Food allergies in your school

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I have helped a few members over the years with issues related to students with food allergies in their classrooms. There is never an easy solution to the issue. A parent with a food allergy kid just wants to protect them the best they can. On the other hand, other parents don't want their children's nutritional choices limited. I think this article does a good job of presenting both sides of the issue.

Many of you out there have had to wrestle with this in your school.

How have you handled the issue in your classroom and your cafeteria?

What policies and procedures are in place to protect students?

What advice can you give to teachers that may have to deal with this in the future?

Comments

[Shaelynn Nordwald]

I am a teacher, but more importantly I am a parent of a child who is allergic to tree nuts. Even being around the oils or dust can cause a severe reaction and possible death if an epipen is not used very quickly. I am so frustrated that my child's medicine is required to be kept in the nurse's office. Should the nurse not be available, busy, or just not able to move fast enough my child could die. I understand that it is not desirable that other children have their right to eat nuts infringed on by my child, however I am only asking that this right be infringed upon between the hours of 8-3 and then only between the months of Aug-May and on Mon-Fri. That leaves a lot of time that the other children can eat nuts. It is not in my child' head nor is it a way for any of us to obtain attention. I am merely trying to protect my child. Even a simple ride on the school bus can become a life threatening experience. My TA child was on the bus one afternoon and a little girl very kindly offered to share food left in her lunchbox. Unfortunately, it was a brownie with walnuts in it. Had she eaten it, the bus driver would have more than likely never known what happened. Even if she did, the driver would have had no way to help while on the bus. The article mentions separating children with food allergies to a separate lunch table. Really?! While I do not equate FA with a disability (however many do), it is impossible to think that any child with any other health problem would be forced to sit by them self or separated due to their health problem.

[Glenn Bussen]

Thank you very much for your perspective on this issue. I know there are a lot of parents and teachers out there that work with FA students every day. Having your experience both sides of the issue is helpful for others to see how this can affect classrooms and families.