Very sad -- food allergy death in our area

[dsmama]

A child was exposed to peanuts on her first day back to school and suffered cardiac arrest and died.

 

http://www.wtvr.com/news/wtvr-chesterfield-student-death-20120103,0,4150762.story

 

This is not a public school rant -- as a mom of a child w/allergies I knows that one can be exposed to food anywhere (though with homeschooling we def have much more control). It's just VERY, VERY sad!!!

[QuirkyKapers]

:( That is sad.

[Jennifer in MI]

How sad. As the mom of a peanut allergic child who was in the ER for an anaphlyctic reaction just a couple weeks ago, this strikes fear into me.

 

That poor child.

 

I want more details. Did they know of the allergy? Did she have an epi pen? If so, why wasn't it used?

[MariannNOVA]

That is so sad. :grouphug:

[Alicia64]

Awful! I'm in VA too and I hadn't heard about this.

 

My heart goes out to that poor family.

 

Alley

[Impish]

:(

[sbgrace]

:crying: That's incredibly sad and scary as a mom of a child with anaphylaxis.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

Praying for them. :(

[Jean in Newcastle]

Since the school is now, as response to the death, asking for a list from parents of their children's allergies, I wonder if they had any prior system in place.

[Audrey]

How sad. As the mom of a peanut allergic child who was in the ER for an anaphlyctic reaction just a couple weeks ago, this strikes fear into me.

 

That poor child.

 

I want more details. Did they know of the allergy? Did she have an epi pen? If so, why wasn't it used?

 

I was wondering this, too. :confused:

[In the Rain]

Sad and scary. :(

[WeeBeaks]

That is so incredibly sad. My oldest DS is peanut allergic, and it was a big part of why we HS'ed him (realizing of course as I say that not every parent is able to - didn't mean it that way). Those poor parents and family.

[8circles]

:(

 

My son also has food allergies & carries & EPI.

[Ellie]

:ohmy: :crying:

 

How awful!

[5forMe]

We have bright pink signs all over our public school's walls, entry doors, etc. But I feel like after a while they become ignored (kind of like a bulletin board with the same papers that have been hanging for a long time).

 

Anyway, at our local public school it is up to the kids who are allergic not to sit next to a kid with peanut butter in their lunch box. When I volunteered for lunch duty I noticed a kid with PB and J, sitting across from a 1st grade kid who I knew had a peanut allergy. I said something to the music teacher (who was only begrudgingly working lunch duty because she was assigned) and she shrugged her shoulders and said "it's not up to me to police that". "The kid knows that they are allergic so it is up to them". So I politely went over to the children and rearranged the seating so that the allergic child wasn't at risk. But if it's not up to the teachers, who is it up too? :001_huh:

 

Blew my mind....the child is in 1 st grade....so the responsibility lies on the child? :glare:

 

If I had a child with a severe allergy like that, I wouldn't send them to school.

 

I realize that not all parents have the option to home school. I feel very sad for their family.

Edited January 3, 2012 by 5forMe

[SweetMissMagnolia]

oh man....awful.... :iagree:

[Night Elf]

Oh, that's awful. I wonder how she was exposed. Since I do not have children with food allergies, I must confess I do not read labels looking for any possible allergen. I wouldn't have something around that is obvious such as peanut butter, but I don't know what products do and do not contain peanut products. For example, I once had a mom in a homeschool group yell at me for having Chick-fil-a at a picnic table at the park. I had no idea that chicken is prepared with peanut oil!

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[Whereneverever]

:(

[8circles]

We have bright pink signs all over our public school's walls, entry doors, etc. But I feel like after a while they become ignored (kind of like a bulletin board with the same papers that have been hanging for a long time).

