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March 28th, 2011
12:15 PM ET
To most, they're just snacks on a plane or part of an innocent lunchtime PB&J. To an ever-increasing number of kids, though, even minimal exposure to peanuts can mean a trip to the hospital - or even death. In Volusia County, Florida, parents of children at Edgewater Elementary School are demanding that one allergic girl withdraw from school, so that their children will not have to take such precautions as leaving their lunches outside or washing their hands before class. They argue that the time taken to enact these measures is stealing too much focus from their own children's learning, but the school is standing behind these measures, saying they're legally required to provide a safe environment for the first grader.
The majority of the voters seem to indicate that while they're okay with some accommodations being made, the onus should be on the individual parents. The over 2,200-plus comments got...heated, to say the least.
Yes, there's a good chance the naysayers here were trolling to stir up trouble and likely, hopefully would not take glee in the death of an allergic child, but still, we were grateful to encounter a few more statements touting the need for modicum of compassion.
So, to echo Michael: *For purposes of the poll, if you don't have kids, feel free to jump in and pick a theoretical side. More from American Morning Watch American Morning weekdays 6am to 9am ET. For the latest from American Morning click here.
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This past year while I was in the hospital after surgery. My boyfriend at the time brought me trail mix and every time I ate one of the peanuts in it I grew short of breath. the doctors told me I developed a peanut allery at 26 yrs of age
now I'm 34 and noticed when I had a peanut butter cup from my daughters trick or treat candy I had no shortness of breath,no rash or itching how is this possible?
Listen. I'm 15. I have been deathly allergic to peanut and nuts my whole life. When I was in the first grade my parents tired to let me have a normal life. So I could go to school like anyone else. People in town wanted me to wear a mask and gloves to school. They thought I should be home school. There was going to be know way I could go to school as a 7 year old and know not to smell, touch or eat nuts. It is just peanuts. Your kid can't not east peanuts for 8 hours so I can go to school. I'm not sick. And we needed everyones help. And we got it. I was in a peanut free classroom with an aid till I was 10 and could handle things for myself. My friends agreed not to eat peanuts around me because u don't understand how someone could be so selfish as not to pack peanuts for their kid to bring to school so I could go to school and be normal.
You don't want to be "controlled" and told what you can and cannot eat and yet you want to control the reproductive rights of others. Hmmmmm! I can't put my finger on it exactly, but something is not right here. . .
Also, children should be neither punished nor bargained with. . . They should be positively disciplined with firmness, kindness and follow through. . . But do let me know how your kid turns out. It should be exactly what you deserve!
First, i would like to say, thanks for waiting for a month to attempt to get the last word.
If my genetic code is inferior, then I should not reproduce. And in all honestly, there are problems with it. In all reality, I will be happy whether or not I have children, I don't base my happiness off of it. If my children have allergies or some other severe problem that can be managed, it will be my responsiblity to manage it until the child begins school. At that point, the child will have been taught how to manage as much as possible and the schools informed what problems they have. And to be honest, I will probably have a hell raiser for a child!!!! (Cause the Excalimation Point makes the point better.) But it will be fun to raise a child like that, it will make it interesting, I don't find honor roll meetings/lunches/whatever that much fun anyways. I would like to be the dad who shows up because his child corrected the teacher, provided back up for what he said, and was sent to the principles office cause he knew then the teacher and stood up for himself. That would be fun to handle.!!!
I have a peanut allergy too, so I know how kids like that feel. I was not always allergic to them, as a kid I enjoied peanuts and peanut butter sandwiches. But the thing that you got know is that some people are more allergic to them than others. Some cannot even be in the same room as peanuts and others cannot.
Also the stupid people that say to just kill of the people with the allergy to get rid of the gene, are you that stupid. This just happens, noone else in my family has a peanut allergy, just me and it developed when I was 9 or so and even then it did not develope completely. It did not do that until I was 12.
Reread my posts please. I didn't say kill those people off. I suggested that we don't allow people with servere allergies and hereditary diseases to be allowed to reproduce. Big Differenece. Also, Stupid and something that you don't agree with are not the same thing.
Allergies themselves can develop over a person's lifetime, yes. But your family will typically choose not to eat peanuts around you because they choose to. Thats one of the biggest thing about this little girl. The parents are trying to force something they have no right to dicate on others. As an example, you don't install a ramp or elevator to the 2nd floor of your home simply because there are people will wheelcahirs in the world. Its the same thing. A difference of making a choice vs being told you have to do this because someone else.
Forget the fact that you don't have the capacity to create sentences that follow the rules of the English language (could you stop breeding, please, so that you don't leave behind a legion of kin who lack that capacity as well?). You say that it's the difference between making a choice and doing something because someone else told you to, yet somehow, you think we should have the right not to "allow people with [severe] allergies and hereditary diseases to be allowed to reproduce." Right. Society should be allowed to dictate who procreates and who doesn't ("Spay and [Nueter]" them, in your words), but heaven forbid we take away a child's right to eat a particular food at a particular time in a particular place. You say you have allergies? Perhaps you've never heard of atopy. I hope you never have children as you are clearly not "fit to continue [your] bloodline."
Blame the public school system and No Child Left Behind for the syntax of my posts. And whats truly wrong in controlling the people who can reproduce and who can't. Since the majority of the country wants to be thinner and most physically fit, it seems like a much better solutions than empty thoughts about genetics is the cause of obessity. Its a better solution than protesting a child or making fuss because my child isn't getting special attention.
As for whether or not I should breed. Maybe I shouldn't. If I did I wouldn't raise my child to be, lack for a better word here, a pansy. Not so much about allergies but with everyday situations. He would be punished not bargained with. But then again, it would probably be best if I don't reproduce, I would hate to raise a child in world where the children have more power than the parents do. Right now, there are thousands upon thousands of false claims of child abuse because a child was punished by the parents or the child simply wanted to get revenge so they run their mouth at school. But right now, people who refuse to work are allowed to have as many children as they want and drain public funds so they don't have to work.
Don't mistake improper syntax in a sentence to be a lack of intelligence. I simply have a different thought process than you, so deal with it.
The idiot hillbillies who want the allergic child to withdraw from school are too ignorant to reproduce, unfortunately, it's too late. I have a peanut allergy and, in fact, don't even know what peanuts and peanut butter taste like and, I assure you, you can avoid the stuff. I'm so sorry that your precious child can't have their special pb&j - try feeding them something else. Idiots.
Yes, I would be willing to commit to screening my child's lunches and attempting to prevent peanut ingredients from being brought to the school. But my concern, and I think in the current state of American litigious society it's a valid one, is: Does this imply, if a peanut gets through despite out efforts and your child is aversely affected, that we would be opening ourselves up to some kind of litigation for admitting responsibility for safeguarding your child? I personally would be willing to do whatever it takes to help prevent such a thing, but that is not the same thing as committing to the responsibility of your child's physical well-being. If you think this is a trivial distinction, you are seriously mistaken.
I would say, yes, I would sign up for doing whatever it takes to help your child be safe. But at the same time, if we do take on this challenge with you, you should in turn sign a waiver absolving everyone at the school of blame/litigation in the event of a mishap. In the end, you are responsible for your child's welfare. Do not let this situation be yet another excuse to shift the burden of legal responsibility away from the child's parents.
The thing about bending over backward for the minute fraction of children with serious peanut allergies is that you cannot then show bias against allergies to anything else. Let the child eat separately with their best friends, who should volunteer to stay away from peanut products; the key word is "volunteer." Otherwise, schools will end up banning a variety of berries, fruits, fish, pork, nuts and vegetable. They will have to take a survey each year of all the children's allergies and ban everything on the list. Only the children without allergies will be seated alone.
I am one of the allergic ones, peanuts is only one of my allergies. Believe it that many healthy children will choose to abstain from peanut (or whatever) to sit with their allergic friends. My best friend lunched with me in the school counselor's office every day. I did not disrupt the whole school and make them bend to my problems. No big deal.
I have so many allergies that I have a 3 x 5 notecard posted on my refrigerator with a list of foods that I CAN eat. Many of my relatives also have allergies to some degree, and some are born with them. It is OUR responsibility to protect ourselves. The world cannot stop turning for us. We all take responsibility for ourselves and our children, and pack children's lunches if that is necessary.
I am also allergic to scented cleaning products and perfumed hygiene products. That doesn't mean that I should insist on the general public going without just so I can go to church or go shopping. I have a bunch of different grades of face masks that I wear for trips outside my home. I cannot insist that the world adapt itself to my unique infirmities. Like it or not, they have other worries than me, so I take responsibility for protecting myself.
As a teacher, I am accustomed to making accommodations all the time, but a a father of two, I draw the line when it comes to the peanut allergy. Histrionics aside, the fact remains that our society needs to adopt rules that affect the majority of the people. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one. Harsh as it may sound, if a child has a life-threatening allergy to peanuts, perhaps they should be home-schooled, or sequestered in a legume-free zone at school. To expect the whole world – or school – to bend over backwards for the sake of a handful of children who have legitimate, life-threatening allergies to peanuts only serves to prove what Thomas Jefferson spoke of in his treatise "Tyranny of the Minority". Democracy run amok provides for the minority to dictate to the majority. I am severely allergic to bees, yet I do not expect the whole of America to start spraying pesticide everywhere, and for everyone to swat every vespid insect within sight. Life-threatening allergies stink, yet the sufferers have no choice but to adapt to their affliction rather than expecting everyone around them to dramatically alter their life for their child. Life is precious, and everyone's child is special to the parents, but please do not expect us to give up a low-cost, tasty protein substance, long an American iconic lunch, just so that your child doesn't have to worry about it. And one last thing, true life-threatening peanut allergies are relatively rare. Most 'peanut allergies' are consumptive in nature, meaning that unless the child eats it, they have few problems. A separate table in a separate room is all that is needed for these children. Long live peanut butter!
I'm very sympathetic to this allergy and would have my kid do what is needed to keep those with allergies safe. However, until just a couple of years ago, I was totally ignorant of this, as I'd never known anyone who had it. My young son came home one day from school to report that they were making him sit by himself for lunch while eating his peanut butter jelly sandwich because a kid in his class had the allergy. Again, this was my first ever exposure to the subject, so I asked, "why don't they have the person with the allergy sit apart from others?" His response was that they didn't want that kid to feel "weird" or "left out". So they made my kid sit by himself(?). A lot of understanding and education is needed to let all the kids play and eat together in safety. :)
I'm with you! Me and my family are the ones with allergies, and we take responsibility for protecting ourselves. I even wear a mask in public, even at the doctor's office and when I have to pay bills or shop. In the years since I have been wearing my masks and reading labels, I have not been to the ER for my allergies. Before that, I was in the ER a couple of times a month. We cannot expect the world to stop turning for us – it has other important things to do. It is up to US to stay away from what will injure us. It is up to parents to pack a meal and request a protected area for their children, away from the allergens that may harm them. I used to eat lunch in my high school counselor's office, along with my best friend, who CHOSE to eat with me. There are sensible way to protect your child with punishing other children.
"Sorry about your kid. We'll do what we can, but my kid shouldn't have to be especially inconvenienced"
Sorry that your life threating condition inconveniences me. Because I live in a nation of privileged, moronic a ssholes!
Once again, anyone who sees a point of view of than the parents of the allergic child is either stupid or insensitive. Neither party is correct. I'm allergic to Pine Pollen and it is an inconvience. But do you hear me going to my city and saying the trees need to go. No you don't. We do live in country where we already make large accomidations for those with"handicaps and disabilities". Maybe Natural Selection needs to take over agian. When a child doesn't listen to the parents and eats something that kills them, they were not fit to continue their bloodline. Call me the jerk. Call me the idiot. But don't act you're all high and might because you are supporting one child over an entire school of children.
If you were truly compassionate, you would be adopting children from the Adoption companies because there are a lot of children there that need a real home with parents who are going to take care of the,. If you were truly compasssionate, you would offer to use your home as a half way home for first time offenders without a history of violence. Do you do those things? Get off your high horse and discuss this with logic rather being judgemental.
YES! I'm also one of the allergic ones. I do NOT want the world to revolve around me. I am one of a minute number of people who have these allergies and it's up to ME to protect myself. Society has a lot more serious, shared problems, like economic and natural disasters, to deal with. I will deal with my own disasters, and my friends and family who want to will voluntarily share my food with me.
