Coping With Peanut Allergies In School

Filed in archive Food Allergies , Living with Allergies on April 21, 2006

My son suffers from peanut allergies. So far, except for minor mishaps, we've managed to eradicate peanuts from his immediate environment. When he was still a baby, and until he went to kindergarten, it was fairly easy to monitor and make sure that he doesn't come in contact with peanuts.

When he started attending kindergarten, it was also fairly easy, since my son was not the first to have food problems. Kids had all sorts of eating "disorders": peanut allergies, milk allergies, coeliac disease, and other food allergies of all levels of sensitivity. The teachers were well-versed and had enough experience with dealing with such, that my mind was at peace.

But how will it be like when he goes to school? Clearly, I have to find a school that is considerate and addresses such allergy issues. Here's a story of one mother whose son is allergic to peanuts, telling how it can be without the support of school administrators.

"I have spent much time up at the school trying to keep Brandon safe. Another parent and I take turns during lunch monitoring the peanut-free-table in the lunchroom because there aren't enough lunch aides provided by the school to monitor the table. We also had concerns about the children in the class having peanut butter residue on their hands after lunch and asked if the children could use wipes to wipe up after lunch.

The principal told us that this was fine if we wanted to provide the wipes and come each day to pass them out. "

If the school is not taking your kids' food allergies seriously and are not taking enough steps to protect them from possibly-lethal reactions, know that there are steps you can do. For one you can nominate your school to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network's School Food Allergy Program(SFAP), an educational awareness program designed for educators. Find out how you can be a pal and protect a life from food allergies.