Nut allergies in school

[mommyatty]

DS’s school is totally nut free. There was one kid at one time with a severe contact allergy who hasn’t been in the school since before Covid. Currently there are zero kids in the school with severe contact allergies to nuts.

DS’s school consists almost entirely of neurodivergent kids (dyslexia, ADHD, ASD level 1 are the most common), many of whom have food sensory issues and are on meds that suppress their appetites. There are 7 kids in DS’s grade. Five of us would really be helped if our kids could have peanut butter at school because it’s one of the only proteins they will eat. None of the kids has a contact allergy. The only one with an actual nut allergy is DS, who again isn’t affected if he’s not the one eating the nuts. And I’m one of the parents asking that they relax the rule. So I’m trying to get a gut feel for how other schools handle this.

To clarify, if there was a child with a severe allergy, I would be 100% in favor of going nut free and we would all just deal with it. (We are all in agreement that safety is an absolute.) But… there isn’t one.

[waverly]

We are a nut free school.


But I think during Covid something changed, and they switched to the nut free table. I am not sure if they switched back or not. I only hear that info second hand from the kids. It is not advertised.

[cjcouple]

I'm not sure.

We are not nut free and I'm pretty sure there was a special table in elementary. However, once middle school started I assume it switched to a case by case basis but I'm not positive on that.

[AdaraMarie]

My 5th grader is allergic to nuts and there are no restrictions at her school. It stressed me out a lot when she was little.

[twinmomma]

At the elementary level there's a nut free table in the cafeteria and specific classrooms are nut free if there's a kid that year who has a severe allergy.

Beau's son is allergic to nuts (among many other things) and I'm 90% sure his school doesn't do anything at all about it. They barely remember to give him the special allergen friendly treats that we make sure they have on hand for him so he's not left out.

[dglvrk2]

Aug 14, 2023 8:46:26 GMT -5 twinmomma said:

At the elementary level there's a nut free table in the cafeteria and specific classrooms are nut free if there's a kid that year who has a severe allergy.

DD2's elementary school is similar.

DD1 is in middle school and they are less vigilant.

[macmars45]

At DS' elementary school there is no mention of nut allergy anything. I ask his teacher every year. DS is autistic and peanut butter is a main source of his protein due to food sensory challenges.

[mustardseed2007]

The public school we are zoned to has a not free table. 

Our school is small and everyone eats outside unless the weather is bad, in which case kids eat at desks. Their nut policy is on a case by case basis and we've never had a nut allergy classmate. 

[supertrooper1]

This is DS's 3rd year in the elementary school and nothing has been said all 3 years about being nut free. They eat in a cafeteria so they may have a nut free table that I'm not aware of. In K-2, they ate in their classrooms and he had 1 year of being nut free due to an allergy.

[186momx]

DD's current school is the opposite. Middle School...if you have anything with nuts you eat at a special table. She says they have a designated nut table and if you bring anything with nuts you are supposed to eat there. This way it doesn't single out anyone who has a nut allergy.

DD's elementary school was nut aware and each table had a section where kids with PBJ could go eat it.

The school uses sun butter.

[CrazyLucky]

We're asked not to send nut containing snacks to school.
I just dropped my kids off at camp yesterday and they weren't allowed to keep the snacks they brought because there was no disclaimer on the box that they were made in a nut free facility. That's a step beyond what school does. But then I got to eat Krimpets on the way home, so all was good.

[mae0111]

DD1’s first school (public) had nut-free tables.

The kids’ last school (small Catholic) was 100% nut free. Most parents were good about it. It was hard for us because my picky kids couldn’t bring PBJ, most granola bars they liked, protein bars, etc.

Their new school has 2 campuses - 5-8 on one side of the street and 9-12 on the other.

Not only is 5-8 nut-free, but apparently they had a “no outside food” rule. Lunch is included in tuition. Im not sure that’s still in place, but we will likely be breaking it if only to get fresh fruit that they like into their lunches.

[k3am]

We do not have any restrictions on nuts, but kids with allergies either eat at a separate table or just not by the nut eating kids (honestly not sure which). School provided lunches use sun butter on sandwich days.

Both aftercare programs on campus ARE nut free, which confuses me to no end, but it is what it is.