 

Anyway, at our local public school it is up to the kids who are allergic not to sit next to a kid with peanut butter in their lunch box. When I volunteered for lunch duty I noticed a kid with PB and J, sitting across from a 1st grade kid who I knew had a peanut allergy. I said something to the music teacher (who was only begrudgingly working lunch duty because she was assigned) and she shrugged her shoulders and said "it's not up to me to police that". "The kid knows that they are allergic so it is up to them". So I politely went over to the children and rearranged the seating so that the allergic child wasn't at risk. But if it's not up to the teachers, who is it up too? :001_huh:

 

Blew my mind....the child is in 1 st grade....so the responsibility lies on the child? :glare:

 

If I had a child with a severe allergy like that, I wouldn't send them to school.

 

This is in part why we decided to HS. At some point my child WILL be responsible for himself but not in K or 1st grade. :sad:

[Farrar]

Yes, that article didn't really give a lot of information. I'm curious if this was a case of a terrible accident or a horrible mismanagement or somewhere in between. Probably somewhere in between. And how sad.

[Bassoonaroo]

That is so sad. Here the kids probably are all excited to see their friends again and talk about their Christmas and the fun they had... Not that it would be any easier in March or October, but somehow the timing is as bad as it could be.

 

I'd love to know the details too. My dd carries an epipen for a severe latex allergy (cannot go into a store with inflated balloons, cannot go near fresh duct tape, most eraser dust sends her into a tizzy, can't be near poinsettias, needs to be careful with kiwi and shae butter, etc.) but is old enough to manage it on her own...

 

I cannot imagine the heartbreak. I mean the parents sent her to school like they've done for a year and a half. When you send a kid to school, you expect that kid to come home.

[dsmama]

Another news outlet has more information:

 

http://www.nbc12.com/story/16438497/chesterfield-1st-grader-dead-from-allergic-reaction-at-school

 

Apparently, the child was well aware of her allergy to peanuts and eggs and went to the nurse with a rash. No info as to whether she carries an epi, but I'm guessing not if she went to the nurse.

 

So sad. My heart just breaks for this family.

[Tammyla]

:grouphug::crying::grouphug:

[choirfarm]

This is in part why we decided to HS. At some point my child WILL be responsible for himself but not in K or 1st grade. :sad:

 

My boy asked from about age 3, does this have peanuts in it? He was VERY responsible for himself... You must train them.

[8circles]

My boy asked from about age 3, does this have peanuts in it? He was VERY responsible for himself... You must train them.

 

:confused: I don't know if you meant it this way but this comes across very patronizing. Thanks for the tip but I know how to parent my children. I do train them, including my now-8-yr-old regarding his food allergies. That doesn't mean I'm willing to let him be solely responsible for keeping himself safe.

 

The grown-a$$ adults are responsible for keeping all the children at a school safe. Including the ones with food allergies.

[i.love.lucy]

I know a lot of schools around here have a special table the kids with allergies sit at. But I have a friend who simply can't be in the building if there is peanut butter being consumed. There is simply no way to hold a first grade child responsible for asking each person around her "hey, before you open your lunch, do you have peanuts in there?" I am so, so sad for this family. :crying:

[Jennifer in MI]

My boy asked from about age 3, does this have peanuts in it? He was VERY responsible for himself... You must train them.

 

Of course you do!! But, at 7, this child should NOT have been the only one responsible for this type of an allergy.

 

My ds11 KNEW of his allergy. He asked ALL adults around. They told him what he ate was FINE!!! It was only later (after his anaphlyctic reaction) that we found out that the same spoon had been used to serve thing to which he was allergic. Not their fault. Not ds' fault. MY fault. As his mom, I should have asked.

 

I STILL get chills when I think of it.

[WeeBeaks]

For example, I once had a mom in a homeschool group yell at me for having Chick-fil-a at a picnic table at the park. I had no idea that chicken is prepared with peanut oil!

 

Many peanut-allergic people can eat peanut oil without a problem. Not all will react to it, so that one is an iffy one and not as obvious as breaking out a PB&J.

