Is the peanut-free table causing segregation in schools? – OC Moms – The Orange County Register.
Dealing with peanuts in the public school is not a small issue. It is hard for schools to ask parents to not include peanut butter in lunches when their kids aren’t allergic. Parents want the right to pack whatever nutritious food they choose.
get allergy wise: Food Allergies in school: our successes.
Here are a list of things, little and big, that have helped to create a safer environment for both my milk-allergic and nut-allergic kiddos:
At the end of the previous school year before summer vacation for teachers and staff, I emailed the school nurse and principal with details about Ryken’s food allergies and history of reactions. The school nurse was especially grateful to have this information in advance so that she could put Ryken on her radar for the new school year.
Be allergy aware – Airdrie Echo – Alberta, CA.
Now that school is back in full swing, parents are being told to refrain from packing any foods in their child’s lunch that may cause another child to suffer an allergic reaction.
Food Allergy Restrictions in School, Too Much or Necessary? – San Ramon, CA Patch.
This week in Parent Chat a reader asks if food restrictions, meant to protect a few children with food allergies at school, are fair to the majority of their classmates who don’t have food allergies.
check out some good tips on back to school readiness for food allergy from The Cookery blog
Get to know your child’s school nurse. Healthcare professionals want to work in partnership with parents. If your child has a food allergy and will be attending school, meet the nurse.
Michelle Strasz from school community healthcare alliance of Michigan writes:
“More and more schools are either designating peanut-free classrooms or going peanut-free in the cafeteria. But, there are more hidden food allergies that can also impact a child’s overall health.”
Studies of children with food allergy indicate that 16 percent to 18 percent have had a reaction in school.”
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Source bethlehem.patch
If you know that your child has a peanut or other food allergy, it is extremely important to inform the teachers and school administration of your child’s needs in the classroom. Supply the school with a list of foods your pediatrician has told your child to avoid and any medication that needs to be administered once a reaction occurs.
The Center for Disease Control reports that “food allergies cause 30,000 cases of anaphylaxis, 2,000 hospitalizations, and 150 deaths annually.” Furthermore, an estimated 3.3 million Americans are allergic to peanuts or tree nuts and 6.9 million are allergic to seafood, which boils down to the fact that one in 25 students will have a food allergy.
by Statesman
“I remember the first year, just before my son was going to enter kindergarten. I had just sat down in the principal’s office before I burst into tears and cried for an hour straight,” she said. Seemingly benign Goldfish crackers and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches might as well be “anthrax,” she said.
Researchers don’t know why, but the number of kids with food allergies is increasing — up to 1 in every 13 from 1 in 25 children, according to a Northwestern University study published in the July 2011 issue of Pediatrics.
“Where we used to have one or two new cases a week, now we have five or six a day,” said Allen Lieberman , an Austin allergist.
Food Allergy Information 