"Stupid is as stupid posts. . .". Educate yourself to the facts please! Your inconvenient pine pollen allergy will not kill you, ever. Peanut and tree nut allergies can kill you quite quickly. As a parent of a peanut allergic four year old, I am just asking you to take a few precautions to help me keep my child alive while he is at school. He knows he is allergic, he knows not to eat anything with peanuts or tree nuts in it, and he knows not to eat anything processed on the same equipment as peanuts or tree nuts. But he's only four. . .he can't read food labels for himself and I can't attend school with him every day. . .so, if it's not too much f@&€ing trouble, could you please not send these things to school with your child?????
I don't have kids, but my brother and his wife both are pretty allergic, and I respect them and don't eat peanut products when I am around them. Even if I were to leave a Reeses cup in my hot car and they were to get in later, the peanut fumes would do them in. It's not a big deal to change my habits, and honestly I get almond or cashew butter now for my home because they aren't nearly as sensitive to it and it's just as good if not BETTER than peanut butter. I think it's stupid to teach children to be selfish jerks. How would any of you hateful people who think that allergic people should just go and die or not pass on genes, etc., feel if YOU or YOUR KID were the ones with the allergies? What about me, if you gave me penicillin I would die, should I not pass along my genes someday? Or is it okay because that is such an obscure allergy that no one but me has to deal with it, so whatever?
I don't have life threatening Allergies but I do have allergies none the less. And short of moving to an entirely different city and state it is unlikly for them to go away. So when I was a child, I learned to deal with them. For example, although it is not an allergy, I get heartburn with any onions that are not completely cooked, so I avoid onions. As far as Kids and Wife, I would make the adjustment, BUT that is my choice. She is not forcing it on me. And yes, the gene pool needs to be skimmed from time to time or it will doom our race(human beings). Yes DOOM!!! Deal with it, here in grown up land we understand that harsh choices need to made. I give up a lot of things to be able to do the things I like to do. KP, I respect your choices in your life and don't mean you any harm, but for your family would you give up all nuts? The girl in this case here needs to be raised to avoid the things that will kill her. Your children will need to be educated because if they work with me, I will eat whatever I like and your wife or your kids would be best with an education, not coddling.
I have allergies. I am allergic to all but a couple of dozen food ingredients, so I avoid them. The rest of my family who have allergies, including children, do the same. It is not the world's burden to coddle us; the world cannot stop turning because we can't get on the ride. We will eat separately along with our non-allergic friends and family who CHOOSE to eat with us. Once you ban peanuts, you have to ban all nuts, berries, fish and various other meats, vegetables, spices, various flours and oils, and you are left with what? It's a slippery slope. People can still volunteer to ban allergens that affect their friends and families, but the world has global warming, a economic disaster, and various natural disasters to also worry about. I would be okay with eating alone with a friend or two, but I would feel devastated if others had to be exiled because of MY problems. NOT OKAY.
Allergies to peanuts and tree nuts are the most life-threatening allergies, followed closely by milk and seafood. Let's work with the facts here, okay?
Some of these comments are just idiotic. We try and look our for eachothers children. Treat others how you would want to be treated. Imagine this was you. Instead of saying.. oh its not my problem. That's why there is so much wrong with our country today. People like u that could care less about others. Also to the Guy that said. Who cares some kids will die.. well in a nice way of outing it... NEVER HAVE CHILDREN. you have NO idea until you have your own and of u do have some... then God help them.
Not having more children may be the proper response to situations like this. These types of alleregies were not as common as they are now. The human race has spread across the earth like an infestation. As the overwhelming population increases further, the spread of germs and viruses has increased dramatically. It is something that is more than likely due to genetic mutations of an over populated species. There are people who should not reproduce. For lack of better words, Spay and Nueter people who have little productivity and a very low IQ. People who are chronically sick shouldn't reproduce as well. To put this in terms most people will understand people, when mad cow breaks out, we track it down to the farm and test every animal and make sure it is safe before it will go to food production. Maybe we should take the same approach when it comes to breeding. Those who would pass along certain illness with a 75% chance or higher should not be allowed to have children. I know its not a pleasant thought, but its a solution.
Tell that to Stephen Hawking's parents.
Good God,Hitler? Is that you?
...and stop having children if there is a gene issue in your blood line.
I don't have kids, but I would join the picket line. Making the school change their habits because of 1 student is STUPID. You need to ban, sea food, milk, perfume, anything with sugar, and don't paint anything yellow. There may be someone that could be hurt. It's your child...your problem...not everybody's problem.
Right, so where were you to protest tax money being spent to put curb cuts in all the sidewalks so kids in wheelchairs could attend school?They sure wasted a lot of money making a handicapped restroom stall in EVERY bathroom!
Of course, I don't agree with that position, and I even more disagree with the parents who are protesting against HAND-WASHING. That protects EVERY child from a lot of illness, every day. Stupid.
To anyone who wants to read. I have a child who is now a 22 year old beautiful woman. She has always had an allergy to peanuts. Each year she got older it got worse and she became allergic to more then just peanuts. All tree nuts . At the time she attended grammer school she was the only one. This was 1995. No special treatment was made. She learned to read at an early age. She made it very clear when she was young that she wanted to read the packages because she didn't trust or should I say she felt better if the read it in black and white.that said no peanuts. At the Time companys did not write may contain or made in a facility they kept you guessing. What shocks me is 5 years later her little sister attended the same school. There were so many children allergic. What are we doing to our enviroment that makes these allergies appear. We need to find tha answer in the lab rooms. My husband might have touched on a little of the problem. To much antibiotics. Anyway getting back to that little girl. So what no peanut butter and jelly sandwichs. Give them soy nut butter and jelly. The point is we need to have compasion for other people. My daughter has figured it out how to survive. I'm very proud of her and also I worry every day because once in a while she does run into people like the ones in Florida who protested and it makes me sad to think they just don't get the bigger picture.
IF WE ALL KEEP TYPING IN CAPS WE WILL GET OUR POINT ACROSS BETTER!!!
Drop the A in MOAR and add the letters O and N on the end
All these parents protesting should be more worried about the lesson they are teaching their children. If someone is sick, have no compassion for them. If someone is different, seperate yourself from them. The life lessons that every child who goes to this school could learn from this experience is so valuable and instead these parents are teaching their children all the wrong things. If my child were going to this school, I would embrace this little 6 year old girl who I'm sure does not want to have to be different. I would tell my child every morning when they have to wash their hands and rinse their mouth out, we do this for that sweet little girl so that she can be safe. I would tell my child to be kind to her and be friends with her, so that he can learn to be accepting of people who have disabilities and people who are different. After all, they are going to come in contact with that in the real world and I certainly wouldn't want to raise a child who would be rude, mean, or ugly to them. How do you think this little girl feels having to walk past your picket signs knowing that you don't want her there? Knowing that people don't like her just because she has an allergy that she had no control over having. That kids will be mean to her because they see their own parents talking badly about her and how she shouldn't be at their school. All these parents should be extremely ashamed of themselves? And BTW, an epi pen is a last resort, you don't want the child to have to use it every day because she is continually coming in contact with peanuts. Her allergy is so severe that she can get it through the air when someone who has eaten peanuts breathes. Without proper precautions, she will be in contact with peanuts at a school all the time. And on a final note, she has EVERY right to the same education as all of your kids. She has a RIGHT to be in school. It is a public school for ALL the public. That includes those with disabilities of ALL kinds. If you have an issue with that, then YOU homeschool YOUR kids.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?entry_id=85498#ixzz1JOv2gxoQ
Sorry about the link. That wasn't supposed to be in there.
Oh, and I'm allergic to grass. So from now on I'll need the world to mow their lawns only on Tuesday mornings, and I will stay in the house.
Really? Will you DIE if you breathe in some grass? This little girl WILL DIE if she breathes in some peanut butter. Not exactly the same thing, is it? We aren't talking about she'll break out in a rash, we are talking about LIFE OR DEATH.
Hes making a point you've missed completely. Why is the ENTIRE world supposed to not cut their grass on the day they choose, but only on a specific day. The allergen could be inhaled and cause imflamation in the lungs producing a liquid. With the liquid could come an entire host of other problems. Learn to understand a point. And yes, a pollen allergy can cause death but since they typically only mild allergies, you only need something like Benedryl to counter act the effects.
I am the father of several elementary aged children as well as a two-month old. While none of my children has a lethal allergies, we do have one with pollen allergies and asthma. They all enjoy peanut based products and making a PB&J for their lunch is convenient and easy. However, if I knew of a child with such a lethal allergy in my children's class or school I would do what I could to ensure that child's safety. I mean this insofar as from what I can control; my children's meals and snacks. I would hate to think that if something happened to another child that it may be in due part from my lack of caring or consideration or egocentric thinking. I would think of that child each time anything peanut related came into the news or my household. These children don't WANT this allergy and being isolated from their 'friends' isn't fun for them. Have a heart. Just do your part.
Thank you. I appreciate your good attitudes and it's a great example to set for your kids.
This kid isn't even going to be a valuable member of society. (Learning Disabilities). Put her on a farm and let the rest of the world progress.
Forget "What would Jesus do?"
Ask "What would Leonidas do?"
Are you the famous Fred Phillips – make-up artist?!?
You are obviously not too bright yourself if you think children with learning disabilities can't grow up to be valuable members of society.
You're silly! You're less bright than anyone since you've had your sense of humor removed. Get a grip.
Some things are serious and need to be taken seriously. An intelligent person knows that not everything in life is a joke.
I cannot believe that people are this stupid. They would rather put another child's life at risk than teach their own children about hygiene. How much time does it take to wash your hands after a snack? Brush your teeth? Is it really worth fighting for the right to walk around with dirty hands in order to send another student to the hospital in shock?
And how did religion get pulled into this debate? Cleanliness is not a religious issue. It's a health issue. Disgusting dirty people come in all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, genders, and religions. Maybe a letter should be sent home to parents describing all the diseases that can be communicated through dirty hands, and scare the hell out of them. That would stop the whining PDQ.
Jerv,
I didn't way all public school parent are scum. I said that the public school parents who are choosing to protest this little child with a severe allergy are scum. These parents who are choosing to picket a small child with severe allergies are definitely NOT Christians. WWJD? HE would NOT picket!
Name one verse in the bible that addresses food allergies.....and now you are speaking for Jesus?
Ok Jerv, let's speak for more than Jesus. What would Mohammud do? What would Ghandi recommend? How would Mother Theresa handle this situation? What would any caring adult do? Come on...it's not rocket science. What would YOU do if you were a parent with a 1st grade child and learned that your childs classmate had a severe peanut allergy? Would you threaten the child or the child's family with spreading peanut butter on the bookbag? Would you protest so that this other child would not be able to attend school? Do you believe that this is a healthy way to handle a peanut allergy?
I wouldn't presume to speak for any of the aforementioned folks. And if I were a religious person, I certainly wouldn't wear my religion on my sleeve. Did your Jesus ever use the word "scum" to describe any human being ever?
You are exceedingly presumptive. You are undeniably not making any salient points.
Your back-peddling is hard to keep up with as well. If you're going to troll, say what you mean & mean what you say.
The point of his inquiry is specific though. You shouldn't use meme to defend your position. As for your other posts, it may take a village, but whether or not its public or private school unless children go out of their way, I highly doubt that they will intentionally harm the little girl in this case. Caring human beings not only worry about one child, they also care for the other children at the school. As for the scum comment. You could be considered Elitist Scum who is backpeddling as well. In your early post you say its a reason public schools are so bad then you say its only that school.
Thats the problem with PUBLIC schools. These parents are the scum of the earth. Protesting a little girl. Switch to a Catholic school where parents LOVE our children....ALL OF THEM, not just our own nonallergic children!
"These parents are the scum of the earth." Really? Aren't you being a bit extreme?
OOPs..that post was for Goober Grape in an earlier post. No, I'm not being extreme. Early goals are as much about teaching children morality, ethics, and compassion as they are about teaching reading and math. These parents are really scum! They have no compassion, no morals, no ethics. I love each and every child in my child classroom as if they were my own. We have a big group of parents and we are so intensely involved in great child development. The first lesson is to do unto others as you would want done unto you. Treat others with respect, compassion, and love. I doubt these public school parents follow any religious teachings. It's safe to say they are NOT Christians.
While I understand that you take issue with the parents picketing the little girl with a severe food allergy, I just don't see how you can make the leap to all public school parents as "scum."
Listen to yourself, " It's safe to say they are NOT Christians."
Change schools if possible. Get this child away from these horrible TOXIC PARENTS!
