Because so many kids have peanut allergies, I’ve heard that many schools have banned peanut butter at school, i.e., no kids can bring it for lunch or as a snack.
Where I teach, we have not banned it; in fact, the discussion hasn’t even come up.
I might have added the choice, ‘Not Yet’ to the survey. Our local school board has been showing an increased awareness of PC lately . . .
I picked the let me explain option. I’ve worked in two districts that “banned” peanut butter. However, their vegetairan/cold option is usually those Smucker’s pb and j crustless thingies. So, I don’t really see how’s that banning it. If someone is severly allergic and comes in contact with someone who ate it, they could still get sick.
Just like, parents aren’t allowed to give sweets in their children’s lunch in the former district I worked at. Usually, they try to ban the parents from bringing sweets for birthday/parties, but that isn’t enforced as much. However, the teachers are always bringing in sweets for parties and what usually just to brib the students.
I believe our daughter’s school requests peanut products not to be taken to school on a classroom by classroom basis based on whether or not there are any students in the class with an allergy.
Man, I would have starved if they had done that in mine. I ate peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches every day for months. Mom says she was so tired of making it for me, that it got so bad she started hating the very smell of peanutbutter.
Nope. In fact, peanut butter is the consistent “alternative” lunch. If you don’t like what is being served, are vegetarian (or have some other dietary restriction against what is being served), you get peanut butter.
My daughter says peanut butter is allowed at her school, and PB&J sandwiches are offered as an alternative if a student doesn’t like what the cafeteria is serving that day. The kids aren’t allowed to share their peanut butter with others, though, in case of allergies.
The elementary schools in our board are all peanut-free. Then each school is able to “ban” other items as necessary. My daughter’s school was plum-free. My friend’s daughter’s school was seafood free (so no PB, no tuna, no salmon).
My son went to grade 9 (beginning of High School in this board) and found that the high schools no longer ban foods. Score! He makes himself a PB&J about once a week for lunch. I guess they figure if you make it to 14 you should be able to steer clear of your allergen.
My kids school is k-8. In the lower grades it’s banned as kids are notorious for being messy. From 6-8 is completely allowed as allergic kids may have outgrown their allergy or are old enough to take personal responsibility for not sharing foods, washing hands etc. Their is no cafe, the kids eat in their classrooms, so for the younger kids it does make sense as they are policing themselves a bit more than in a large school with cafe workers cleaning up.
I’ve heard of it happening, but haven’t seen it myself.
You have to know that schools are basically made to prevent lawsuits. This creates ludicrous situations like banned book lists, metal detectors at the doors, lockdowns, etc.
Lemme 'splain:
1st-5th grade at least: Snacks, which are eaten the classroom are supposed to be peanut free. Lunches are not restricted, but kids with any nut allergies eat at the nut-free table. They’re lunch cards are also flagged in the system, so if they try to buy a lunch with nuts (pb&j sandwiches are the only lunch offering that isn’t nut free). Other kids can sit in the nut-free area if they want to sit with their friends, but must have they’re lunch checked first.
6th & above - I’m not sure - none of my kids have reached that grade yet.
My daughter is allergic to all nuts, and we’re satisfied with the current setup.
I voted no, but of course I’ll 'splain anyway.
We’re 1 for 2. The last school we were at was a private Catholic school, and peanuts and peanut butter was banned completely from the school for allergy concerns. “Someone” in the preschool was allergic, we were told. Even prepackaged foods like granola bars had their labels scrutinized, and a couple of times we were admonished for bringing in something with a “made in a facility which also processes peanuts” disclaimer, even though the actual product didn’t have peanuts. That, I thought, was overboard. Lady, if your kid is *that *allergic, it’s time to consider homeschooling.
The current school is a public CPS charter school, and there is a boy in my daughter’s class who is allergic to peanuts, so we’re asked to make sure there’s no peanut/peanut butter in any snacks to be shared, like birthday treats, but our children may bring them in their own lunches. The kids all know it’s Tristan that’s allergic, but I don’t know if that’s because the teacher identified him by name or if Tristan let the other kids know. He’s never been identified to me by name by the teacher or school, but of course my daughter couldn’t wait to share the information. (Of course, she’s not bound by HIPAA *or *FERPA, so there!)
Only thing that bugs me is that no one’s asked to avoid gluten for birthday treats. I send a gluten free cupcake or treat in with my daughter on birthday celebration days, instead, so she has her cupcake while everyone else shares something. I mean, I don’t mind the extra work, but it would be nice to be accommodating to all the food issues if you’re going to accommodate one, wouldn’t it? Bah, humbug. On the other hand, her issue isn’t a true allergy, so I haven’t pressed the point. But the whole class is getting a gluten free, peanut free birthday treat next week for my daughter’s birthday, darnit!
Are peanut allergies becoming more common or were there really a bunch of kids dying or being hospitalized from PB&J exposure when I was young and it just never got any press? It was pretty much the standard when I was a kid, when I think of elementary school lunch a brown bag with peanut butter sandwiches is what comes to mind.
Not this year. The school my son went to last year was completely nut free. One day, I realized the banana muffin I had sent in with him had walnuts and I called the school, lest he be suspended for coming to school with a weapon. 
We are prohibited from sending in edible treats for birthdays. And for things like Halloween and Valentine’s Day, the schools do what they call “Party in a bag”. Each kid’s parents are responsible for sending in a bag with a sweet snack, a salty snack, a drink, and sometimes a small gift (at Christmas, for example) and the teachers then pass them out. It used to be that they were distributed randomly except for the kids with food allergies, but now they do it so your own kid gets the bag you pack.
Which is, not surprisingly, exactly the point where its most dangerous.
Little kids tend to be supervised and watched. They are often dramatic rules followers.
Teenagers stop believing authority. They also believe themselves to be immortal and are prone to taking risks. A teenager who has a peanut allergy might say “yeah, its not REALLY going to kill be.”
(I personally don’t think it should be banned anywhere - and that you shouldn’t bring snacks to school for birthdays - not only due to food allergies/senstivities/restrictions but also because my kids don’t need more junk food in their lives. But I’m a two way grinch about things like that).
At my school (age 14) we were banned from doing a science experiment as described in the textbook where you burn a peanut under a beaker of water, and work out how much energy has been transferred to the water, on the grounds that someone could have an undiagnosed peanut allergy.
They still served food containing peanuts in the canteen though. :smack:
Peanut allergies are real, but also rare. I have a suspicion most mothers who claim their child is “allergic to peanuts” are wrong. These mothers thrive on the attention and drama of having a child with a peanut allergy, and the control that goes along with it. Show me a mother who claims their child has a peanut allergy, and I’ll show you a mother that (probably) has psychological issues…
No restrictions at my kids’ (private catholic) school.
How come no kids ever had peanut allergies when I was a kid, and now every third kid is deathly allergic all of a sudden?
I teach preschool in a private school. Banning peanuts goes by classroom. It’s a rare year that we don’t have a child with a nut allergy but it does happen. A lot of kids now eat “sunbutter” that is similar to peanut butter but made from sunflower seeds. (I’m sure it costs more, but otherwise seems to be a good compromise.)