One 5-year-old's allergy leads to class peanut ban [lunch searches?????]

SF Chronicle ^

[Sub-Driver]

An East Bay elementary school's ban on peanut butter sandwiches and other nut products in its kindergarten classes has some parents questioning whether school district administrators overreacted to concerns for one allergic child.

At the center of the storm is a 5-year-old boy enrolled at Valle Verde Elementary School in Walnut Creek. He suffers from "peanut and tree nut" allergies that his mother says are life-threatening.

[Sub-Driver]

nut-free zone sums it up............

[Wolfie]

This is not an unusual occurance.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

"My son is allergic to dust mites," said one woman. "Can we get rid of dust mites on campus?"

Dust mites won't kill your child, lady.

[Question_Assumptions]

Better to inconvenience a thousand than to inconvenience one, I guess.

[jae471]

I used to work a summer day-camp back in HS and College. Any kids with allergies had an epi-pen with them. Never had any problems, and only heard of an epi-pen being used once (for a bee sting, nonetheless), despite many kids having (potentially fatal) nut allergies, and many others bring PB&J lunches.

[aspiring.hillbilly]

WHAT PASSES FOR SCHOOL THESE DAYS:

Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.
If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.

Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.

We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks.
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Se nior King.
It's "inappropriate" to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such "judgments" do not belong.

We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.
It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take

[mhking]

Just damn.

If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[EggsAckley]

....hmmmm......"nut free zone".................Maybe a new category for FR........

~</;o)

[mrbillxx]

When I was growing up I hardly ever remember any kids with any allergies, no Asthma, we were always pretty healthy. Have we gotten wimpier..or are we becoming a nation of Hypocondriacs... or what?

[ctlpdad]

one of my twins was in such a class. they had to wash their hands before walking into class.

It was voluntary - if a parent had a real big deal, the kid didn't have to be in that class. it was no big deal.

[CSM]

I guess he will never fly anywhere to travel. The passenger sitting next to him might actually consume the peanuts offered by the airlines.

This kid and mother would be better served to learn not to contact peanut oil products, instead of forcing the entire class to abstain from these products.

Imagine being 5 years old and you can't enjoy a PB&J Sandwich. Tis a shame.

[EggsAckley]

A child with such a serious allergy is not learning how to live with it if the world is "sanitized" for him. By five this kid should be already carrying the meds for this.

Is this mother going to force this issue for the rest of his life?

[Elvis van Foster]

I have a young niece that has taken to the hospital in life and death situations because of her peanut allergy. A year ago a little boy died in one of the local schools after being given a peanut-laced cookie that he ate. This was after the school was alerted to the danger, and after the little boy told the person handing them out of his problem, and was assured that the cookie was fine.

There are so many chances of things going fatal when peanut products are handled carelessly around pre-teen kids. The older ones are able to negotiate around the landmines fairly easily, althought my niece has been falsely assured that peanut oils haven't been used at several restaurants - - and nearly paid the ultimate price for their casualness.

Most people just don't understand the seriousness of the problem. I hate to see an otherwise beneficial product banned because of a few, but we're not talking about just getting sick or receiving a migraine. School districts that that allow pre-teens to be exposed are asking to be sued.

[TexasNative2000]

The airlines don't offer peanuts anymore - for this very reason. Be prepare to choke down some stale pretzels.

[Gabz]

Imagine being 5 years old and you can't enjoy a PB&J Sandwich. Tis a shame.

I agree - and so would my 5yo who specifically asked for PB&J for her lunch today.

[Savage Beast]

The entire United States should be made a nut free zone. Not only would nut-allergic children be safe at last, but "Liberalism" and other forms of decadence would be a thing of the past, and America could procede with its ascendancy.

[Just another Joe]

"My child's allergies are life-threatening," she said.

If I had a child with, "life threatening allergies", they certainly wouldn't be going to public school.

[N3WBI3]

Peanut alergies are brutal, shot of having a peanut free shcool somewhere in the district there is not much you can do. You do understand it could kill this kid..

[finnman69]

Forget Anthrax or VX, Al Qaeda is now working on the peanut butter bomb to use on US kindergartens.

[honeygrl]

A lot of schools do this nowadays. I've heard of it happening at many schools, especially elementary schools, when one or more student has such a bad allergy. I can't decide if I agree or disagree with it either because on one hand: a five yr old isn't old enough to understand how important it is to refuse anything with peanuts or know which foods might contain peanuts (like some candies)... on the other hand: all the other students are punished because of one kid... i think the kid might be better in a small private school where the teacher could monitor the kid more closely and be prepared in case he accidently got something he shouldn't.. or maybe homeschool until the kid is old enough to know what foods to refuse and why to refuse them.