My 4th grader is in a private school. 3 classmates of his have peanut allergies. We learned this at our parent orientation and we ALL AGREED to KEEP PEANUTS OUT OF THE CLASSROOM! This is a no brainer for grammar school! Grammar school children may make a mistake and unknowingly ingest a substance they are allergic to. Of all the food choices out there it's pretty easy to NOT send peanut products to GRAMMER SCHOOL! By the time they're in Middle School they will likely know to read labels and avoid anything made in peanut factories. We need to see EVERY CHILD as OUR OWN CHILD! It takes a village people! Love all of these innocent children, and try to keep them healthy and on the right track! My heart goes out to these parents and to the little student too!
oh yeah. And for the posters that make the point that the measures won't help her later in life...you are right! Since she is only 6, she will learn later in life to eat in her office. Let her co-workers know she is allergic. She won't spend much time in "public" spaces. She will frequently wash her hands. She won't eat out much. She won't rent cars. She won't stay at hotels. The list goes on...give her a chance to learn these habits.
The parents are idiots! In my experience the kids will do everything they can to help the other child if they are educated to the issue...they have a stronger sense of community (their friends). I grew up with severe Asthma and was often segregated and couldn't play outside. It sucked but so what. As we got older my friends would look out for me. If we were at a party and people were smoking pot they would let me know so I could go in another room or they would send the smokers somewhere else..everyone understood and we all were friends. If we went out drinking and someone wanted to smoke a cigarette they would insist we pull over and hang out until they were finished. It was never obligatory and always appreciated...and honestly everyone was very responsible when they understood the problem. I learned a lot about compasion from these experiences. If I were to ever pull out a cigarette and try to smoke there is no doubt that one of my friends would knock my a$# out. Kids care, what a wonderful opportunity these kids have. *Disclaimer: My kids have peanut allergies and Epi pens.
The school didn't force all the other children to stay inside because you had severe asthma. If they did the other parents would be up in arms...rightly so. I understand certain safeguards to protect this child, but the school has gone overboard to protect her. I personally wouldn't protest, but I think these parents feel their voice is not being heard and this is their only course of action to be heard.
If you want to protest something, protest the so-called churches who picket military funerals even for soldiers who are Christian.
To picket that 1 child should not be accommodated for because of a life-threatening allergy, that is insanity and the person or people should have their own heads examined by a professional therapist. Washing hands 4-5 times, or more, a day is actually something that a child should learn at an early age because then it will stick with them for life. What would be ironic is that one of those parents have a child of their own that is born with a life-threatening allergy.
Most parents living in this economy cannot afford to home school their child because they typically work while their child is at school. There are some single parents who work 2-3 jobs just to put food on the table and keep their kids in school.
To the parents who say that the child should just tough it out or die (survival-of-the-fittest fanatics), grow up and start living in the modern era.
These parents would be completely on the other side if it was their kid. Having the other children wash their hands before going back into the classroom should actually be standard procedure at all schools, even discounting the peanut factor, it would go along way toward keeping everyone free of colds and flu. Maybe it feels like an inconvenience to them, but it also teaches them compassion. To be part of a society should mean helping to care for each other. A time will surely come when the protesting parents and their children will need help from someone else – it's called love for your fellow human beings! Also, these people above who say that kids with allergies should die, because they are bad for the gene-pool: ask yourself why is it that peanut allergies have grown by the MILLIONS in the last 10 years? It obviously has nothing to do with genetics, but with some enviornmental change – like genetically altered peanuts? Besides that, they clearly have no compassion for others and are likely mentally ill. I would encourage them to seek professional help for their sick minds and hearts.
I love how when anyone says the parents and the allergic child should take more responsiblity, we are cold hearted people. Does anyone ask us if we care about the people in the story. I do. I know people with allergies. I've been there when someone is having a severe attacks from breathing disorders. I do care about the girl. With logic and a clear understanding I say that the child should take care of herself. If the world bowed to every person with an allergy or disablity, then nothing will get done. No one would be happy except those with the allergies. I question each one who has said that people are being cruel for taking a hard stance for the education of the child and put more responsibility to the parents to ask yourself, if you have to give up things you loved for someone who would be harmed by it, do you think you would have anything left? Someone, somewhere with have a problem with something you have, and you will have to get rid of it.
I would love to say that removing peanuts from this school would be the best option but its not. Its going to teach that little girl that is how you solve a problem. You complain until everyone around you agree to your demands. So please understand, just because we care about more than just one girl, it doesn't mean we don't care at all.
Once again, I have said it in the past, the protesting parents are by NO MEANS correct in their actions but neither is the parents of the allergic child.
this is sad... why cant parents protest how the education system is crumbling?... or rally for something that would actually do some good? singling out one child is just wrong. The kids should be washing their hands before and after eating as part as their routine. I am sure that girl has learned to not just pick up anything and eat it. Inconvenience happens to you your whole life! If it is for something important and someone you care about people have inconvenience for it all the time. People have lost their humanity in this community. I have 2 children home schooled and 1 who is not. People who home school still pay taxes that help those expenses of public school. What a waste of energy.
There is no right to Peanuts! Or any specific food. We have to weigh the rights of the many verse the inconvenience. OK so removing all peanuts from every store is too much, but is moving the displays to the back right that bad? Is having a kid wash their hands several times a day really that much of an inconvenience? I wish my kid would wash his hands more, maybe he wouldn't be as sick.
I quickly scanned the comments and have not seen any mention of the fact that a child with food allergies is protected under section 504 of the Civil Rights Act. In the case of severe food allergies, they can also be protected under the Americans with Disabilties Act. A public school is required to make reasonable accomodations and the focus should be on the word REASONABLE. A school system has the choice of making reasonable accomodations or paying to have the child sent to a private school that can accomodate the health issue at the expense of the school district rather than simply home schooling. Many other school districts have found the correct balance and for all involved, I hope that they find a solution.
As someone who has a life threatening allergy, I find it incredibly overwhelming how insensitive people can be about allergies. It's not something that the person has asked for or put upon themselves, it's not their fault that they have the allergy or that it's severe as it is. If a kid has a physical or a learning disability they are catered to, and yes I know, not as well as they should be sometimes but the school and society for that matter will adapt to their needs. But if a kid, or adult for that matter, is severely allergic to something, people find it easier to turn a blind eye. What help does that kid get? All they see is that everyone around them knowing that they have an allergy to a common product that could very easily kill them but that those people are choosing to not care and potentially be putting that persons life at risk. A person should not feel scared for their life when they go to school or to work or anywhere else because of what the people around them choose to do. To a life threatening allergy sufferer walking into a situation, most times unaware, where someone near them has a substance that the person is allergic to is the equivalent to someone walking into a situation where someone pulls a knife, or a gun, on them. The risk is there and yes it is hard to say that everyone else should cater to one persons needs, but if it was you or someone you love, how would you feel then? Is it fair to confine a person and hide them away because of what's going on inside their body? Everybody should have the chance to live their life freely and by telling someone, especially a kid who needs the social experience, that they're not welcome or not allowed to go to school or a public place because nobody cares enough about whether they live or die to make the choice to avoid that substance for a limited time? Nobody is asking you to make a life changing decision here, it's simply avoiding a particular food substance while you're in contact with or around the allergy sufferer for maybe a couple hours a day, if you really think about it, is it that hard?
This is a tough call. In my opinion picketing is a bit extreme, but then, if your child has a deathly allergy a public school and relying on the judgement of other parents and 6 year olds is probably not wise either. Kids might eat a peanut butter cup smuggled in and the other child might die. I think there gets to be a point where one family's burden should not become society's and I think the parent should take responsibility and home school until the child's allergy is better controlled so public interaction doesn't pose such a threat.
As one of the posters above said, elementary school prevention is the hardest. I don't think you're setting up the child for a lifetime of expecting the peanut-free environment to follow her wherever she goes. As she gets older and better able to protect herself, she will assume more of that burden. But she's only 6, for crying out loud! And good hand hygiene is a good thing to teach anyway. I think having the kids keep their closed lunchboxes in cubbies or lockers and wash their hands before and after they eat is not unduly burdensome, and the good hygiene habits might even stick!
While I do feel quite sorry for the kid, I do think this goes a little too far. You're inconveniencing hundreds, even thousands of people, for something that is only a short-term solution. What happens when the kid gets into a high school, university, a job? You have to learn how to work in the world, not make the world work for you. While asking people to make small accommodations for you is personally reasonable, asking a large group to notably restructure much of their day is frankly unrealistic. Best of look, in any case.
he can still come home and eat it, or have it on the weekends.
I'm shocked that people can't give up some peanuts to potentially SAVE another kids life! I don't have allergic kids, but let me say this... MY kid will not be the one with guilt for the rest of their lives because some other kid went into anaflactic shock and had a trip to the hospital (or worse, died) because he served PB cookies in class or ate a PB&J sandwich. That's how I'll protect my kid, and any others w/ allergies. WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? (btw, this will be a sacrifice for my oldest, PB&J is his favorite food!)
I agree! My daughter LOVES peanut butter, but if she had a classmate that was allergic, or even someone in her lunch period, I would not send her to school with anything containing peanuts. it's common courtesy. Any person that doesn't agree with that, doesn't deserve to be a parent.
The big deal isn't now. The big deal is later. Workin a location with 2000 people and tell them not to eat peanuts cause you might die by that person eating peanuts. The problem isn't the short term for the child, its the long term. In the four vending machines at my work each has peanuts in it. When that little girl grows up, she just can't go tot he site manager and tell them the peanuts have to go, can she? I think both sides of the parents in this case are going overboard. The parents could have requests, not demanded, that certain changes occur. The parents protesting aren't teaching their children any better by doing what they are doing. The child needs to learn now that the most important than she can do is avoid peanut or any of legumes for that matter cause I will tell you shes going to end up a spoiled lilttle princess if this is how her parents intend act and show her is acceptable. Neither side is right in this issue.
As far as your son is concerned, I would hope you would tell him not to go rubbing peanuts or peanut butter in someone mouth who is allergic. Or even worse forgetting to rinse out his mouth if he intends to kiss a girl who is allergic.
Yes, you do DEMAND the school takes the proper precautions. This is about keeping their child ALIVE. I would DEMAND anything it took to keep my child alive and any parent who doesn't I would have to question their ability as a parent.
I *am* the severely peanut-allergic adult you talk about. I am almost 44 years old and have been allergic all my life (the pediatrician told my mother to give me peanut butter when I was FOUR MONTHS OLD, and I almost died from that first exposure.) I have gone into peanut anaphylaxis three times since the year 2000; each time I almost died. Those exposures were caused by mistaken restaurant staffers, and restaurants are the source of the most danger for me. I have to take this VERY seriously.
I do not need accommodation at work. I (obviously) never bring peanut stuff to work myself, I don't eat anything at work that I'm not sure of (I am allergic to tree nuts as well), and if someone is eating something that's a problem, I move away, sometimes actually leaving the building or our area for a short while, if needed. Most adults, once they know what's going on, are NOT jerks about it. Many have offered to stop bringing peanut butter cookies, or whatever, which I think is kind of them. Several have gone so far as to make nut-free cookies specifically so I can enjoy some. :-) Very few adults bring PB&J for lunch!
I used to fly to Asia frequently for work and always told the airline about my peanut allergy. One time, I got a call from a representative of the airline; chef would like to know if this ingredient (walnut) would be a problem if it's in the Chinese entrée on your flight. I told her that I am also allergic to walnuts, so she asked me which of two other dishes *I* would prefer... and a month later, my choice was the Chinese entrée offered to the entire flight. THAT is excellent customer service!!
You can call our genes defective, but if you get rid of all of us, you'd be doing the community a disservice. Many atopic people (people with several allergic diseases) are also highly intelligent; there's a scientifically-shown correlation between high IQ and atopic genes. Clearly, this is not true for ALL peanut allergic people, but you shouldn't assume that we are useless freaks.
My 11-year old daughter is confirmed peanut allergic and we've never had any trouble getting her teachers and fellow students to be reasonable about not having peanuts around. Our school district has a policy of grouping food-allergic kids together when possible in elementary school, and then declaring the entire classroom peanut-, milk- or whatever-free. This is a good system as long as parents are conscientious about the foods they send to school with their kids. It's very rare for a kid in the lunchroom to bully another kid about food allergies; much more common are "how can I help?" and "I won't eat that around you anymore."
