourself in a say..very large building..such as a school.

 

Do you really think it's appropriate to ask the entire population to go allergy-friendly? Do you?

 

Do I really need to give up my tea-tree shampoo, my pit spray, my perfume, my makeup, my cover-girl powder in my purse. Is there going to be some kind of TSA set up next to wand us down for offensive allergens? HUH?

 

It's not like I'm Wanda Whiffy Smells A Lot or shower in AXE spray or something..nor do I find anyone else there running amok in clouds of chemicals.

 

This is a shared building also. It is a church....which the unused portion of the building is housing the school...which has a kitchen, which cooks food, which causes allergies....did I mention there's a cooking class on site also? Oh, I didn't...it struck me as hysterical to see a "peanut-free" room across the hall from the kitchen. Like the door is some kind of magical barrier. It's not.

 

They cook everyday in that place. Smells like Applebees when you walk in on some days in fact.

 

And it appears there is a starting movement afoot to ban allergy carrying parents?

 

Ta hell with ya. Seriously.

[BabyBre]

Lol! Well that didn't take much! Come on, where's your stick-to-itivness? ;)

 

Do they really have kids in the school that are that sensitive? Some perfumes make me sneezy and wheezy, but that's no reason for a ban.

[Slipper]

Are they banning all personal items like hairspray, deodorant, shampoo, etc? That does sound a bit excessive. Did you ask why?

 

I know there are some children who are very sensitive to smells to the point that it can trigger asthma attacks. If that's the case, honestly, I'd understand and do my best to abide by it.

[Bang!Zoom!]

I have no idea where or what this is going to be developing into, I totally disengaged from it all after reading....

 

I'm pretty sure I'm done going into the building at all when I can help it.

 

There's a coffee shop across the street from the school, I'll hang out there while she's in class, pick her up outside the building and head on out after that.

 

I just can't afford the mental clutter of crazy in my life. And that's crazy.

[regentrude]

Do they really have kids in the school that are that sensitive? Some perfumes make me sneezy and wheezy, but that's no reason for a ban.

 

There may be kids who get a full blown asthma attack if somebody wears scent.

I have a friend who regularly has to leave choir practice because people will not refrain from wearing perfume - she gets asthma attacks and can not breathe.

[BabyBre]

A child in his class was doing her hair with dye plus more and he'd break out in hives and have breathing difficulty each time she was in class.

 

There may be kids who get a full blown asthma attack if somebody wears scent. I have a friend who regularly has to leave choir practice because people will not refrain from wearing perfume - she gets asthma attacks and can not breathe.

 

Dang! What is going on? Thoughts on why the supersensitive allergies in kids these days?

[Bang!Zoom!]

I grew up on a Superfund site, Dow Chemical. I live now on a different Superfund site.

 

Take a look around at superfund sites and the corn that's grown on them.

 

Now look at how much corn we (and our kids) eat.

 

Of my 4 best friends, three of our kids have brain cystic conditions which are fairly rare.

 

I live now where the Manhattan Project Juice was made.

 

Back East, you can't even eat the fish they are so poisoned.

[Grover]

I had to ask the children in my class to stop using a particular brand of deodorant because it set my asthma off every time. Granted, these were preteens who seemed to need to shower in the stuff.

[regentrude]

Dang! What is going on? Thoughts on why the supersensitive allergies in kids these days?

 

One theory for allergy formation is that the immune system does not get enough to do because people clean and sterilize and use antibacterial wipes and don't let the kids play in the dirt. So, the immune system starts attacking harmless compounds from food and environment.

Before the fall of the Berlin wall, allergy levels in the Eastern part of Germany were much lower than in the Western one - identical genetic populations, but different living circumstances: a Western high standard of living, and a much lower Eastern one (coal ovens instead of central heating, shared bathrooms on the stairwell, more dirt, and almost all children attended daycare beginning from infancy). After the fall of the wall, the living standard on the East rose, and allergy levels increased to Western level. All of this points definitely at environmental and behavioral factors.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

As the mom of a child who has severe peanut and tree nut allergies I don't see it as hysterical to see a peanut free room.:001_huh: I don't think a whole school needs to be peanut/tree nut free but I do think classrooms and areas of a lunch room should be peanut free.

[EKS]

One theory for allergy formation is that the immune system does not get enough to do because people clean and sterilize and use antibacterial wipes and don't let the kids play in the dirt. So, the immune system starts attacking harmless compounds from food and environment.

 

This.

[Slipper]

As the mom of a child who has severe peanut and tree nut allergies I don't see it as hysterical to see a peanut free room.:001_huh: I don't think a whole school needs to be peanut/tree nut free but I do think classrooms and areas of a lunch room should be peanut free.

