Kids Dish

I’m lucky to have a child with no known allergies. Aside from some nasty, citrus and strawberry induced diaper rashes when he was about nine months old, Sam’s been reaction free. Many parents aren’t so lucky. My cousin’s daughter has a variety of allergies to peanuts, legumes, soy, and probably a few other things I can’t remember. A friend’s son is allergic to eggs. Some of these allergies are just sensitivities that the child may eventually grow out of, but for other kids allergies are serious and sometimes lethal.

I worked in a middle school where a number of children had severe peanut allergies. Peanut products were banned from classrooms, as were products that share equipment with peanut products. Students weren’t allowed to bring food in for class parties unless they were prepackaged snacks with clearly labeled allergen information. The cafeteria allowed peanut products, but had two peanut-free lunch tables where children with allergies ate their lunches brought from home.

The school took all reasonable precautions and asked that children with allergies bring their own lunches so as not to run the risk of allergic reactions. The school also prohibited peanutty snacks in all classrooms going so far as to send home a list of all appropriate snacks. The school gave students with allergies a lunch space specifically for them. Here’s where the debate comes in.

I’ve heard stories of parents telling other parents they’re endangering their children’s lives by allowing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at the playground. I’ve recently read a blog where an entire neighborhood received a letter requesting that no one, yes no one, hand out any candy that may be a potential peanut threat on Halloween. Rather than simply monitoring the treats her children select, this parent is trying to get every house in the neighborhood to accommodate the minority with allergies. I don’t want to downplay her concerns. Peanut allergies are very real and can be fatal. But I don’t see parents of children allergic to bee sting requesting their entire neighborhood stop planting flowers.

I don’t know what the answer is. My instincts are that parents need to teach their children what’s okay to eat and monitor them closely until they’re old enough to monitor themselves. The children I knew with diabetes grew into adults who knew how to manage their disease because they learned to self-monitor. Not because their schools banned sugary snacks. I think that schools should be expected to take precautions, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to ban peanut products entirely because of a few allergic kids. Plenty of children are allergic to soy, dairy, eggs, fruit, carpet, dust and mold. We can’t expect schools to accommodate every possible scenario. Or can we? What do you think?