I think it's sad that people are so mean to allergic kids. You wouldn't have the nerve to be so cruel to a kid in a wheelchair, would you? Or maybe you and your kids WOULD be that mean, and that reflects poorly on your parenting. The few kids I know about who were mean to my daughter about her food allergies were sons of a minister, who told her that "God made her wrong". Wow.
sure there are plenty of kids who will give it up. but there are also plenty of parents who are irresponsible, and not every child reads labels or checks ingredients on every package they buy at a store. so depending on others for a life and death allergy in my opinion is foolish. Kids are kids and 6 year olds might forget to wash their hands.
Is this really the world we are living in now? care about yourself and yourself only. no wonder kids have no respect for themselves or anyone else.
I've never felt prouder to be an Australian.
Here we have a number of schools that are NUT FREE. instead of trying to accomodate everyone the school will put the safety of the child first.
@ Charlie
Most schools are willing to accomodate students in the US as well. Its not a country thing. Free Speech works both ways. West Borough Baptist Church is a great example, the parents like the people at that church have their rights. This is what happens.
Perhaps it is a "Country thing" here in Australia we wouldn't attack a 6 year old.
Everyone has a right. she has a right to an education just as the other students do. all that is being asked is that they was their hands. parents should take it as an opportunity to show their none allergic child how lucky they have it not how to bully someone cause they havent different needs.
ummmmmmm. people also develop allergies as they age...this could potentially help people.
What's inspiring? When neighbors help each other out, get together, enjoy each other, especially when it's not easy. You know what's skanky? When people whine about washing hands. And you know what is really pathetic? parents bullying 6 year olds.
great comment! :)
God forbit, should kids wash their hands before and after eating? Oh no! Half of doctors will be out of business and what are we going to do with the money we save from insurance?
OMG, I was thinking Disney world might be fun, but then I think Florida must be filled with the Germiest people in the world. I'd rather hike out here with good clean dirt!
LOVE thy neighbour as thyself.
Do unto others as you would others unto you.
If one sheep is lost of a hundred, would you go to seek that sheep?
I feel for the kid. When I was young, I used to get my own little yellow school bus. My mom said it was because I was "special".
You are still special :)
I am not surprised one bit by these parents feeling compelled to picket. The reality is many of us opposing their actions need to come to grips with how much responsibility we have in their behavior. All one has to do is observe all the cynicism we allow around us reducing our so-called exceptional ism to simple rants of arrogance and entitlement. When we have efforts to deny children access to ethnic studies for instance in schools and tell them certain truths you can't know because we adults can't deal with it, or when we need to demonize a billion Muslims for the actions of a few, or when we choose only to criminalize illegal immigration and build walls as a solution with no compassion or concern with some of the underlying conditions that produce illegal migration in the first place that can directly be attributed to our policies, just to cite a few examples, we are enabling more of this selfish uncaring sentiment that ills us all. When you hear people bad-mouthing Japan in the wake of massive tragedy for events over 60 years ago while not feeling any regret for having dropped 2 nuclear bombs and illegally detaining Japanese people it is simply heartbreaking. When a Michelle Bachmann can refer to slavery as simply a "blot" on our history that our slave-owning founding fathers fought so hard to end, it insulates us to not think of the Approximately 6 million people that died on the way here in slave ships or the fact that it lasted over 2oo years, something the world had never seen then or since. It's just a blot now. Let's not forget a majority of us were completely duped and elected a non-citizen who is lying about his religion and has a secret agenda to infiltrate us from within. It sounds like I'm ranting because I am, but the point is our collective silence about how viral and detrimental all of this fore mentioned is becoming threatens who we are and what our children will make us become. With regard to this scenario it's simply that a responsible parent is supposed to have the same concern for all kids. What is good for yours should be your standard for others. How could someone cynically fall on the side of settling for anything less than having the same aspirations for all children that you have for your own. Unfortunately, our exceptionalism has always fallen short of this view for a variety of vicious reasons I won't get into here.
Michelle likes it all S&M like.
These are even more reasons that we choose to send our child to a Catholic school. We live in a mostly white suburb. We don't like the attitudes. Our child goes to an inner city, mixed race Catholic school. We are so very proud of all of the children learning how valuable ALL races and ALL countries are. They learn to understand human compassion. Prayer is daily. Ours spent a few months in a public school. The teacher asked me what to do if my child misbehaves. I told her simply tell him that Jesus doesn't want him to behave this way. She said she couldn't say that. How stupid is that? At our Catholic school it is ALWAYS safety first. When it was known to us parents that our school has people with peanut allergies we asked what we could do? Could we spread the word some how so all would be safe? Could we help in any way? Could we offer support to the parents of the children with allergies? We used this knowledge as a way to understand and teach, not to condemn. Community support is so very important, especially in our culturally diverse country.
Why are you hawking your filthy catholick education? Why is the krischen way the only "way" that comes to your mind.
While, in America, the possibilities are endless, your outlook on the nation is severely limited.
Aww Habib! I'm not touting ONLY Christian religions as the be all and end all. MOST religions TEACH moral and ethical values. In my son's school, many of his classmates are Muslim. In my personal circle of friends, we have Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, Protestant, and Agnostic. We are in an area of growing Muslim presence. All that I know are very happy people and we all integrate with each other very well. This is another reason why we changed schools. We PRAY for PEACE. We are less "narrow minded" than you would think.
are u ppl supporting the protesters serious??? or just playing devils advocate...lol this is not a movie this is REAL LIFE seems like some of u are just arguing just to out wit or think of scenarios to validate these ppl lol shame on yall. ITS A REAL 6 YEAR OLD KID
I think those individuals picketing outside the school with signs should not only be ashamed of themselves but ticketed for harassment and creating a public nuisance as well. Kids are trying to go to school! ... Got a gripe then handle it in the correct format IMO.... Call, write letters, do whatever you care to do but try to do it in an orderly fashion! .... Making a national scene out of this is not good for anyone.
Here is the correct address of the school... it took me about a minute to find along with their phone number (I called to verify this was the correct school)
Edgewater Elementary
801 S OLD COUNTY ROAD
EDGEWATER FL 32132-2248
I will ban peanuts if you will ban fats, processed foods, and white flour.
Why? Are you allergic to those items?
I am the allergic one, I carry my epi pen just in case I do ingest nuts, but from a very early age I was taught to read labels and ask questions, if the alternative is death I'd rather come off a little annoying. Schools public or private (either way the parent is paying for their child's education) should be tasked with overall making school safe and enjoyable for all. I think it's advisable that classmates and teachers can get guidelines to protect from peanut cross over, i bet it's good hygiene too. But also I think it's important for parents, doctors, teachers anyone to teach the child to stay vigilant and that it's okay to speak up and ask for someone to do something if it will help save their life.
My son is peanut allergic and could be dead from an exposure. Eat your peanut butter as an after school snack please.
Only if your kid is in my school!
The world is not going to accommodate everyone for ever thing. I think it is sad how peanut allergy parents call kids who eat peanut butter spoiled brats or spoiled rug rats. My kid has a food allergy it is our problem. If a kid in her class is allergic we will accommodate that child, but my kid eating peanut butter which is a great source of protein does not make her a brat. The situation goes both ways. The world will not stop eating peanut better. We still eat it at the play ground picnic tables and on our way to the park. Sorry. I do not think my kid is a brat. It is a good lunch food and if there is a kid with us that has an allergy that is sever we will choose another food, otherwise they will eat what they want. Please stop calling kids who eat peanut butter selfish brats. It makes you and your kids look like selfish brats who expect the world to always accommodate them. We are caring people who will accommodate, but only on a need basis, not a just in case basis.
Nutella, anyone? Just as yummy as peanut butter but peanut free. All kids deserve to have the same access to a safe, quality education. As a teacher, I would fully support banning peanut butter in my classroom if the need arose.
Nutella is made from Hazelnuts, Chocolate and sugar. Nut allergy's may still happen with Nutella
i think that kid sould know what it bad for him or her when eating at school they will have live with is allergie there whole life mom dad cant hold there hand allthey way thow life so think it time to let then grown up just a little and they sould know and it there are that allergie to peenuts they sould have a epeipen with then all the time and know how how to use it but you cant make other live with it to
wow! really?
lol u cant be serious and by reading this im not sure you are from here (America). in that case my next question would be, do u understand the article?? if u do understand the article then hmmmmmmm
Based on some of the people's comments on here, I say let's let kids bring guns and knives to school as well. For all of the ignorant people out there as to the effects of allergies, a five, six or seven year old child will come home from school crying because other kids make fun of him for having an allergy. Then watch has your heart breaks when he asks why was I made this way and try to explain that to him in a way he can understand. See the fear in their eyes when they start having a reaction at age 4 because someone they knew or trusted downplayed the severity of the illness and gave them something that could kill them. Then watch their reaction as you have to attempt to calmly stab them with an epi pen and "calmly" rush them to the hospital. No, the allergy is not one persons fault, but I am sure that if your child was playing with a loaded gun and another adult was there, I would bet you would want that adult to take it away from that child so that they did not kill themselves or another. I have really failed as a parent because my 4 year old will ask if it has peanuts or nuts and when they are told no by someone they trust and ingest it, it is their own fault. I wish I had the children of the previous posters who have such well educated, well mannered, and well informed children. Perhaps if all of the people that critique the children of allergies would simply stop themselves from thinking they are dealing with 30 year old people, their opinions would change
alex dear, take a deep breath and take some time to form your sentences. Your poor spelling and non-existent punctuation (that's a big word .... periods & commas, remember?) make me sorry I passed you all those years ago. You could have valid points, but your jumbled words make little or no sense.
Just breeeeeeeeethe .........
A handful of peanuts could kill my 6 year old son in under 10 minutes. I've watched his face turn gray and heard his windpipe closing as he choked. I've run into the urgent care without any shoes on to save his life after one innocent bite of a Snickers bar at a party where I was ASSURED by the parents there were no peanuts. I carry adrenaline with me everywhere we go, but sometimes it's not enough.
I am shocked and deeply saddened by the callous nature of some of these comments. These are CHILDREN we are talking about here. We have helmet laws, anti-bullying laws, seatbelt laws, Slow Children Playing signs...all intended to protect ALL of our children as a whole. To those of you who have seemingly forgotten the human nature of caring for one another, and also that these children we are currently raising is OUR next generation – SHAME ON YOU.
If you ever see a child suffering through anaphylaxis, I guarantee you will change your tune.
I hope and pray that your baby is OK, and that he never has to suffer that again.
Thank you, sincerely.
I understand that it's my (and, as he gets older, my son's) responsibility to deal with his allergy. I'm not arguing that. I do not expect anyone else to change their own lives to accommodate ours. I'm just astounded by how vicious and cruel some of these "adult" comments are regarding small children.
Your humanity and heart are appreciated.
well after you watch someone die from a food allergy...as they're throats swell close, they gasp for any air then nothing....But hey that's the American way..if your not like me then you need to go cause we will discriminate against your kind. Way to go and glad after hundreds of years nothing has changed!!
Such a shame that kids have to be subjected to this....by no fault of their own, they have this allergy....unlike the parents; knowingly are ignorant, foolish and self-serving. If that were my child I would place her in a better environment. If the actions of the parents are indicative of the education of the kids at that school....who is learning anything.
All that's being asked is that kids leave their lunches in their cubbies/lockers and for them to wash their hands. How on earth is that unreasonable or going to make anyone suffer?
and for all of you who say....way should everyone suffer because of a few. well lets rid ourselves of all children born with mental and physical handicaps, down syndrome, adhd, fetal alcohal syndrome, ...........
Let's just rid ourselves of all children. Period. Then no one would have allergies!
I have not been introduced to ANY child that would listen to parents or teachers when told to do things like "wash your hands". The lack of discipline alone is enough to know THAT WILL NOT work. You'll be signing a death warrant for the poor child. Get real.
sadly the truth is not everybody is created equal. i believe certain standards should be met to TRY and accommodate all walks of life and struggles of the many different disabilities.. however its NOT fair that 90% of the general public suffer to accommodate the one or 2 disabilities that require too much change to a fairly well working system. if the kid is that allergic to peanuts HOME SCHOOL. why run the risk of peanut proofing the entire school when all it takes is one STUPID KID to jokingly put a peanut in her food, Now the child is dead and there is only a longer list of problems because of it.
That story is appalling. All they are asking is that the kids in that class take some extra precautions – leaving their lunches outside of the classroom, and washing their hands more. That parents are actually picketing against this is horrifying.
Think of what they are telling this child. They are telling her that she, because of what is basically a disability, should be outcast. That's she's not good enough because she can get sick more easily than their kids.
And think of what they are teaching their own kids. They aren't teaching their kids to be selfless and caring about other, generous. They are teaching their kids to think only of themselves and their own rights all the time. How awful.