 

OT too, but I would never yell at a parent for having food my kid is allergic to at a park/public place where food is allowed. It is my problem to keep him safe, not theirs.

[Mom22ns]

My boy asked from about age 3, does this have peanuts in it? He was VERY responsible for himself... You must train them.

 

Having a child who has outgrown allergies, I am very aware of allergies. One of my best friends IRL had her son who is allergic to milk & peanuts ask a VBS worker if the cookies were safe for him to eat (he was about 5). She told him yes. One trip to the hospital later... The parents had done everything possible to prep the child (he asked) and the workers around him (they were given lists of approved foods and he had his own snacks). Someone still managed to mess up. A young child can't shoulder this responsibility alone, even if trained. He was not old enough to read labels for himself and he trusted the adults around him.

 

The original story is very sad and tragic.

[Catwoman]

It was only later (after his anaphlyctic reaction) that we found out that the same spoon had been used to serve thing to which he was allergic. Not their fault. Not ds' fault. MY fault. As his mom, I should have asked.

 

Please don't be so hard on yourself. It truly wasn't your fault; it was just a terrible accident. You and your ds did everything right -- who would have thought to ask if the spoon had previously been used to serve something else? (OK, so now you will know to ask, but there are limits on how much information it's possible to have -- and the person you asked might not have even known about the spoon.)

 

I hate to see you blaming yourself. I can definitely understand still getting the chills when you think about it, though. :grouphug:

[NatashainDFW]

DS is allergic (not horribly but still) to apple juice. We notified the school of such (preK) and yet during a field trip to the fair his teacher handed him a package of apple juice and he drank it. The boy was sick for two days. I came a little unglued over that one. I mean what is the point of asking if a child is allergic if you are going to freakin hand the four year old the food he is allergic to? Oh and the excuse given is they ran out of the orange juice before he received his drink. Um well maybe you should have given the kids with allergies their stuff first so that you knew they got the correct items instead of doing it alphabetically!!!

Thankfully at this point he knows to ask and will even ask me when I hand him and his sister a juice box. Since we don't do juice boxes often it reminds me to double check that I am giving the right child the right drink as DD will not drink any juice besides apple and white grape!

[Jennifer in MI]

Please don't be so hard on yourself. It truly wasn't your fault; it was just a terrible accident. You and your ds did everything right -- who would have thought to ask if the spoon had previously been used to serve something else? (OK, so now you will know to ask, but there are limits on how much information it's possible to have -- and the person you asked might not have even known about the spoon.)

 

I hate to see you blaming yourself. I can definitely understand still getting the chills when you think about it, though. :grouphug:

 

Thank you. But, I am still in tears when I think about it, especially after reading this story. This is SO not this girl's fault. AT. ALL. Someone messed up. I usually have extra of the food available for my ds and didn't that day. We took the risk. STUPID!!!! I never should have allowed it. And, my son suffered. Someday, I'll forgive myself. But, he could have died. This story just drives that fact home.

 

But, thank you. Really. It does help.

[mirth]

I hate that this story is true. Just hate it. Poor child. Hopefully, her death will result more in unifying, rather than dividing, people living with her condition.

[8circles]

Thank you. But, I am still in tears when I think about it, especially after reading this story. This is SO not this girl's fault. AT. ALL. Someone messed up. I usually have extra of the food available for my ds and didn't that day. We took the risk. STUPID!!!! I never should have allowed it. And, my son suffered. Someday, I'll forgive myself. But, he could have died. This story just drives that fact home.

 

But, thank you. Really. It does help.

 

:grouphug: I know how you feel.

[Catwoman]

Thank you. But, I am still in tears when I think about it, especially after reading this story. This is SO not this girl's fault. AT. ALL. Someone messed up. I usually have extra of the food available for my ds and didn't that day. We took the risk. STUPID!!!! I never should have allowed it. And, my son suffered. Someday, I'll forgive myself. But, he could have died. This story just drives that fact home.

