School lunchbox bans driving parents nuts

[patchoo78]

PARENTS are in revolt over school lunchbox restrictions with four out of five complaining schools are overly concerned about food bought to school and one in three objecting to the banning of nuts.

Even the Allergy and Anaphylaxis Association says school-wide bans on nuts in lunchboxes aren't effective and the president of the Primary Principals Association Norm Hart says they are ''wrong'' and can't be enforced.

However Marita Ishac, the mother of seven-year-old Stephanie who suffers from a severe allergy to pistachio nuts, says nuts should be banned.

''The reaction comes on so quickly it's scary,'' she said.

''They should be more sensitive. If they want their kids to have nuts serve them at home,'' she said.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/health-fitness/school-lunchbox-bans-driving-parents-nuts/...

Does anyone here have any kids/grandies with allergies?

[azureline**]

None of ours are allergic to nuts but one goes to a school that has banned them. It does make things difficult as that child has a limited diet and peanut butter is the only thing he actually likes.

I think that as much as I believe all children should be able to attend school safely, more attention could be paid to restricting access to food, to the affected child. Separate eating at morning tea and lunch?

[karliandjacko]

No and I don't agree with food bans.

[catsnknots]

My son went to a school that had a child that had nut allergies... 

all the teachers were educated on how to use the epipen and the child was well educated on her responsibilities. No need for a nut ban... 

Children should be encouraged to wash their hands before and after eating... that would do wonders... 

[jonnjenn]

I recently discovered how yummy pistachios are.

I googled out of curiosity and saw they are culinary rather than botanical nuts-

mango is in the same family.

The question is are pistachios as dangerous as true nuts as far as Anaphylaxis goes.?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pistachio

[punch*drunk]

There is a child in my daughters class with a nut allergy. They are taught to eat anything with nuts away from said child and wash their hands and table after eating.

I dont like the idea of banning foods, it doesnt teach the child with allergies to be careful, nor does it teach the non allergic kids to be considerate.

[daydream**believer]

My son has a severe allergy to cashews and egg whites.

I dont agree with banning them.

My son has been taught to manage his allergy. He knows not to share food and so he doesnt.

[katydidthat]

Patchoo, I gave my son his first peanut butter sandwich when he was one year old.  After one bit, he vomited and then immediately came up with large white blotches all over his body.  

I took him to be tested for a PB allergy and he tested negative to antibodies, but scored 7 or 8 out of 10 on a patch test.  The advice I got from the medical profession was "keep him away from nuts".  I had to do the research myself.  

For a decade I religiously read each and every label.  Most of the time, my son couldn't eat store bought ice cream, chocolate (bless you Mr Kinnerton and Lindt), cakes, many lollies, processed foods, curries, biscuits, and so many other things.  

When someone is allergic to peanuts, they usually can't eat other nut because nuts are generally stored in a large warehouse with peanuts, so all nuts may contain traces of peanuts.  

I provided a range of schools with epipens, antihistamines, links to videos about how to use epipens.  I had to have three epipens current at a time.  One for my handbag, one for school, one for childcare.  At the time, they cost $100 each.  

Now, he seems to have grown out of his allergy, but it was awful to have to worry so much about him ... just a smear of PB on another kid's hands touching my son's hands and him touching his mouth ... 

Someone who has anaphylaxis and ingests an allergen will have their tongue swell up and their airways stopped.  If not treated, the chances of death are high.  

The consequences can be so awful ... not only for the child and family, but for all the school kids, staff ... and their families.  Especially the person who had the PB.  

So, to my mind it's easier to ban nut products and reduce the risks.  And the worry.  

We restrict people going to school with knives, or other dangerous things, we restrict kids wearing most jewellery items ... PB can be just as dangerous.  

[daydream**believer]

I recently discovered how yummy pistachios are.

I googled out of curiosity and saw they are culinary rather than botanical nuts-

mango is in the same family.

The question is are pistachios as dangerous as true nuts as far as Anaphylaxis goes.?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pistachio

 i dont know about pistachios, but my son is allergic to cashews yet is able to eat peanuts.

Nut info is here

http://allergies.about.com/od/nutallergy/a/Tree-Nut-Allergy.htm

[chuk_77]

our school is egg and nut aware.

Cant even have egg cartons in our service 

we do alright using egg replacer in our cooking activities but the kids miss out on some great crafts coz we cant use the egg cartons