I agree. Barbarity comes in many disguises.
It's horrifying to think what will happen to that little kid after this and what her classmates will grow into.
Having an allergy is not a disability, regardless of what people think. Too many conditions are classified as disabilities when in fact, they are not.
And I'm all for teaching kids to be generous, but there comes a time when generosity stops and looking out for oneself begins. We as a society are allowing individuals to ran rampant over us and it has to stop somewhere.
Disability: "a physical or mental handicap, especially one that prevents a person from living a full, normal life. Anything that disables or puts one at a disadvantage."
This describes a peanut allergy to me. It's a potentially fatal allergy for those who are the most sensitive, which means that it impairs the sufferer from living a full, normal life. Because you have to be so careful about what you eat, what those around you are eating and what may have been eaten in your environment, you are prevented from doing many things that most people would not even think about. It puts you at a disadvantage in many ways as well.
Your attitude regarding other people is pretty atrocious. When it's a person's life or well-being on the line, there's no point where you just have to be selfish. And certainly in this case, what they were asking of the other students was not at all unreasonable.
I agree – you have to be stopped. You aren't for teaching generosity – you are a cold, heartless product of the "ME, ME, ME" attitude that some have. I hope that nothing ever happens to your children, or grandchildren – because they will see how selfish you really are, that you aren't willing to help others if it's not for your benefit.
Not stupid...just ignorant. Please Google the People With Disabilities Act.
@dom625 & rose helen militello:
There is a fine like between accommodating and pandering. If there is medical proof that the child is truly & deathly allergic to something, then I agree that there are grounds for making some changes.
Medical proof needs to both exist AND a verifiable medical notification needs to be made available to the school (or school board) upon making demands for changes.
Kara made an excellent point about accommodating a child who supposedly had an allergy but didn't. THAT is a solid reason NOT to pander to the whinings of parents who merely THINK their children are special. Get proof!
There is a fine LINE ...... sheesh!
Go Goober!
The approach of the picketing parents is disturbing, at best, they are discriminating against a elementary school child, rather than working with the school system. At this rate why not picket the autistic children and those with ADHD, their behavior is also disruptive and effects the learning enviorment much more so than washing hands and switching to balogni, or why not get rid of all the handicaped kids; they have special class rooms, playgrounds and busses that take up tax dollars; they even get their own BATHROOM!(sarcasim) I have an elementary school child with a severe and fatal peanut allergy. Yes, it is my responsiblity to protect him, but he is also entitiled to a public education. Should he be prevented from the same opportunities as other children because you don't want your kids to have to wash their hands until he is of a reasonable age to tell people not to touch him, or to learn to consistently wipe down tables and chairs before he sits? The preventative care gets easier as the kids get older, I agree that elementary school prevention is high maintanence and can be quite burdensome. Yet, we make accomodations for kids who need special rides to school, we accomodate those who need additional teachers, we accomodate those with behavior disorders, physical and mental disorders, etc. Yet a child with a fatal food disorder we picket and shun? A child in elementary school can not be held responsible for avoiding that which they are allergic too. That is why we rely on the school system for help during these early years. I do not; however, understand why the entire school is peanut free. My child will not ride the bus, because it is overly burdensome to ensure that the bus will be safe and that no child touches a seat that my child may touch. But it is not overly burdensome to have a peanut free class room, or ask that my child eat lunch with a shaperon to ensure his safety, and require children to wash hands more frequently. The picketing parents should be ashamed of themselves, this is a child you are attacking. Rather, they should work with the schools for alternative options, such as a mask or gloves when the child leaves the "safe" peanut free classroom. Or,how about an aid to help supervise and be on standby with the epi-pen when they are walking in the halls or playing on the playground, etc. I do not agree with how these other parents are treating this one family. And I do not think the school has taken the best approach at educating and researching other safety accomodations to prevent such an ignorate attack on this family. I wish this family all the best, as it appears they are surrounded by a very uncaring community and they have a long road ahead of them.
Like I mentioned earlier though, these parents want to be the Saviors of All Peanut Allegy People(SAPAP for short). Its similair to sueing a fire department because you failed to pass the test. They want to be famous, like many parents today, the child is an accesory(sp?). They want to known. I don't have children, I don't have any strong allegies, just normal ones like pollen from pine trees. So to be honest, I don't know how it feel to goto shock because my allegy, but should I request that my job cut down all the pine trees in the area to accomedate me. No i shouldn't. The parents of the child forced this situation by demanding that the school makes all the changes instead educating their child on how to avoid peanuts, even though they are in first grade, not to make out with boys or girls who have eaten peanuts. Another child could rub peanut butter in their hair right before they arrive as school, does that mean we should shower the children at the shower too?
There are so many what ifs, ands, and buts to continue. The point is, why should an entire school make the changes when it is much easier to teach the child correctly. Peanut free cafe, I'm good with that. You can't bring peanut butter to school, I'm not good with. ONE child should not determine every other childs diet.
My child is not an accessory. My child is a precious gift. I do not want to be famous. What I want is to send my child to a public school each day and not have to worry that his four year old little body will not be returned to me in a pine box. Your allergies are not life threatening, they never will be. To get a sense of what it is like to experience anaphalxis, ask someone to slowly choke you until you pass out or scroll up from here and read the account i posted earlier under Jennifer O'Malley. If you choose the former, I would gladly assist! Cheers!
are you telling me that your little spoiled rugrat cannot go without peanut products a few hours a day.this is an example of where the country is headed,what about caring for the other guy.i hope this little kid grows up to be someone very special.remember RYAN WHITE,the little boy who received a hiv tainted blood transfusion,the town decended on that poor boy with a vengence.yes i have children,they are adults,and they DO have compassion,empathy for others because their mother would have it no other way
Sure, my "spoiled little rugrat" *could* go without peanut products for a few hours a day, but the point is that he should not *have* to because of one other person. The parents of a child who is so severely allergic that even minute exposure could trigger a reaction should keep their child at home rather than expect everyone to accommodate for that one student.
So, what you are teaching your children is that only they matter. That compassion, understanding, empathy... those are nothing. I feel sorry for your children. You are a heartless, cold, cruel person, who is just raising young innocent children to be just as twisted as you.
You don't know me, so keep the name-calling to yourself. The issue isn't about allergies or severe reactions; the issue is whether an entire school should make accommodations for the sake of one student. And I do not rate one person, child or not, as any more important than any other person. If this kid's allergies are as severe as the media is playing them up to be, then she has NO business being in a public school situation, where any kid might ingest something peanutty and then forget to wash their hands or rinse their mouths.
I'm neither heartless nor cruel. I'm pragmatic.
OK...so you say that a parent that wants to send peanut butter to school with their child has the attitude that "only they matter". Isn't it the parent of the one child that wants it banned the person with the attitude that "only they matter"?
My attitude is not "only they matter" concerning my allergic child, but rather, "he matters too". His allergy is life-threratening which means a peanut product could end his little four year old life. His life matters too you moron!!
I'm going to swim against the current here and say that I agree with the picketing parents. There is NO reason that an entire school should have to change because of ONE student. One of the problems with America is that everyone expects society to blithely conform to their problems and issues. If the allergy is severe enough to warrant such extreme measures, then the girl has no business being there.
And peanut butter is relatively inexpensive and a good source of nutrients. Plus, it just tastes good. My kids have the right to bring what they want for lunch, and if peanut butter is what they want, then they should be able to bring it!
You sound like a public school parent. Uncaring, do whatever you want, even if it kills someone else's "defective" kid. After all...YOUR children are perfect right? If YOUR perfect children developed an allergy to some food substance it wouldn't bother you at all if the other parents gave your child a substance that would KILL him/her. As you attend the funeral of YOUR OWN child you would feel that, oh well, he/she was defective. Better to die than to have to live with any kind of allergy.
I am all for reasonable, strong measures to protect a child with an allergy. I this case however I understand that even the mere scent of peanuts is enough to cause a reaction. The school district needs to work with this family to arrange alternate educational means. It seems like, in this case, there is no complete solution. What if a child uses their backpack on a weekend trip and had peanuts in it? There is no way you can be completely sure it is 100% clean of the particles. I might suggest that the boy wear a hospital mask and gloves in school to protest himself.
i have allergy to shellfish. i carry medication. i do not expect everyone around me to accommodate me. i avoid places where i am likely to be in contact. i have pets and get fur on my clothing. my coworker is allergic to cats. we stay on opposite ends of the workplace. she carries her meds. no problems
The great thing about public school is that is is mandated to take into account the needs of every child. No child chooses to be severely peanut allergic. There is no good reason this child should be home schooled and kept away from other children. The school is obligated to provide a healthy and safe learning environment for this child just as it is for any other child with a disability, medical, physical, emotional and/or developmental.
Our children's elementary school has at least one peanut allergic child in each grade, it's quite common now and I have been asked to refrain from packing my kids favorite sandwiches (peanut butter) for years now. My kids are free to eat that at home and not endanger the medically fragile classmate.
More time should be spent researching the causes of such severe and increasingly common food allergies so that less children have to suffer from this.
There is *every* reason for her to be home schooled. There is *no* reason to expect everyone else to cater to the health impediments of one child.
Going to school, I don't remember kids with peanut allergies, I'm sure they were around, but we didn't know about it.
While I agree that allowances need to be made for the child, it should be on an individual basis. If the child is only mildly allergic, and just can't eat it, then ban outside food with peanut butter. Sorry, find some different candy to bring in besides peanut butter cups to pass out. If the child is so allergic that just the smell of the PB will cause a reaction, then ban it from that class only, and for that lunch period only. Make a special table for that child, where other kids with allergies can sit, as well as non-allergic kids with "safe" food.
What about the kids who are allergic to fish – are we going to ban fish nuggets? Or how about the kids with Celiac disease? Or those who have a form of Autism -studies now show that gluten free diets may help... If we let this run it's course, then we will have NO food service for schools. And it will only get worse from there. A kid is sensitive to some cleaning product, so we don't clean....
Yes, I do care about the kids today. I have family members running the whole spectrum with peanut allergies, from can't even smell it before her throat starts to close up, to one who can eat a peanut or 2 before feeling the effects.
(please forgive spelling errors) i personally think that this is a simple case off parents overreacting. its penut butter it is not good for kids anyway, and you wonder why obesity is so prevelant in the us.
The so-called "parents" need to grow up i mean there kids can eat there penut butter outside off school, its not like there banning penut butter in america....
I disagree, Peanut butter is an excellent source of nutrition. I feed my kids no sugar added organic peanut butter. It is a legume that is actually recommended for women who are watching their health and weight to eat for breakfast on toast in the butter for. It is an excellent source of Protein which kids need to maintain focus at school. I am not opposed to accommodating a kid, but I do not think it should be banned. My kid is allergic to strawberries and by 3 she could tell people she could not eat them. I do not serve them at my house, but other people I know serve them when she is around. It is an example to her of how the world will not stop for her, but our family will accommodate her. You might say her older sister who lived on strawberries for 3 years before her is the one being shafted. (I do keep some deep in the fridge that I put in her sisters lunch box, but none at our table.)
Here are some nutritional facts about Peanuts:
Nutrition Facts and Information about Peanut: Peanuts are a rich source of protein. They are rich in almost all minerals. Peanuts contain excellent levels of manganese, copper and magnesium. It is also a very good source of iron, phosphorous, potassium, zinc, selenium and tryptophan. Peanuts contain traces of sodium.
Vitamin Content: Peanut is a good source of Niacin and folate. Peanuts also contain thiamin, vitamin E, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6 and riboflavin.
I have no problem with accomodating life threatening allergies–but I think these allergies need to be verified. I was told a kid in my son's Kindy class was allergic to eggs, oatmeal, chocolate, and dairy. So, when sending in cupcakes, I went to a vegan bakery and bought a special one for this kid. It took extra time, extra money–but I didn't want the kid feeling left out. I even had gotten an extra set of cupcake decorations from the bakery so the vegan place could put it on this cupcake. I was then told by the teacher that the kid ate a regular dairy egg cupcake because his Mom told him it was OK on special occasions. Either you have an allergy or not. So many people these days are self-diagnosing food allergies and intolerances when in reality, they're not allergic. So, I'm happy to accomodate–but can we verify the allergies first please?
I love peanut butter. But why not look into alternatives? Almond butter tastes yummy, has less salt, contain loads of protein, calcium, fiber, magnesium, folic acid, potassium and vitamin E. It's also extremely low in saturated fat, has zero trans fats, and is rich in monosaturated fats, making it a heart-healthy choice. Studies have shown that adding almonds into diets effectively lowers cholesterol.