 

But, thank you. Really. It does help.

 

I guess the most important thing here is that he's OK, and because you had such a terrible scare, you will always be super-diligent in protecting your ds, and making sure he knows how to protect himself, as well. Your situation could have ended in tragedy, but because it didn't, it will definitely help ensure that you avoid a similar problem in the future. It's so easy to get just the tiniest bit careless if you've never had a serious problem, but once something happens, everything changes.

 

Also, posting and telling people about what happened could very well help save another child. If I knew I was serving a child with allergies, I'd be certain that nothing was cross-contaminated, but that's only because I have a friend who is severely gluten-intolerant and I know how she can get very ill from the slightest exposure. Before I knew her, it probably wouldn't have dawned on me that something as simple as re-using a spoon or setting a piece of food on a clean-looking (but not disinfected) countertop that had been used to prepare other foods could cause such a severe allergic reaction.

[TravelingChris]

I honestly believe that if someone is so allergic that they can't be in the same room as some food, they really can't go to a normal school. Maybe they can go to a special room. But you really can't control everything that everyone around you does. Some one will have eaten at one of the many restaurants that have peanuts on the floor and come in with their shoes having peanut crumbs all over them. They may not have eaten any peanuts- think they will remember about peanut floor? Probably not unless it is their child.

 

I don't know what happened to this child since the reporting is confused. If it was a cardiac arrest, maybe she had an inappropriate administration of an epipen. That can cause cardiac problems. Anaphalactic reactions taken too far can cause a respiratory arrest which then leads eventually to cardiac stoppage but so does almost all death- the heart stops at some time. Anyway that it happened, it is very sad. The death of a little one is so unexpected and heartbreaking.

[Ellesmere]

Many peanut-allergic people can eat peanut oil without a problem. Not all will react to it, so that one is an iffy one and not as obvious as breaking out a PB&J.

 

OT too, but I would never yell at a parent for having food my kid is allergic to at a park/public place where food is allowed. It is my problem to keep him safe, not theirs.

:iagree: It's not appropriate to yell at people for having food in a public area. That just makes it harder for the rest of us when we genuinely need some reasonable accommodation.

 

Such a sad story. Hard to tell what happened from the news report, but even as an adult, I rely on support with my food allergies. I don't ask for special arrangements at public events/restaurants, but I don't eat in situations like that unless I'm with someone who also knows my emergency plan. I learned the hard way that confusion and inability to help myself set in very quickly to the point that someone had to intervene and inject for me. Sure, my child's been asking since she was young if a food is safe, but she is most definitely not on her own for providing treatment if, God forbid, we ever need it for her. Some people are able to self-inject, but sometimes it happens so quickly.

[Parrothead]

I'm brand new to this allergy stuff. There is only so much that I can do for protection since it is an environmental allergy instead of a food or other contact allergy. So I kind of get the danger.

 

The article quotes a doctor who says peanut allergies are one of the few food allergies that cause death. It makes me wonder why peanuts and peanut products are not banned at schools.

 

I'm not one for a nanny state by any means, but this seems like common sense to me.

[DianeW88]

This is horribly tragic, but I don't think it will be the last time it happens.

 

My children don't have allergies, but I grew up them. Penicillin, bananas, chocolate and shellfish. Shellfish is the only one I kept into adulthood. Thank goodness....the chocolate one was NOT fun.

 

Anyway, my point is that unless you have allergy experience, you do not know everything that needs to be done to keep an allergic child safe in a public environment like a school. No matter how much training, warnings, instruction, etc. is given....it really doesn't matter. Unless you have lived with it...you don't get it. Not to mention some adults are very dismissive and resentful of allergies and in having to adjust their behavior in any way. Some just simply refuse to comply, feeling that you have no right to impose your demands on them.