 

I completely agree with you. I do think, however, the OP was saying that it was ironic to see the Peanut-free room right across from the kitchen. I would think they could find a room further away from the kitchen for those with significant allergies. It is possible, though, that the peanut free room by the kitchen is where those with allergies can go to eat and not necessarily a classroom.

 

Although my daughter with Celiac can become horribly ill for a couple of weeks when ingesting gluten, we know that she will come through it okay. I can't imagine how challenging it is to be the parent of a child that has ana reactions to foods. Same with those who are the parents of children with severe asthma. I would imagine that nearly every day is a fight to keep your children healthy.

[TranquilMind]

one*mom: I have this awesome naturopath I have worked with in the past. Just amazing, near voodoo-magical awesome. Her office has this sign on the outside door before you enter: "Please refrain from wearing fragrances or other known allergy triggers before entering this office."

 

Pretty reasonable huh? They even second you a nice long letter about it before your first appointment explaining things. All's cool.

 

 

God bless that naturopath. I have perfume allergies and just got off a surgical ward at a hospital, where you THINK they would know better. Some did, but some nurses you could smell 500 feet away when they entered the floor via the elevator. I needed oxygen because of one. How many did she make suffer besides me. If someone can smell you more than ONE foot away, you are reeking of it. I did very politely tell that nurse that I was hyperventilating not because of a medical problem I was having but because of her strong perfume. She defiantly said, "It's my body wash. I ALWAYS wear my body wash!" I apologized and said I didn't mean to be offensive but I couldn't breathe. To her credit, she basically ignored me the rest of the day and sent someone else when possible. The next day, she DID NOT WEAR ANY! She told me she skipped it and I said, "Thank you! I knew as soon as you came in and I really, really appreciate it".

 

I bet the others have wanted to tell her for years but she was ex-military and kind of scary. While I'm pretty assertive, I certainly wasn't in the power position, lying there in the bed, so she took pity on me, I guess.

 

 

I'm hep on the idea of allergy problems, I'm on-board with it all..speaking of "on board"..I'm quickly reminded of a time I was on a flight once...and the PA system had an announcement about this being a "peanut free flight" and there would be no snacks of this kind served, please refrain from using...etc. Again, hey cool, no problem.

 

 

See, I see it as a "do unto others" thing. I might want peanuts but if it will cause a problem for someone else, I forego them. Not even a question.

 

Now...imagine yourself in a mall. You have zillions of people coming and going, eh? You have rich offenders such as Bath and Body works even...oooh...scary for a person with allergies, right? So do allergy prone folks go marching into BBW and demand they stop business? Heck no, they stay out of the mall.

 

Pretty reasonable, right?

 

 

Yes, you have to avoid the mall because of the constant coming and going of all kinds of smelly (perfumed) people, as well as the shops.

 

Now, imagine yourself in a say..very large building..such as a school.

 

Do you really think it's appropriate to ask the entire population to go allergy-friendly? Do you?

 

Do I really need to give up my tea-tree shampoo, my pit spray, my perfume, my makeup, my cover-girl powder in my purse. Is there going to be some kind of TSA set up next to wand us down for offensive allergens? HUH?

 

 

Now this is totally different. You aren't coming and going with a large group of people at school, most likely. You are going to meetings where everyone is stuck in a room, or teacher meetings, where you have to wait in lines for awhile. It is totally reasonable not to cause a problem for others in this setting.

 

Shampoo is not normally a problem, because it is rinsed out, and makeup is pretty faint. Do you REALLY need perfume to go to a meeting a school? Who needs perfume at all, except maybe on a date night? Obviously, someone is overdoing it or they wouldn't be asking. I think it is reasonable to skip it or do what they ask and I'd do it.

 

It's not like I'm Wanda Whiffy Smells A Lot or shower in AXE spray or something..nor do I find anyone else there running amok in clouds of chemicals.

 

 

I'm sure you aren't, but I'll tell you what, the worst offenders never ever know it. They think they have only used a little and they can't smell anyone else either.

 

They cook everyday in that place. Smells like Applebees when you walk in on some days in fact.

 

 

Cooking isn't like perfume.

 

 

Ta hell with ya. Seriously.

 

 

Seems a little harsh because you simply must wear perfume and deodorant that is not unscented. If you ever have a problem, I guarantee you won't want others responding to your distress like this.

[TranquilMind]

One theory for allergy formation is that the immune system does not get enough to do because people clean and sterilize and use antibacterial wipes and don't let the kids play in the dirt. So, the immune system starts attacking harmless compounds from food and environment.