I recently had this conversation with my friend who is a cardiologist researching heart disease. He gave me a bunch of reasons why almond butter is healthier, though it's a bit difficult to explain (not that I could repeat him word for word – I didn't receive my MD and PhD as he did, nor am I researching heart disease)
So why are we so headstrong on peanut butter? Let's try a healthy and delicious alternative that will help YOUR kids AND the kids with peanut allergies.
So, as I understand it, most schools banning peanuts, actually ban all tree-nut products as well. This was certainly the case with my child's school.
The fact that some of you pretty much don't care about children with peanut allergies is obsurd. If you had some ailment i bet most of you would want someone else to take certain precautions around you. What gives you the right to impede someone elses well being. Are we a society full of Nazis now? Who are we to descriminate.
If we slapped our kids around a little more maybe they wouldn't be a bunch of wusses allergic to everything, including air.
.... and water.
Hey i'm highly allergic to mold and Dust. Basically air and water. Can I ask your kids not to breath and bring water to school because my kid has the same allergy?
you can't die of anaphlaxis from your allergies dumass!
My cousin brought her SEVERELY peanut allergic toddler to my Grandmother's prayer service, funeral and fellowship luncheon. She posted signs on every door, she demanded menus be changed, foods be thrown away that might have touched a peanut butter cookie. Rather than being a deeply moving tribute for a beautiful mother, grandmother and great grandmother it became ALL about the drama of my cousin's daily battle with death.
Yeah, there ARE way too many Drama Queens out there. Me! Me! Me!
Indeed, it IS a parent’s responsibility to equip & empower the child(ren) with knowledge, the strength & tools to assert one’s needs, and the resourcefulness & determination to get them met. However, we give up care of our children over to school personnel once they set foot on school grounds while we’re not there. So there’s a shared responsibility.
If education continues to be an entitlement for which we pay taxes, then it needs to accommodate ALL students one way or another, whether we further individualize the public school system or make education tax funds available to ALL educational choices (not just public school, but also private and homeschoolers), or both. Under the current system of education, each child is entitled, but only in theory unless & until the system changes and/or the choices are made more accessible and real.
oh and by the way, this white female is allergic to perfume but no one is banning it. I make do having an attack because of the perfume out there; why can't others make do with the peanut butter?
Canada has banned nut products from public schools for years and years and it's no big deal. The kids don't care and no parent has to send their 6 year old off to school worried they may not come home EVER because some other kid with peanuts on their breath talked in their direction. I can't believe any parent of a healthy child would think something their kid eats during the one hour and fifteen minutes alloted to them 5 days a week is more important than teaching them compassion & empathy for others who are not so lucky, especially when what they are eating can be deadly to that person. Not sending peanut products to school is certainly a sacrifice to end all sacrifices, especially when a child's life is at stake, but then again, if she just stayed away from all other children, ie; ate by herself, or was home schooled, everyone's kids could eat nut products at school, because, after all, a child's right to eat them, and the parent's right to pack them, is undoubtedly the most important thing here. The comment "The moral fabric of the country is unraveling." certainly fits in this instance.
I am a white female who feels as though she has had to give up on a lot of things just to satisfy the few with whatever illness/ailment/etc. As a white female, I am really tired of being blamed for the ills of the world. I don't mind banning peanut butter in public places, but I should be able to eat it in the privacy of my own home. However, with the world the way it is, and the political correctness thereof, next I'll be told I can't eat peanut butter in my own home. I have already had all my rights taken away because of political correctness, what's next, my freedom because I ate peanut butter at home?
Straw Dog
(those of you who have taken a college course in Logic know what I mean)
If an allergy means revolutionizing normal life to accommodate a child, that child is too delicate to be in public school and should be homeschooled.
Define normal life....
Where are the crazies?!?!
I find all of you folks that have posted reasonably rational and it irritates me.
**Sighs** Back to work :(
While the issue here is more about to what lengths must we go to protect one another, a separate solution would be to eliminate food items that contain toxins in the first place, beginning with such atrocities as cinnamon buns and chocolate cow’s milk for breakfast and going all the way up to grains, potatoes, and legumes (which is what a peanut actually is – it is NOT a nut).
No doubt PB-lovers will object, so apologies in advance. Just speaking a piece having more to do with the modern diet, the detriments of which are evinced in our modern-day health afflictions.
So in the early '80's when I was in elementary school this wasn't an issue and if it was it was monitored by the school and the other kids never even knew. Why now are so many kids allergic to all kinds of crap these days that they are going to deprive other kids of something? Geez, from Gluten to nuts and everything in between. I just don't get it.
Aiders and abettors of this seeming epi-demic ("epi" pun intended) of allergies are, among other things, antibiotic soap, the internet, the politically correct syndrome and the "me first" generation
antibiotic soap: keeping the immune system from developing the way it was meant to
the internet: keeping people & news media more connected than ever before (also making people more informed about such things as disorders & allergies, etc)
the politically correct syndrome: making people more aware than ever before of other people's sensitivities and feelings
the "me first" generation: making it easy to sue others when they feel as if their widdle toe-sies have been stepped on
The current protocol is to slowly introduce peanuts to the child to overcome the allergy, not create a fantasy world that does not exist.
One day, that kid will walk smack dab into peanuts - and all her parents foolishness will be for not.
Yes. There are ways to re-introduce foods back into one's system after being allergic to them. That re-introduction should ONLY be handled and supervised by a professional not by well-meaning or impatient parents.
I home school, so really this is a whole non-issue for me. But when my children were in public school there were several kids with peanut allergies. I didn't mind taking a few precautionary steps to help make their environment safer, but there is a limit to the inconveniences I'm willing to accept.
As a parent of an allergic child you also have to realize the onus is on you to teach your child how to make themselves safe. At some point your child is going to grow up, and the workplace is an unforgiving place for people with extreme allergies. Face it, people are lazy, and forgetful, and there's no way you're going to be able to enforce a company wide no-peanuts policy for one person.
As a parent of children with allergies, I've educated my children. They understand their allergies, they understand their medications, and they understand that since they are allergic, it's their responsibility police themselves to keep themselves safe, and to educate others around them as to their allergies. They also understand that it's their responsibility to carry their epi-pens with them everywhere and make sure to tell me if they are no longer clear, so they can be replaced.
I have a lot of sympathy for families dealing with nut allergies. They are hard but the solution isn't in putting your child in a bubble and hoping everyone will comply. It's in teaching your child in how to keep themselves safe.
Here here!
Good points. The voice of reality. However, I think that there is a gap in the issue here, one that has to do with a child who is only in the first grade.
I think she will ultimately be very responsible for herself. But it sounds like the issue here is how to attend to the issue while the child is out of the house (away from her parents) at school AND too young to be able to cope on her own just yet.
I don't think this should be a problem though.
I have a first grader, and as biased as I may be, I don't think she's smarter or more advanced than any other average first grader. Yet, she still understands her allergy, and how to avoid it. She also understands what she needs to do if she comes in contact with her allergens. She knows because we've talked at length about them. She knows about anaphylactic shock, because that's how we found out she was allergic in the first place. She knows what it feels like, and knows how to use her epi-pen if it is ever necessary. It's one of those things, some people run fire drills, we run epi-drills. Because of this, even my 4 year old knows when and how to use an epi-pen if her big sister or brother need it. We've put this on par with knowing when and how to dial 911.
If you have an allergic kid, you can't just shield them from the world. You have to be proactive in teaching them to be aware of their environment and understanding how to deal with it.
Totally GOOD for you! Kudos! Your kids are already well prepared. Good example!
I have to agree with you here. My daughter (now7) was born with severe food allergies. She spent the first 18 of 22 months sick until we finally insisted on allergy testing. Turns out she was allergic to TONS of food – especially all the ones that were supposed to be 'starter foods'. Rice, string beans, carrots, bananas, apples, watermelon, crab, dogs, cottonwoods, insect bitses/stings, tree nuts – not peanuts. I spent the first 4/5 years of her life reading labels, making lists for her daycare/school and PROVIDING MY OWN FOOD when neccessary. Did you know every kid juice uses apples juice as a filler except Welches Grape Juice and certain kinds of cranberry juice?
I never once asked anything of anyone except to follow the list of foods she couldn't eat. They would prepare a small batch for just her if it contained something she couldn't have. I would never as a parent expect ANYONE to worry about it like I do. So I did the next best thing and taught her about her allergies. If someone else forgot, she would remind them.
Why is it that we feel entitled to turn the whole world for our own purposes? I just buried my 10 year old nephew (who had SMA) 6 months ago – we believe in equality believe me. My kids would play tag with him by hopping onto their trikes as he chased them in his power chair. We made changes but didn't stop the kids from their fun if he couldn't join, we found other ways to make him part of things.
I truly feel bad for the child. I remember the hurt look on my daughter's face, an avid animal lover, when she would be unable to pet a friendly dog she saw, or play with her friends puppies. But to teach her to expect the world to cater to her rather than inform her, take precautionary steps yourself, and find other ways to allow her to be a part of things rather than the reason why we can't do such and such will only lead her to wounded feelings and possible death by accident because of ignorance.
If the parents cannot afford to home school, there are programs to assist, especially when the child has special needs. These parents are being irresponsible and also placing unneccessary stress on this little girl who ends up being the brunt of her parents' blind fervor.
Oh yeah and P.S. don't feed your kid any vitamins either – if you read the fine print most are packaged at plants that handle tree nuts and peanuts. You would hate for your morning ritual for your child's health and well being might impact that ONE kid................ban all vitamins!!!
I have 2 little cousins who are extremely allergic to peanuts. Yet their parent's aren't asking for the school to ban peanut butter and peanut products – just keep them away from the kids.
I think this really comes down to the parents trying to be role models for other parents who feel they can't stand up to the schools. The other parents are REacting to the situation. Instead sitting down and having a discussion like they should be doing. What they are doing however is setting a horrible example for thier children. I work at a location that employs 2000 on site and I am quite sure one or two of these thousands of people probably have a peanut allergy but they serve peanut products in the building. Snickers in the machines, peanut butter and jelly sandwichs by the cafe. In three years, I have not seen one person rushed out because they accidently ingested peanuts. The parents of the child with peanut allegeries should be teaching her not to accept food she doesn't know what it is made of, be careful who kiss, and other things of the similiar nature. Education is the problem and the child needs to be educated and the school needs to be informed so they can have Epi-Pens available should an accident occur.
Well put.
However, the application of common sense (much less compassion and care), it would seem, is not a common practice.
Wow, parents protesting a kid?! She must feel very unwanted and humilated by all this. I'm pretty sure this is how super-villians are formed. But seriously, why doesn't she just eat lunch separately?
True. A simple solution is usually the best. At least a lessening of drama wouldn't hurt.
When I used to teach, we had a boy who had a severe peanut allergy. Most of the kids were great about bringing something else for lunch, but one kid thought it would be funny to ambush the boy "just to see what would happen".
People never cease to amaze me...
I understand. It seems the capacity for cruelty and sadism is limitless.
Segregation is always best... after all it would be so much better for the child than simply having others not eat peanut products at school in order to keep her from dying, not to mention the lessons everyone concerned would learn about compassion, empathy, diversity, etc., etc.,...
"I'm pretty sure this is how super-villains are formed"
Indeed.
Sorry, but when my child was in school and lived on p-nut butter sandwiches, couldn't eat them because of the pnut allergy ban they put in place, it was tough. Let's face it, you are living in reality, why should 29 kids not be allowed to eat pnut butter for one kid? Have that kid removed from the class and eat elsewhere and he can rejoin the kids later outside when everyone is done eating. I have empathy and compassion, but the reality of the situation is what is this child going to do when he leaves the safety net of school and enters the world of grownups? No one is going to stop eating nuts or pnut butter just because this person is working with them.
As common as peanut and tree nut allergies are, it is also very common to "out grow" them. The current recommendation, at least from my daughter's Dr., is the have the child avoid any trace of them entirely and then be re-tested when older to see if they are still allergic. So, the school (and all of the children there) could not only be saving this child's life now, but possibly assist in giving her a better quality of life later.
I have heard of kids having a peanut allergy so bad if you breath on them after eating PB, they could die from it. I'm not sure if the kids with allergies this severe can out grow them. I think that is why is is important for each case to be dealt with individually.
Come on, people. Allergies come in all kinds of virulences. From mild to "you're dead." Overcoming this "set-in-cement" selfishness towards a reasonable compromise might be in order. If the kid might DIE, might we all be a bit more compassionate?