 

And even if you manage to somehow control what happens within the school building itself, you have no control (nor should you) over what people do on their own time. Did a child have peanut butter on toast for breakfast and not wash their hands, then come into school and push the button on the drinking fountain? It's contaminated. Did a child sit in the backseat of the car and set their backpack down in a pile of peanut butter cracker crumbs (my van ALWAYS has crumbs), then enter the school and set put the backpack on a table in a kindergarten classroom? It's contaminated. Did a child fish a Butterfinger out of their coat pocket during recess and shove it in their mouth on the playground, then touch your child in a game of tag? Contaminated.

 

There are just way too many variables that are beyond the control of the school, the allergic child and their parents. If the peanut allergy is so severe that ANY contact will bring on a reaction, I agree that public school is no place for your child. Their safety cannot be guaranteed...no matter what school officials tell you.

[bettyandbob]

some public school do handle this appropriately. My local elementary school has a peanut free table. When my ds attended K, there was a peanut allergy in the room, his teacher banned all peanut products from lunches and had a daily routine where the lunch boxes were left in the hall to be checked by her aid. Once she thought my ds had peanut butter sandwich and did not allow him to eat it--he was given his chips and applesauce. I thought this was reasonable. I suppose another parent would have been mad, but I understood the seriousness.

 

No students are permitted to carry their own epi pens. In the elementary school the school nurse has one. The classroom teacher will have one that is carried to all activities. So, there is an epi pen present in the room with the student. All faculty who have to be responsible for a student with an epi pen have to go through training on using it.

 

In middle school and high school epi pens need to be in the nurses office as well. I don't know how they handle faculty being trained and having access. I have a neighbor who is an RN, whose dd has an epi pen for dairy allergies. While her dd has been exposed to dairy she's never felt the reaction to be serious enough to warrant the epi pen and so never has used it. The high school told her, they would not wait on a reaction, the epi pen would be used immediately. They do not want to be responsible for determining the seriousness of a reaction.

 

In this case it sounds like the nurse involved didn't recognize how serious the situation was fast enough. So, sad.

[dangermom]

In middle school and high school epi pens need to be in the nurses office as well. I don't know how they handle faculty being trained and having access. I have a neighbor who is an RN, whose dd has an epi pen for dairy allergies. While her dd has been exposed to dairy she's never felt the reaction to be serious enough to warrant the epi pen and so never has used it. The high school told her, they would not wait on a reaction, the epi pen would be used immediately. They do not want to be responsible for determining the seriousness of a reaction.

 

Isn't that quite dangerous? Administering an EpiPen to someone who is not in need of it isn't really a good idea is it?

[Audrey]

some public school do handle this appropriately. My local elementary school has a peanut free table. When my ds attended K, there was a peanut allergy in the room, his teacher banned all peanut products from lunches and had a daily routine where the lunch boxes were left in the hall to be checked by her aid. Once she thought my ds had peanut butter sandwich and did not allow him to eat it--he was given his chips and applesauce. I thought this was reasonable. I suppose another parent would have been mad, but I understood the seriousness.

 

No students are permitted to carry their own epi pens. In the elementary school the school nurse has one. The classroom teacher will have one that is carried to all activities. So, there is an epi pen present in the room with the student. All faculty who have to be responsible for a student with an epi pen have to go through training on using it.

 

In middle school and high school epi pens need to be in the nurses office as well. I don't know how they handle faculty being trained and having access. I have a neighbor who is an RN, whose dd has an epi pen for dairy allergies. While her dd has been exposed to dairy she's never felt the reaction to be serious enough to warrant the epi pen and so never has used it. The high school told her, they would not wait on a reaction, the epi pen would be used immediately. They do not want to be responsible for determining the seriousness of a reaction.

 

In this case it sounds like the nurse involved didn't recognize how serious the situation was fast enough. So, sad.