Before the fall of the Berlin wall, allergy levels in the Eastern part of Germany were much lower than in the Western one - identical genetic populations, but different living circumstances: a Western high standard of living, and a much lower Eastern one (coal ovens instead of central heating, shared bathrooms on the stairwell, more dirt, and almost all children attended daycare beginning from infancy). After the fall of the wall, the living standard on the East rose, and allergy levels increased to Western level. All of this points definitely at environmental and behavioral factors.

Possibly. I did all of this stuff growing up - played in the dirt, no antibac anything - and so did my kids.

 

I still developed spring and cat and perfume allergies (and Vitamin D supplements, oddly) in my late 40's? What's up with that?

[TranquilMind]

I just can't afford the mental clutter of crazy in my life. And that's crazy.

 

Well, I didn't read the letter of course, but that seems particularly dismissive and condescending toward people who truly do have allergic reactions to the overload of strong scents lots of people seem to have to wear.

 

It isn't "crazy". They can't help it and would love to be like you.

[Bang!Zoom!]

It's not about a meeting, it's about the everyday choices of individuals in their private homes.

 

See where this stuff is headed?

 

http://www.onpointnews.com/docs/mcbride_settlement.pdf

[BabyBre]

I still developed spring and cat and perfume allergies (and Vitamin D supplements, oddly) in my late 40's? What's up with that?

 

 

I wonder if changes in allergies have become more common as well. My dh was so allergic to eggs and poultry when he was younger, it kept him out of the military. He's no longer allergic to eggs or most forms of poultry, but his chicken allergy comes and goes. For most of our married life he couldn't even have a trace of even a chicken ingredient. Then he was tested for several things at the allergist one time and chicken came up negative. Just like that. :confused: Now it comes and goes mildly. Sometimes it bothers him quite a bit, sometimes just a little, sometimes not at all. It can be quite entertaining. (Kidding, of course!)

[TranquilMind]

There may be kids who get a full blown asthma attack if somebody wears scent.

I have a friend who regularly has to leave choir practice because people will not refrain from wearing perfume - she gets asthma attacks and can not breathe.

I had to stop going to church for several months because apparently everyone in that church had an incessant need to wear perfume/aftershave.

[TranquilMind]

It's not about a meeting, it's about the everyday choices of individuals in their private homes.

 

 

But you were talking about PTO. Those would be meetings. Anytime adults have to go to the school and wait for anything, everyone else is a captive audience to the perfumed.

 

No one is talking about your private home here. Do what you want.

[jplain]

I have this awesome naturopath I have worked with in the past. Just amazing, near voodoo-magical awesome. Her office has this sign on the outside door before you enter: "Please refrain from wearing fragrances or other known allergy triggers before entering this office."

 

Pretty reasonable huh? They even second you a nice long letter about it before your first appointment explaining things. All's cool.

So you're okay with this, but you're not okay with the same policy when it's for PTO? I don't get it.

If the PTO put up a polite sign and sent out a nice letter would that make it better?

Or does the PTO lack the kind of awesomeness that would inspire cheerful compliance? :confused:

[jenbrdsly]

Dang! What is going on? Thoughts on why the supersensitive allergies in kids these days?

 

I have no idea! I just found out that I can't eat gluten. :( It mysteriously developed in my 30s.

 

I'd also add that as a teacher I HATED crazy hair day, because the colored hair sprays smell so bad that they triggered my allergies and asthma.

[Bang!Zoom!]

It wouldn't matter.

 

This school is in a building which is an active church. The school just rents daytime space from them during the weekday.

 

The public school within this private church have nothing to do with one another other than the rent.

 

It's not going to work, it's just picking for a fight is all. I've never seen anyone in that school doing anything personally preventive either, such as wearing a face mask or gloves, bringing in personal supplies due to sensitivities.

 

There is no line with this stuff. The what-if's are endless; I can't see compliance in a shared 1950's building with foot traffic of 2K entrances a week being brought to clean-room standards ever all things considered.

[Caroline]

I have no idea! I just found out that I can't eat gluten. :( It mysteriously developed in my 30s.

 

I'd also add that as a teacher I HATED crazy hair day, because the colored hair sprays smell so bad that they triggered my allergies and asthma.

 

I can't eat gluten, either. I just found out (at 40) when my dd was diagnosed with Celiac disease. They tested the whole family, and my gluten antibodies were off the chart. It is amazing how much better I feel when I don't eat gluten--no more joint pain, no more nasty feeling tummy...

 

As to the increase in allergies, I wonder if kids just died in the past.

 

As for the OP, oh well. Your loss.