I mean, it's not unreasonable to be annoyed if another's allergy is merely inconveniencing to THEM and I have to make allowances. But if their allergy will KILL them it seems only decent to make a generous accommodation to help them LIVE. Having said that, however, If the allergy is SO severe that reasonable accommodation cannot be made then perhaps home schooling is in order.
Surely there is a middle ground here based on kindness and decency. On BOTH sides.
And ridicule should NOT be allowed in the discourse. As we know, to ridicule is used to demean and diminish the target person and their (in this case) life and death issue. (Do those who ridicule really think the person with the impairment really WANTS to be in that predicament? As if it's somehow a moral fault or deficiency which warrants blame or censure. Or can be voluntarily remedied.)
I agree. I'm sure if the negative numbskulls on this thread had a child with peanut allergies it would be a whole 'nother ball game.
Those who ridicule are usually petty and selfish. They are easily offended when only slightly inconvenienced. Then, when something bad happens, they feel guilty and use ridicule as a defense mechanism. These are the people who could cause harm to the child then feign ignorance to maintain a picture of innocence.
I agree. Denial is SUCH a handy gadget.......
I would hope that this would be a great opportunity to teach your kid about empathy, compassion and how to treat another human being. Then again, give the decline of general civility today, maybe I am hoping for too much.
How can you teach your child about something in which you know nothing and want to know nothing? There are terrific parents out there who DO teach their kids and teach them well ... then there are the others ...
Unfortunately, it's "the others" who have learned to scream and whine the loudest.
I think you may be asking too much at this point. Remember the guy on the last thread that encouraged parents to feed their severely allergic kids one peanut a day to build an immunity so that they would be as great as his daughter. Sad.
I am allergic to shell fish, tomatoes, cucumbers, tuna, and strawberries. I demand all these foods be removed from my workplace, grocery stores, and restaurants I eat at. Now after reading that, doesn't it just sound silly? Knowing I am allergic, I stay away from these foods. The few should not rule the many. If your kid is allergic, I suggest getting them an ID bracelet, informing the school, and educating your child to stay away from the peanuts. Why should other kids go without?
This is just silly and eventually the only thing allowed at school will be water.
But I'm allergic to water!
Are you allergic to the particles in the air from these foods, or simply when consumed? Peanut allergies range in severity, as the particles of peanuts carry through the air and can trigger reactions if in larger amount, i.e. children's lunch tables where PB & J are staple foods.
I'm allergic to shellfish too. And peanuts. I won't have a reaction if *someone else* in the room is eating shrimp. I will (and HAVE) had a reaction if there is an open jar of peanuts.
And don't tell me it's psychosomatic – It's happened twice, and I didn't know there were peanuts in the room either time.
Just curious – If I eat a tuna sandwich with a big slice of tomato on top, then accidentally touched you or something of yours, would you stop breathing and die? Are your allergies that severe? I have allergies too. They make me uncomfortable, but my life isn't threatened by them. Hypothetically, let's say you choose to send a peanut butter sandwich to school for your child. We all know that children forget things sometimes, like wiping their feet, turning off the light when leaving a room, homework etc. So, your child forgets and touches a child with a peanut allergy after eating that sandwich. If that classmate stops breathing and dies, in front of your child, how many years of therapy will your child need to deal with that traumatic event? Then, just wait for the media circus, as you get your 15 minutes of fame as the killer sandwich mom.
I think most of the hardcore "not my problem" people would give anything for a do-over if they ever actually contributed to the death of a child.
When children loose a classmate, every child is affected. Does anyone really want to risk having their child witness the death of a classmate? What kind of parent would risk that?
You have the choice in this matter. As I noted before, the parents of a child with allergies far too often don't have that option. And by the way, if your allergies to those foods are severe enough it would not be unreasonable for you to request the be removed from your workplace.
My guess you've never had to administer rescue breathing to someone experiencing a major anaphilactic attack. Once you've done that, then post and let us know how you feel about the subject of accomodating those who suffer severe allergies.
Keeping the child safe is important, For a classroom of children ( first graders to witness medical emergancy would be much more up setting than keeping the child safe in the first place.
The protection of a child, who's life is threatened by exposure to, in this case, peanuts, is the responsibility of that child's parents or guardians. Trying to put the onus of protection on the school's shoulders is unreasonable at best. How would you expect such a rule or request to be enforced? Because you'll sue the school/teacher/principal/school board if something happens? How about I sue you for child endangerment because you knowingly put your child in harm's way by sending him or her to school, knowing there could be peanut exposure there? Ridiculous.
Requesting (or dictating) that all the other parents leave peanut products out of their children's lunches, is also unreasonable. Unreasonable because you run the risk of parent "A" who doesn't give a hoot about your child's issues OR parent "B" who didn't get the message and packed their child's lunch unknowingly.
Care of your child is legally and morally the parent's responsibility. If there is a threat to your child's health or well-being YOU do something about it. Don't make waves and expect someone else to take responsibility for your child.
When society mandates that child attend school, then society has the ethical, moral, and legal responsibility for that child's protection. Some would even say that even if the child were home schooled, society still had the same level of responsbility to protect the child.
You really are a Gooper. Pick a new user name, cause whenever I see this one, I have flash backs to the old Andy Griffth comedy show and the guy that ran the gas station. And that is definitely not a reasuring picture of competency.
I must admit, I find it a bit outrageous for ALL kids to be deprived of peanut products because there are one or two with allergies. I went to school with a girl that had a peanut allergy and there were no special accomodations made other than warning students to stay away from her if they were eating a peanut product and asking us to wash our hands if we ate one. Products were allowed, there was no special table, and lo and behold, in the 7 years I was in school with her, she never had a reaction. Her allergy was very severe btw, even residue of peanuts could cause a reaction. Somehow, she survived. Amazing huh?
Deprived? Megan they aren't deprived. Only asked to consume these dangerous peanut products AWAY FROM THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT! They can have peanut butter before school, after school, and all night long. That's NOT deprived. Are you seriously bashing prevention of potential death? I'm so happy that your classmate survived. We aren't talking about someone who can read yet. This involves a 6 yr old who has learning disabilities. Later on when she too can read labels and fully understand the dangers of peanuts for her, the degree of precaution may be lessened. She is SIX!!!!
So when we find out about the other allergies like, milk,soy and so on we will just ban everything right. never ever should we have the mentality to change everything for everybody for 1 child. i have a severe nut allergy and i find it outrageous to make everyone else change!
I guess you didn't hear the story about the high school girl who kissed her high school boyfriend hours after he ate a snickers bar and she DIED!
I feel its important to take reasonable steps to ensure then safety of all children. However, legally the onus is on the school, not the other kids parents, to make necessary accomodations for the child's "handicap" since this school is using the ADA as their reasoning for all demands. It is unreasonable to tell all kids in school that they cannot bring any food into the school, as not all families can afford to pay for school lunches and must take leftovers. Peanut butter sandwiches are one of the cheapest food items a kid can eat that is somewhat healthy, and with the economy these days, omitting that already adds to the burden of some families. A reasonable solution would be to ask that kids and their parents ensure that there are no nut products in the food items they bring in, and for the school teachers to verify that in the section of the cafetaria where that child sits, but not to ban all outside foods for all students. I understand making changes for the safety of that child, but not when it places such hardship on many of the parents, and not if it takes so much time that is intended for educating children. If my son had such a severe allergy, then no matter what the school did, I would not be comfortable. I would still worry too much about his safety, and then there would be a mild concern for the other children. I wouldnt feel he was safe unless he was home.
Much as I love peanut butter (and I am a fanatic, believe me!), I would happily refrain if it meant preventing someone from suffering a potentially life-threatening allergic response. I can eat all the PB I want in the privacy of my own home. For most kids, I really don't think giving up peanut butter in a public place is that big a deal - the son of my best friend goes to school with a boy who is highly allergic (can't even be in the same room with peanuts) and none of his classmates complained about giving up PB in school. It doesn't hurt to ask if others will accommodate the child - if someone is unwilling, then alternatives will have to be found, but most people seem to be quite willing to help.
I agree. I love peanut butter but I think this would be a teachable moment. It's really not a big sacrifice to give up peanuts to help a little girl who I'm sure feels bad enough. I can see both sides of this story, but in the end, is this really such a big deal to accommodate this girl?
Exactly. I love peanut butter. Stuff yourself with peanuts and peanut butter at home. You can't refrain for a few hours during the day so another human being won't get sent to the ER? If your kid lives on PBJ, you can't make them some other sort of sandwich?
A big congratulations to your child and his classmates for being more mature than most of the adults in their nation. I hope the next generation turns out in spite of us! And thank you for what you are doing right in your home that is causing your kids to have sound social values.
Game on.
Maybe if we all went vegan/found god/stopped eating processed foods/wiped from front to back/obama did it/ate horse meat/etc this wouldn't be a problem!
Just kidding. I think the real question here is, why the heck are the people that pro killing other peoples kids by not creating a safe school environment not in jail? I mean really, can't we freaking compromise?
"Game on" indeed! ;)
Word.
I'm Allergic to people that are Allergic. HOME SKOOL!!!!!!!!!
HIGH FIVE!
Not everyone can afford to homeschool. What would a single mother of two do if she couldn't work because she had to homeschool her children? Unless you suggest competitive government subsidies for parents that have to stay home with allergic children.
If it were me, and I saw what had to be done in order to keep my child safe – I'd probably home school. That's just me though.
THAT'S what I'm talkin' about.
Sorry about your kid ... emphasis on YOUR kid. Be sure to take good care of him/her by being a responsible parent.
Part of being a responsible parent is providing a safe environment for your child, GrapeNuts. I really hope you're one who just had a to pick a "theoretical side".
This child would NOT be able to go into ANY of the grocery stores here. ALL of them display bulk peanuts. So shopping with the parents would be a no-no. Can't go to any fair or other event that serves roasted peanuts. You can NOT ask the world to change for ONE child. It IS ridiculous to ask. The Americans with disabilities act does NOT cover such a folly. It IS pure jealosy and outrage that drives these parents to force their childs disabilities on to other children. My child can NOT enjoy a peanut in any way shape or form so neither can yours. Are they gonna sue Safeway for displaying peanuts in the produce isle? This is the mentality of these parents. Washing your hands after eating is basic human need. A seperate table is an answer. If this child was in a wheelchair instead of alergic to peanuts, we would not be having this discussion. We would NOT place everyone's child in wheelchairs to even the field. We would make accomodations for that child. Same ADA laws SHOULD apply in this instance. Accomodation WITHOUT displacing others rights.
Really, the right to peanut butter? Really? These parents probably already make accomadations so that their kids don't go grocery shopping with them and their kids have probably not ever been to the fair, but we're talking about school. And not saying the other kids can NEVER have peanuts, simply asking that they don't be eaten at school. How does this seem like such a collossal stripping of liberties? It's not a big deal!
Jealousy? Really? That's what you're going with here. . . .jealousy? I think the word you're looking for, Mr. Carver, is FEAR. It was FEAR that made me hold my breath, unable to speak, as I ripped off my son's clothes for the triage nurse in the ER. It was FEAR that I saw in her eyes as she rushed me in to a room, calling any and all doctors available. It was FEAR that made me quiet and still as the doctors and nurses rushed and buzzed around us. It was FEAR they exchanged in their glances as they realized the medicine they administered wasn't working. It was FEAR that made me stare unblinkingly at my son as he went limp in my arms, not really comprehending what that meant until those same doctors and nurses grabbed him from me, laid him down on a gurnee, REVIVED him and worked tirelessly on him for two flippin' hours just to stabilize him.
FEAR, Mr. Carver, is what drives me to keep my son safe each and every day of his life. He was only 14 months old when the scenario described happened to him. He ate a sugar cookie that I GAVE HIM. A sugar cookie that contained no nuts and no nut products. A sugar cookie that simply shared the same plate as another cookie with nuts in it. That was the day we found out about our son's allergy. That was our first experience with any allergy.
Since then, I have tried very hard NOT to force my child's disability on to other families. As with any other danger, I simply remove myself and my child from the situation. But, this is school. Home schooling is not an option nor would I want it to be. As much as I may want to keep my son in a protective bubble, I cannot. My son lives in this world too! School is not the only public place he will ever be exposed to. All I can do is educate him and others around him.