 

 

The peanut free table is a placebo. Schools do this thinking that it will separate allergic kids from peanut contact, but it just creates a false sense of security. Those children at the peanut tables can and will eat food with peanuts/nuts and then go into classrooms with allergic children. They will touch things, including things the allergic kids touch, and they may even touch the allergic kids. Children with severe allergies can't even tolerate that low, secondary level of contact.

 

I don't know if the child in the article was one of those kids who is severely allergic, but I do think that schools and parents are kidding themselves if they think that a separate table is going to prevent contamination.

 

I agree with PPs who have said that severely allergic children should not be in school. School is NOT a safe environment for them unless they are segregated entirely and from all other children at all times. Schools can't really do that, and how awful would it be for the allergic children to be sequestered away like that?

[Aurelia]

:(

[sbgrace]

Isn't that quite dangerous? Administering an EpiPen to someone who is not in need of it isn't really a good idea is it?

Actually, if a child with anaphylaxis consumes a known anaphylactic food all the allergy plans I've ever seen call for an immediate epi pen without waiting for reaction let alone determining how severe.

 

Most kids who die from reactions receive epi injections...they just receive them too far into the reaction to stop it. That too far can be minutes in. Further, "mild" reactions can suddenly turn into things like shock. That point can/often will be too late. So waiting to see how severe it is would be unsafe and negligent. It's how kids have died in school.

 

Of course sometimes epi pens applied immediately still don't save a person. I can't tell from the article what happened here. It may have been handled perfectly and still resulted in this tragedy. I find it weird the school couldn't determine if an epi pen was used though.

[dangermom]

I guess I'm thinking about the kind of scenario we have: my daughter is severely peanut-allergic and carries an Epi but has never actually gone into anaphylaxis--she has always thrown up (a lot). But because peanut allergies are so unpredictable, she carries the Epi. She also hasn't actually met a peanut in about 6 years, so who knows what will happen next time?

[BatmansWife]

Poor little girl! This is heartbreaking! :crying:

 

My ds and youngest dd are both peanut allergic (ds has other food allergies too). We already knew we would homeschool before we knew about ds's food allergies. Over the past 15 years I have heard too many tragedies like this happen at schools. It feels almost inevitable that some kind of reaction will eventually happen. I never felt that I could put my child's very life in the hands of anyone at the school. I'm sooooo thankful we can homeschool.

 

The peanut free table is a placebo. Schools do this thinking that it will separate allergic kids from peanut contact, but it just creates a false sense of security. Those children at the peanut tables can and will eat food with peanuts/nuts and then go into classrooms with allergic children. They will touch things, including things the allergic kids touch, and they may even touch the allergic kids. Children with severe allergies can't even tolerate that low, secondary level of contact.

 

I don't know if the child in the article was one of those kids who is severely allergic, but I do think that schools and parents are kidding themselves if they think that a separate table is going to prevent contamination.

 

I agree with PPs who have said that severely allergic children should not be in school. School is NOT a safe environment for them unless they are segregated entirely and from all other children at all times. Schools can't really do that, and how awful would it be for the allergic children to be sequestered away like that?

 

:iagree:

[Ellesmere]

I'm brand new to this allergy stuff. There is only so much that I can do for protection since it is an environmental allergy instead of a food or other contact allergy. So I kind of get the danger.

 

The article quotes a doctor who says peanut allergies are one of the few food allergies that cause death. It makes me wonder why peanuts and peanut products are not banned at schools.

 

I'm not one for a nanny state by any means, but this seems like common sense to me.

 

While I understand banning peanuts, I don't see it truly making a safe environment. It seems like it would help but the only way I would support that is if the school still had emergency response plans in place. That means, among many things, that someone with an Epi-pen should be in the room with the child if they do not let him carry. The staff should know what to do in an emergency even in a supposedly allergen-free zone.

 

I say this partially because my house was supposedly allergen-free when I had my anaphylactic reactions. It was only free from what I knew I was severely allergic to. Turns out I had other allergies that I was not aware of. There are food recalls and contamination or accidents happen, so I eat always knowing something could happen. It isn't likely, I enjoy the meal, but after a couple of scares, yes, we are always near an Epi-pen.