[Dana]

 

As to the increase in allergies, I wonder if kids just died in the past.

 

 

My son would've.

[caedmyn]

It's not about a meeting, it's about the everyday choices of individuals in their private homes.

 

See where this stuff is headed?

 

http://www.onpointnews.com/docs/mcbride_settlement.pdf

 

I still don't quite understand the issue on this thread, but ^ is totally insane! If you have such bad allergies that you cannot work with the public, you shouldn't have a job that requires working with the public! Hello! So everybody that enters the building has to make adjustments to accomodate her "disability"? That is just completely insane.

[jplain]

I still don't quite understand the issue on this thread, but ^ is totally insane! If you have such bad allergies that you cannot work with the public, you shouldn't have a job that requires working with the public! Hello! So everybody that enters the building has to make adjustments to accomodate her "disability"? That is just completely insane.

Actually that case sounded like it may have involved workplace harassment.

One of the items of conflict was a coworker who refused to stop using a plug-in air freshener. :ack2:

Those things can be super-nasty.

[Slipper]

I'm still not sure what the thread is about either, but the above case is referenced elsewhere on the internet. From what I gather, an employee complained to her boss that another employee's perfume was so strong that it set off allergies (including migraines) and she wanted her boss to ask that employee to tone it down. The boss ignored her complaints, repeatedly. Finally, it went to a lawsuit with the end result that everyone needs to tone it down. The real story here doesn't seem to be about excessive use of scent (in whatever form it comes in), but rather in addressing problems as they come up.

 

I don't think asking people to keep their 'smell' to a minimum is excessive. I think prudent use of body care products and perfumes is reasonable. It doesn't sound like the lady in the case had a problem with ALL the people and their smell, just one. And I'm guessing nearly everyone on this board has encountered people who over-use products. Every special ed classroom that my daughter has attended had a 'scent' policy. No strong smells for any of the employees working around kids with disabilities. It's about common courtesy.

 

My guess is that any place that has a policy like that will treat it as a 'check in the box'. They will post the policy, tell the employees to refrain and not worry about it unless it's excessive. It's not worth getting upset over.

[jenbrdsly]

To make this thread even more confusing :tongue_smilie:, what's up with a public school needing to be housed in a church?

[Bang!Zoom!]

It's called an ALE Jen. Stands for "Alternative Learning Environment".

 

It's basically the state answer to charter schools here.

 

I guess I'm not alone in my reaction either. But no big deal, one more day and we are done there.

 

We are going pure distance ed after this & set it up after the school break if necessary. We could get news in the meantime that makes even that a non-issue anymore.

[jenbrdsly]

I remembered your daughter being at an ALE, I just don't understand why the state isn't providing you with adequate school space for it. But I guess it varies from district to district depending on population/building space etc.

In our district for example, we have lost over 10,000 kids in the past ten years because families can't afford to live here. So we have several vacant school buildings that get rented out to private schools, and which also house the Homeschool Resource Center and our version of an ALE.

When I taught at a Charter school in CA, the district was required by state law to provide adequate space for our school. Of course, "adequate" meant the only school buildings that hadn't been remodeled yet. :)

For the record, I agree that the allergy/fragrance ban EVERYONE issue is annoying, but I think it's the sign of the times. I say this as a Kindergarten teacher who had to enforce a no nut ban in my classroom because we had three kids with allergies. Most parents were okay with it and understood that no five year old can eat a peanut butter sandwich without getting a bit messy, but one mom was really vocal in her opposition. It was frustrating for me as the teacher to have to spend my time calming her down.

[Bang!Zoom!]

Well, I had a nice send-off on our last day there on the whole issue. I was put in the shoes of the allergy-fearing one, being put face to face with the trigger. (I think this was almost some sort of cosmic-balancing at work.)

 

It's probably going to take me a couple of days of quiet to come down from the cliff. I'll save the whole story for later, my head is still spinning. Pun included. :lol:

 

Good luck to those guys, I don't know how they are going to manage it all.

[momsquared]

I remembered your daughter being at an ALE, I just don't understand why the state isn't providing you with adequate school space for it. But I guess it varies from district to district depending on population/building space etc.

In our district for example, we have lost over 10,000 kids in the past ten years because families can't afford to live here. So we have several vacant school buildings that get rented out to private schools, and which also house the Homeschool Resource Center and our version of an ALE.

When I taught at a Charter school in CA, the district was required by state law to provide adequate space for our school. Of course, "adequate" meant the only school buildings that hadn't been remodeled yet. :)

 

 

For the record, I agree that the allergy/fragrance ban EVERYONE issue is annoying, but I think it's the sign of the times. I say this as a Kindergarten teacher who had to enforce a no nut ban in my classroom because we had three kids with allergies. Most parents were okay with it and understood that no five year old can eat a peanut butter sandwich without getting a bit messy, but one mom was really vocal in her opposition. It was frustrating for me as the teacher to have to spend my time calming her down.