Furthermore, I do keep clear of the bulk peanuts in all grocery stores. That's just one of the MANY safeguards I have in place. You must not have children Mr. Carver. . . .or, perhaps you do but you've never come close to losing them. You're lucky, yes. . . but that doesn't make me jealous. That makes me happy for you. I still have the same focus on keeping my child safe, as I do with all children. That's my mentality!
One last thing. . . your analogy about placing everyone's child in a wheelchair to even the field is backwards. A peanut, to my son, is not a wheelchair. It is a gun. It could kill him. Now, this particular gun may not kill your child, but it will most definately kill mine. Put yourself in my place. . . if a child in his school were carrying this gun around, don't you think it's resonable of me to ask that he leave it at home. I'm not asking that this child never play with this particular gun ever again. . . .I'm just asking that he not bring it to school, where my son has to be, without the watchful and protective eye of his mother. He can bring it to church or the playground or any other public place, but you can bet, I'll be there to protect my son by removing him if I have to.
CLEARLY you do not have a kid with allergies and until you can walk in our shoes at least for one day you can not judge. Shame on you for judging. My child has milk, egg, peanut, soy and the list goes on and on. We teach our children not to touch things they are allergic to so going in a grocery store is possible we just watch where certain things are and avoid them. All that was asked was for the kids to wash their hands after they eat which they should do already, put their lunches if they brought a lunch out the classroom and wow that is such and inconvence. The only thing I think is too much is washing out their mouths but if this is their first encounter with a child with severe allergies I get it. My child has sucessfullly survived 5 years in the public school system and with the cooperation of everyone she has made it easier for more kids who have this condition to be welcomed without being singled out. You would be supprised how well the kids adapt and its the parents who really have the problem with it. All I know is if my child didn't have this condition and it was another child I without a doubt would not treat them like these people in Florida are treating this little girl.
If person in the wheelchair is denied ramp, or elevator, person might not be able to get where they are going. Right? If the allergic person is served unsafe food, it might die. Right? Not quite the in the same category, although both bad, especially considering it is a school, a safe heaven.
You used the wheelchair analogy, well with the ADA we did accommodate those in wheelchairs, not by making everyone else sit in one, but in making it possible for "able" and disabled to work within the same areas. A lot of money and time was spent bringing the normal non-accommodating world to those with disabilities by lowering or raising toilets and sinks, building ramps and special seats...you even have to walk farther so that the handicapped can have closer parking spots. Just like making accommodations for those with allergies can be made with not much inconvenience...hey make a turkey sandwich, send ranch dressing or hummus or cheese as a side instead of nuts...not a huge difference to you (once you get over having to open your heart to your fellow humans) and a huge difference to your children and their friends.
I could be wrong but the only accomodations I've seen called for in this case is the rinsing of the mouths, the washing of hands and the keeping lunch bags outside the classroom...... Um, do the protesting parents NOT teach hygiene? These things should be done REGARDLESS!! I hate it for the kids that are "inconvenienced" (I say that with as much sarcasm as possible) but I don't think a kid is going to die because he or she DID NOT get peanut butter for lunch. Whereas one COULD die because one of the other kids DID get peanut butter for lunch and that kids parents are obviously lax on the hygiene issue. It's ridiculous to ASSume that the child with the allergy and her parents don't already do everything they can to prevent anaphylaxis!!
HEY PROTESTING PARENTS, soap and water are too cheap to be nasty and unclean :) Teach your children to wash and rinse NOW so they don't have health problems LATER...
And as long as there is compulsory attendance for ALL children over a certain age, the disabled child MUST attend school :) How disappointing for the parents that don't want good hygiene habits or simple respect and compassion taught to their kids....
I am an elementary teacher who had a student with this same problem. It is NOT hard to have everyone wash their hands before coming to class-we had wipes with alcohol that cut any peanut oil that might be on their hands, as well as regular soap and water. I checked everyone's lunch everyday-if they brought peanut butter or a food that didn't have peanuts but was made in a facility with peanuts, they had to eat outside the class where other kids with peanut butter or unsafe foods were eating. It is not an inconvenience to have a 7 year old wash their hands–this is something they should do anyway!
Every child has the right to go to school, allergies or not! This is called making accommodations, something we do for other kids with disabilities–wheel chair ramps, special chairs, a magnified computer screen–the list goes on and on. All the parents who are making a fuss clearly don't have a child with severe allergies. If tomorrow one of their kids wakes up and is deathly allergic to peanuts, eggs, milk, whatever, I'd bet they would change their tune really fast!
We aren't talking about the whole world here. We are talking about a public school, which by the way is legally required to both enroll, and protect this child. The protestors are the ones with the options-home school, private school, home tutors.
When a family has a member, and probably more than one, with a severe health condition, the costs of dealing with that condition are extreme. That makes the options the parents of healthy children enjoy out of reach. I am sure the parents of a child with a peanut allergy would love to be able to afford to provide their child with one or more of the options the parents of healthy children enjoy. But they can not afford the price tag. They have to settle for a public school.
George, your neighbors are not required to mow on your schedule, but if your employer's mowing of company property causes your allergies to be life or health threatening, he or she would be required to accomodate you, possibly in the manner you suggest.
EVERY child has a legal right to go to PUBLIC school and to be SAFE while they are there. You know who the public is? Everyone! The people with disabilities or allergies are part of the public. If you don't want your child to be with ALL members of society, then you need to take YOUR child out of PUBLIC school and homeschool YOUR kid.
By the way, this attitude that your child's right to eat peanut butter is more important than a little girl's right to a safe education in a public school is scary. I hope you don't have any kids because if you are teaching them to be this selfish and uncompassionate, I shutter to think what kind of person they will grow up to be.
George Washington Carver didn't invent peanut butter. if you're going to try to be clever at least get your facts straight. work with peanuts on groundbreaking science? for sure! invent peanut butter? nope.
Ignorant idiot. I acquired a peanut allergy in my early twenties. I have had to make a lot of changes but I am an adult and can make accommodations for myself. This is a defenseless little girl who is just trying to attend public school. I hope you never have children. Your post makes me feel sorry for you.
Wow. George equals idiot. Jennifer u said it PERFECTLY.
If this were about a child in a wheelchair, you are correct, we would not be having this discussion, because the law would be clear-cut in ensuring that whatever accommodation was needed would have to be made.
My other point is that a "Free and Appropriate Public Education" is guaranteed under the law to every child. We have deemed education to be necessary. The Right To Shop At Safeway is not something that we have placed such safeguards around, so your Safeway analogy is not apt.
My dauther was on full life support due to her peanut allergy with an expected outcome of death and best case scenerio brain damage. I hope no other parent ever has to experience that. As a teacher and parent I cannot imagine anyone not being willing to take riskfree measures to protect those around them, especially children.
We have a child with a touch-sensitive anapyhlactic reaction to milk in our family. I seriously do mean that all products containing milk-derivatives are a very real threat. Would you be fine with banning all such foods from your child's school if a child like him were attending there? Do you realize that milk-derivatives are present in many sandwich meats? That milk (or a derivative) is in most store-bought bread? His school does ban peanuts, but not milk, and I think that is discriminatory. It implies that his very real, life-threatening sensitivity is not as important as that of other children, whose allergies are more socially acceptable.
I so agree with you mom. A little girl I know is touch sensitive to peas and has an anaphylactic reaction. It is discriminatory to ban one food and not the other. There needs to be some sort of solution to the problem other than banning foods. I can't imagine that we as Americans cannot put our heads together and find a reasonable solution.
For some reason, I can't reply to "mom"'s comment, but to "mom," hi, yes, I think that all milk products should be banned from your child's school. And it wouldn't be as difficult as they want to pretend it would be. Milk powder is dumped into lots of processed foods for no real reason, because other versions of the foods exist without milk and are just fine. It's just that providing processed crap to our public schoolchildren is big, big money, and the machine that cranks that money does not want to stop cranking. Seriously, it is a sad, overwhelming, and sickening situation, but that's another story altogether.
Anyway, yes, milk should be banned from your child's school. I'm sorry you have to worry about your child's life just because of someone else's entrenched profit and a whole lot of negativity. In a way, we're all in that boat these days, with food safety and life expectancy in America being what they are. Best of luck.
Responsible parents should also teach their children to be sensitive to the needs of others as well. My daughter had severe epipsly while in elementary school... many people recomended home schooling her at the time. The school felt it was better for my daughters social developent to least attempt public school. Unofortunately she did have seizures in school on several occasions. Guess what? ... It helped bring the entire school closer together and they showed an amazing amount of understanding and compassion towards the situation! ... not tear them apart as your suggestion would imply. I know which lesson I'd rather teach....
The emphasis is on K-I-D.
The reality is, there is no way for us parents with kids who don't have severe life-threatening allergies to understand the stress for the parents of the children who do have these issues. That said, it isn't fair for those with a medical issue to totally subject those in the majority to the n-th degree of precautions.
The reality is, these kids are going to have to be careful their entire lives and once they don't have mom and dad batting for them, people may or may not care to make special arrangements for them anymore. There's not one solution that is going to make everyone happy – its not possible- Because there are too many parents who want the extremes of both sides. I will say that I see a real lack of appreciation for the accomidations made and a very off-putting and over-zealous amount of self-righteousness. These kids definitely deserve the right to go to public schools, but they need to be the ones to sacrifice and perhaps not participate in a class party or sit at a separate table or separate room if their parents are that concerned.
As far as PB&J is concerned, I don't give that to my son as an everyday meal, but come on, what parent isn't going to have a morning where they're running behind or happen to not make it to the grocery store once. Its an inexpensive, fall-back meal that has been around for a very long time. Banning something like that is of course going to put other parents on the offensive because its fairly well understood that the parents behind the ban aren't going to fork over the food for these kids to eat.
Hopefully some day there will be some discovery that keeps kids alive so they don't have to use things like epi-pens, but until then, the majority of the responsibility for their safety is the kids and the parents, while the appreciative accomodations hopefully can be made by others.
Toddlermom...are you serious? Fork over the food for a 6 year old. How much do you think the average 6 yr old eats? Is it too much to ask for parents to LOVE a child with peanut allergies as they would love any child? You sound like Hitler. Let's round up all these defective allergic children and shoot them so they don't have to go through such a horrible life. How can parents be so unkind? Chuck out the peanut butter, or eat it at home. It's not hard to do to save the life of a child! Do you live in the USA? Most grocery stores have so many food options. How can this be such a big deal? How would you feel if your child DEVELOPED a peanut allergy at some point in grammar school? Yes, honey, a nonallergic person CAN develop an allergy later on in life. God forbid this happen to YOUR family!
I've got to say, the "I don't have time for anything but peanut butter" argument is pretty weak.
Almond butter, cashew butter, pumpkin seed butter, sunflower seed butter, cream cheese, tahini, hummus? All of these things are as easy to keep on hand as peanut butter, make a fast sandwich, and wouldn't potentially kill your child's classmate.
@New York Peanut Allergies – While I can sympathize, it can quickly become a slippery slope scenario where everything that could potentially cause an adverse allergic reaction becomes banned from any public place. Someone here mentioned that contact with any dairy products causes a reaction in their child. So now, we've banned all peanut products, and all dairy products. Next is latex, next is.....etc.etc. Can you see where this is going? No matter what you have, there is somebody who is allergic to that item.
If your child has such a serious reaction to something so common as tree nuts (we're not just talking peanut butter here, everything from womens cosmetics to lecithin products contain tree nuts) then you should seriously consider keeping him/her OUT of public schools.
That said, it's disturbing how many people don't care about those who suffer such ailments. We obviously need to take care of these people, but do so without inconveniencing the rest of society. The lack of compassion from some people is just as disturbing as the amount of changes some parents think the rest of society is obligated to make just for their children. Note to parents: society has no obligation whatsoever to you or your children. Before any prejudice, I'll say, I am a single father and would never hoist my own familial responsibility on the rest of society.
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
In most Canadian scools you are not allowed to have any peanut products in public schools. That includes products that say "my contain traces of nuts" Nobody here has a problem with it. We accept that someone can die from this and who wants to live with that the rest of there life!! I hope someone close to you doesn't develope a sever allergy that can kill them. Why do Americans get up in arms about EVERYTHIING? Chill out!
Being "up in arms" and fighting for what's right is what won for us the freedom from being ruled by elitist factions who would have us cowering under their thumbs.
It's what gives us the right to voice our opinions without fear of reprisal. Embrace the First Amendment.
Many children have life threatening allergies to foods other than peanuts. A friends child is severely allergic to peas. Another to soy, eggs and milk. I guess we need to ban all food that could cause a severe reaction in any child... or maybe just create safeguards to protect children with allergies.