 

The peanut free table is a placebo. Schools do this thinking that it will separate allergic kids from peanut contact, but it just creates a false sense of security. Those children at the peanut tables can and will eat food with peanuts/nuts and then go into classrooms with allergic children. They will touch things, including things the allergic kids touch, and they may even touch the allergic kids. Children with severe allergies can't even tolerate that low, secondary level of contact.

 

I don't know if the child in the article was one of those kids who is severely allergic, but I do think that schools and parents are kidding themselves if they think that a separate table is going to prevent contamination.

 

I agree with PPs who have said that severely allergic children should not be in school. School is NOT a safe environment for them unless they are segregated entirely and from all other children at all times. Schools can't really do that, and how awful would it be for the allergic children to be sequestered away like that?

 

This post also expresses some of my feelings. I struggle about schools ... we have the luxury of being able to homeschool. One of ours would be even more out of place at a peanut-free school since she is only mildly allergic to peanuts. At this point, I feel (and I haven't thought it through) that the only thing I could ask of the school is to not hesitate to administer the Epi-pen and let her be near it at all times. But I admit that the severe allergies played a role in our decision to homeschool.

[Ellesmere]

Isn't that quite dangerous? Administering an EpiPen to someone who is not in need of it isn't really a good idea is it?

My allergist said better to inject and not hesitate. Maybe there is disagreement about that, too, though. The doctor quoted in one of the articles said to hold the pen in place for only 3-4 seconds, while we've always been told 10 seconds.

 

I read about a case where a man needed five epinephrine shots after eating cookies that had been handled with the same spatula as a PB batch. The usual Epipen set only has two. People are usually in more trouble from not having enough epinephrine or not fast enough. Yes, there are contraindications but the most important thing, as far as I know, is to get the medicine in the right spot before symptoms go too far.

[bettyandbob]

Isn't that quite dangerous? Administering an EpiPen to someone who is not in need of it isn't really a good idea is it?

 

 

I think the school's point is you say your kid is anaphylactic then they administer the epi pen. Her child is officially dx anaphylactic. Mom really wasn"t worried that her dd might not need it. She just told her dd, she'd better pay attention to her exposure since she hates shots and the school was not going to wait to give her one. The girl is a senior and has never been exposed at school.

 

As for the peanut free table. It is policed at the elementary school I was referencing. I think the younger grade teachers are good about policing hand washing after lunch ect. I think things get harder in older grades when kids have more freedom , but not a lot of good sense.

 

No school situation is perfect. No situation outside your home is perfect. You can't even go to the local park to play. It's very hard. But do you live in a bubble. Is living in a bubble actually living? For my family, no.

 

I think for a parent of a typically developing child the choices are very hard, but I've had friends who worked very hard to teach their dc who had anaphylaxis how to deal with it. Giving your dc a tool to deal with the problem is empowering. The vast majority of children with anaphylaxis do go to school, summer camp, participate in sport and community activities and live to adult hood without incident.

 

I do not think it's helpful to tell a child she can never be safe anywhere. My older dc were dx with multiple allergies at ages 4 and 7. My then 7 yo was a strong reader. I taught about his allergies and how to read labels and we practiced questioning people about food. And we emphasized not eating stuff that didn't come from home or straight from a package he could read. And then I let him do things like go to day camp, go to birthday parties, etc. I'd look at situations and decide if there was a way for dc to be safe. Honestly, I have more problems with the smaller environment of church coffee hour and the playground at church than I do with what the local school does. If the local school had the attitude that they wouldn't police anything/wouldn't try then I'd feel differently. I did not want my dc be home afraid of the world.

 

If my youngest had a life threatening allergy I do things differently because he has down syndrome and doesn't have the reading and reasoning skills.

 

Other families will handle allergies differently. This is JMO.