 

As a teacher in a charter school that has physically moved buildings twice in two years and will have to again in the next two....your situation is a luxury. Next year we will have one small building and the third floor of a building a football field length away. In Chicago - think winter. Oh and someone was shot in that parking lot two months ago.

[jenbrdsly]

As a teacher in a charter school that has physically moved buildings twice in two years and will have to again in the next two....your situation is a luxury. Next year we will have one small building and the third floor of a building a football field length away. In Chicago - think winter. Oh and someone was shot in that parking lot two months ago.

 

:(

One*Mom: It sounds like you are your own PTO now. Rule #1 Don't make yourself sneeze. :)

[Bang!Zoom!]

I got home today about 3 today. Sent darling a warning email that I'd been sent "into the zone, please understand".

 

Long story short, we had four hospitalizations last year for infections caused by spiders. Three of them turned into daily checks with doctors for MRSA, and two turned into cellutitis. The fourth turned into early Steven Johnsons syndrome. (Do not google this, I'm warning you.)

 

My neighbor across the hall was about 5 hours away from having his leg amputated from the same thing.

 

The obvious solution was to move. Which we did. Lots of money, aggravation, and other issues.

 

And little mom here...ended up with a classical conditioning with the trigger being spiders.

 

Black Widows in particular.

 

So. Today.

 

I'm seven minutes from the bell ringing, hiding off in the corner reading a book. I'm look up watching one of the little ones pounding 1/2 cup of Purell sanitizer in his hands as almost a game...then mentally having a ping pong match conversation in my head about the pros/cons of that stuff....

 

Suddenly. Something about six inches away on the white wall moves.

 

Biggest Female Black Widow I ever saw in my life outside a museum. And she's mad. And her babies are agitation. Lots of them. I can't breath. The bell rings.

 

The kids are coming and are going to be running right through it in about a half second.:svengo:

 

I'm still not recovered from it.

[rocketgirl]

I totally get severe allergic life threatening reactions. But I think restrictions should be so much more specific. Why does everything have to be totally banned without first just explaining to the "suspect", hey, one of our students has an allergy to ..." We followed a peanut free public school ban for class snacks, school lunches, etc for 2 years when the school didn't even have a child with a peanut allergy!!!! (but we didn't know that) I was all about following it, checked every little cracker box that I sent. Later I found out that there wasn't currently a single student in the building with a peanut allergy, but, a teacher explained, it would be too hard to change back when they did get a student with a peanut allergy. My child's school also segregated lunch box kids to a different table, citing the peanut allergy, just in case I sent something, but I didn't and being segregated from her friends who bought school lunch, created a big problem for my little girl! Seriously, we were on a tight budget then but made the decision to pay for school lunch every day after that.

Edited December 15, 2011 by rocketgirl

[eloquacious]

My son would've.

 

I would have, too. I can't tell you how allergic I am to horses. Thank God for the automobile!

[TranquilMind]

I got home today about 3 today. Sent darling a warning email that I'd been sent "into the zone, please understand".

 

Long story short, we had four hospitalizations last year for infections caused by spiders. Three of them turned into daily checks with doctors for MRSA, and two turned into cellutitis. The fourth turned into early Steven Johnsons syndrome. (Do not google this, I'm warning you.)

 

My neighbor across the hall was about 5 hours away from having his leg amputated from the same thing.

 

The obvious solution was to move. Which we did. Lots of money, aggravation, and other issues.

 

And little mom here...ended up with a classical conditioning with the trigger being spiders.

 

Black Widows in particular.

 

So. Today.

 

I'm seven minutes from the bell ringing, hiding off in the corner reading a book. I'm look up watching one of the little ones pounding 1/2 cup of Purell sanitizer in his hands as almost a game...then mentally having a ping pong match conversation in my head about the pros/cons of that stuff....

 

Suddenly. Something about six inches away on the white wall moves.

 

Biggest Female Black Widow I ever saw in my life outside a museum. And she's mad. And her babies are agitation. Lots of them. I can't breath. The bell rings.

 

The kids are coming and are going to be running right through it in about a half second.:svengo:

 

I'm still not recovered from it.

Be grateful that people won't begin wearing black widows (like they do perfume) ;) Then you wouldn't be able to be in group settings as a captive audience, it sounds like.

 

Actually, I wouldn't want to be there with black widows either! Ugh.