[ckay]

Our school has a nut free lunch table and school provided food is nut free, kids can bring in nut products from home. Classrooms with students with nut allergies are nut free for snacks which are eaten in the classroom

[erbear]

We're on a case by case basis. If there is a kid in the middle school who has an airborne allergy, we're 100% nut free. If a grade has a child with a contact allergy, they are nut free. If it's only an allergy if ingested, we ask kids not to bring nuts to share but kids can have nuts.

[sdlaura]

Our preschool is nut free - elementary and up has a nut free table.

[traveltheworld]

Ours is a nut-free school. DS is allergic, but only if he eats it. One of his closest friends has severe food issues and can only eat almond-flour products, and every year her mom has to write to the school to let her class be non-nut-free. For the years that she and DS are in the same class, she cc's me and I vouch for the fact that we are fine with her daughter eating almond flour products in class. We recently had to do the same for their sleep-away camp (which is also nut-free).

I think once the kids are over a certain age, schools/camps are a bit more accommodating.

[vasc]

mommyatty I wonder if the school feels that since nuts is your son’s allergy, they just aren’t willing to risk the chance for liability reasons.

Maybe a note from his doctor confirming his allergy is mild would help strengthen your case?

[mommyatty]

vasc- my understanding is that it’s one faculty member whose now-grown daughter had a nut allergy and it’s sort of her thing. The rule was in place before we joined the school. If they wanted to protect DS they would ban mangoes. He’s allergic to cashews and mangoes. He won’t go near a cashew, but he will cut someone to get to some mango sorbet. Which brings me to the absurdity of saying you’re “allergy aware” and then only banning tree nuts. There’s a kid in his school allergic to eggs. Do we need to ban egg products because he might eat one?

[twinmomma]

mommyatty it is wild that schools only care about nut allergies. DS is allergic to nuts, wheat, dairy, and eggs. But nuts are the only allergy that come up in any talk of allergies related to schools.

ETA: not that we would expect them to ban all that stuff by any means. I just think it’s weird that nuts are the only allergy anyone worries about in public.

[katiecj6]

In Canada, nuts were banned from school. My DS has a kid in his class that was very allergic, so his teacher only allowed "class snacks" to be store bought with a nut free label.

However, in Brazil, there isn't a ban or restrictions on any foods at school. And also, I have yet to meet anyone who is allergic to nuts. I know one guy who has once had a reaction to mushrooms and I do know a whole bunch of people that consider themselves lactose intolerant.

[livinitup]

In elementary, the whole cafeteria was nut-free and DD said the teachers checked their lunch boxes when they walked in for snacks/food with nuts. In middle school, the each classroom was labeled nut-free - I remember seeing the signs on the door.

[livinitup]

In elementary, the whole cafeteria was nut-free and DD said the teachers checked their lunch boxes when they walked in for snacks/food with nuts. In middle school, the each classroom was labeled nut-free - I remember seeing the signs on the door.

[sandandsea]

Our school allows nuts and has separate nut free and gluten free tables for kids with severe allergies to sit at to avoid contact allergies. From
What I understand in a school of 500-600 very very few sit there, like usually none.

Which brings up a good point noted above, nut free is common but what about everything else like gluten, etc? When ds started kinder it was only a nut free table but in first grade they added gluten free.

[sillygoosegirl]

No peanuts, but tree nuts are allowed at our homeschool co-op.

Somewhat irrelevant for us, as DD is afraid of nuts and nut butters since her preschool went nut-free when she was 4. I can't tell you how many times I've explained to her that nuts are healthy and SHE doesn't have an allergy, but she doesn't seem to buy it.

[rhian]

Lurker on this board, but saw the allergy post. Our daycare is both peanut and tree nut free. I've learned a lot more about allergies since my son was diagnosed with a sesame allergy last year, and it's not clear to me why so many childcare facilities and schools ban nuts but not other allergens. The most common allergens in young children are dairy and egg, and peanut/tree nut allergies are not more likely to cause anaphylaxis. In my son's class, none of the kids have nut allergies, but he has a sesame allergy, and few other kids have a dairy allergy. Yet we are all allowed to send sesame and dairy in for lunch, but not any nuts. We don't expect them to be sesame free, and follow the no nut rules, but the logic of which foods are allowed and not allowed doesn't seem to make sense to me. We have been happy with how the center has handled food allergies overall, which makes me wonder if they are nut free simply because people expect childcare centers to be nut free, rather than any compelling medical/safety reason.