response By imatch2

I was not planning on responding again, nor am I trying to stir the pot, but I really feel it necessary to respond to the last post. First, I think it is admirable that you are trained in the use of Epi-pens. I strongly

believe that all teachers should be. I also think your idea of educating other parents in your classroom about alternative foods is a great one. I may even try to use this myself. Where I disagree is when you say it is up to the CHILD to manage this condition. These are children. Some as young as three and four years old in Kindergarten. They can barely manage to do up their

own jackets, let alone manage something as life threatening as someone in their class having a snack containing nuts. Parents who get "annoyed" with the "allergy family" don't "get" it at all. They are letting their selfish sides out.

I strongly believe that schools with peanut allergies should be nut free. It is all about education. Yes, sometimes merely the smell can trigger an attack, and we all know that the smell of peanut butter lingers. Crumbs can be left behind and inadvertantly handled. Whether you want to believe it or not, this can trigger a reaction. Yes, the world is not peanut free. Nobody expects it to be. But I do think that as educators and caregivers, we can (and should) make every effort to make our own little worlds nut free so that for that part of the day these children (and their parents) can worry a little less.

As these children grow up, they do become more aware and are more effective at policing themselves and educating others, but in elementary school, I think it is too much to ask of them to do this on their own, or with minimal assistance.

All children in our system grow up now knowing about the severity of nut allergies; indeed, they learn about other allergies as well. Parents have come to accept that this is the norm in most of our schools. This acceptance did not, by any means, happen overnight. It takes time. There was and continues to be some resistance at first. But, when the situation is explained in a rational way, most rational parents can and do understand that we have the safety of all children at heart, and if a situation arises with their child, we would do the same to make them feel safe. That's part of our job.

Nobody is trying to make this as big as Live Aid, whatever that means. Those of us who support a nut free school environment merely want to protect all children from potential harm. It is not as difficult as many on this thread have made it out to be. It takes time, perseverence, and education.

View the original thread this idea was posted on

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