Instead of schools banning nut products, should allergic kids be home-schooled?

Question

Peanut butter is a huge staple for most kids--why punish all of them for one allergic kid??
I say home school them and let the majority be happy.

I'm talking about kids so terribly allergic that they can DIE from a single SMELL of peanuts in a room.

Maybe it's nature's way of assuring that this allergy won't get passed on. Survival of the allergy-free, if you will.....

Answer 1

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few"

First off, I believe anybody with an allergy to peanuts that is deathly severe should be locked into a bubble or eliminated. Such allergies are not passed on genetically, but the tendency to develop them is, and to me this is a genetic defect/weakness. (c'mon people; let's clean up the gene pool a bit)

Secondly, I hate children...unfortunately I was one at one point, but I'm trying to repress the memories. But that aside, I know that, no matter what I want, children will be around, and the only way to make them tolerable is to help them grow and mature.

Now these children go to schools (public or private in most cases) which I believe is vital. This gives them a chance to socialize, learn the skills necessary to socialize when they are older, and for some people in this country, the school lunch program gives them a meal they might not normally be able to have due to poor living conditions. The school must always consider what is best for the most students while still trying to maintain a focus on each child as an individual.

This meal, in order to remain both appealing and nutritionally balanced, must be varied. And like it or not, nuts and soy products are a HUGE part of our dietary requirements (proteins, vitamins, etc.)

Now all said and done, let's talk about the impact of peanut-allergy students in public schools:
1) NO students can EVER bring any food/product into the building that could have POSSIBLY come into contact with a nut product. This would mean that parents would have to ensure their children's clothing was never exposed to any nut dust/oils (so no making little Johnny a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast before he goes to school; the oils could get on his clothing!) This creates entirely WAY too much stress on the children and the families (who don't even have an allergic child)
2) Schools must make special exceptions with the food service programs to ensure that EVERY product that comes into the building has never been exposed to any kind of nut in any way shape or form, creating additional work, stress *and expenses* for the schools, which ultimately has to come from taxes, therefore making familes EVERYWHERE pay for the trouble.
3) All school staff will have to be trained how to deal with a student having a severe allergic reaction, creating even MORE costs and work for the school staff.
4) IF, after all safeguards are provided and followed, a student has a reaction to something, many children will likely be devastated. Counselors and therapists will have to be consulted, and I wouldn't be surprised if the parents of the child would file a law suit.

All said and done, I believe any child stricken with a deadly allergy that will force so many other people to change THEIR ways and create so many additional costs to everybody else should be isolated in a home environment and/or a plastic bubble(if not "removed from society", if you catch my meaning).



It is the epitome of selfishness to believe that every other person in the world should change their ways to keep that one child safe.
Like I said; "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few".

If you're a religious person, you should be believing this more than anybody else....I believe the man who taught so many people this very principle by his sacrifice was named "Jesus"?

One last thought; what parent in their right mind would WANT to expose their child to such a huge risk? If a parent isn't going to do their job of protecting their child (the whole function of a parent) then I think perhaps that parent deserves to lose their child.

Answer 2

I know exactly what you are taiking about. To the previous poster (Rose) if your brother is THAT allergic to peanuts, why would you want to put him in an environment where he is in constant danger?

My office-mate's daughter is in elementary school right now with a child that has a SEVER nut allergy - if he smells it, he could die. Not only is the entire class not allowed to bring peanut products to school - they are not allowed to participate in afternoon break beacuse they can't be certain that EVERY item in the vending machine is peanut free.

The teacher has even asked that the parents refrain from letting their children eat paenut butter and peanut products at home.

When does it become the best interest of everyone to separate these children and allow the 99.9% of the other children to live normal lives? I feel exceptionally sorry for these "nut allergy" children and I am not entirely sure that home schooling is the way to go, but there should be alternatives. This issue has nothing to do with Rosa Parks or racism - it has everything to do with keeping kids safe.

Perhaps if a child has cancer we should force all the other children to take chemo - or at the very least get all their heads shaved... anything less wouldn't be right!

Answer 3

Should Rosa Parks not have rode the bus at all just to make a majority happy? My brother is allergic to peanut butter and is about to go to school in a year. Do you know that if he even touches it he will die? Did you know that 1 in 3 people have a food allergy? Also, did you know that 100 people (mostly children who go to school) die a year because of food allergies? That's 8 people per month, 1 person per week.

Saying kids with food allergies don't have the same right as "normal" or the "majority" of children is wrong. Its a health problem just like A.D.D, sleep disorders, and being a diabetic. All affect friends, family and the "majority" but they are still allowed to go to school.

I hope I enlightened you to your obvious ignorance of food allergies and maybe you will not be so insensitive to people who have been affected by it.

Answer 4

Here's the problem. Some kids don't know they have nut allergies until they have a bad reaction and/or go into anaphylactic shock (i.e stop breathing). Some people are mildly sensitive others risk dying. The extreme cases are the ones to watch and perhaps make other arrangements. Schools are susceptible to lawsuits so they have to issue the no nuts/peanuts rule to protect themselves. What about kids with aroma allergies (perfumes and colognes worn by teachers)? This is a bigger problem than this forum can handle.

Answer 5

I find it annoying when they make a school peanut free. My kids won't eat cold cuts and I don't know what else to give them. I think home schooling would be a bit extreme, but there should be some kind of compromise. Keep the allergic kids in a different section, perhaps.

Answer 6

No they shouldn't be home-schooled because of an allergy but they should bring a lunch or have like a separate lunch line for kids with allergies such as that. Cook all their food on a completely different stove and use different pans.(Just a thought)

Answer 7

First of all the town has the responsibility to educate all children before it has the responsibility of making sure all students are allowed PB sandwiches.
Secondly, banning PB or seafood only needs to happen in specific and rare cases when a child can have a serious allergic reaction to the airborne proteins.

If this really upset you than you have the CHOICE to send your child to another public school, private school, home school him, or - in certain states - remove him from school.

Answer 8

They're banning too many things these days. I think parents need to be aware of their childs allergies and let the school know, and not every kid is allergic and I don't see why they would ban peatnut butter, that sucks.

Answer 9

The schools should provide a varitiety of foods. Some that are for the ones that are allergic to nut products and another for those who are not.

Answer 10

That would be like using a sledgehammer to kill a mosquito.