When parents start referring to the time period their kids have gone
snackless at school by the exact count of days, you know they're pretty
ticked off. And parents of some kindergarteners in my state of
Pennsylvania are complaining to the school board because their kids have been missing their afternoon snacks
since the beginning of the year. While I can certainly relate,
having contended with some hungry, grumpy kindergarteners myself, I'm
thinking there could be a little more compassion here. You see,
the reason these kids have gone snackless is because one student among
them has severe allergies, so severe that they could go into
anaphylactic shock if they consume or even come near one of the potential foods they're
allergic to.
It
almost looks, though, like a classic case of "he said, she said."
The school contends that they submitted a list of "safe" snacks that
can be brought into the classroom for parties, holidays and on every
Friday, while the parents claim they have seen no such list. But
meanwhile, you've got a classful of hungry kids and one that could die
if the wrong food is brought in. What to do, what to do....
What
my kids' school did was to ban the offending substances, not only from
the classroom of the allergic child but from the entire school.
Yep, because one child is severely allergic to peanuts and tree nuts,
all the other kids are eating Sunbutter (made from sunflower seeds and
actually quite tasty!) and soy butter. No big deal, you get used
to it. And at least you know you're not going to inadvertantly
cause a death one day when you send lunch along with your kid at
school. I'm wondering if perhaps a little education about anaphylactic allergies could help these parents, and maybe a big dose of compassion.
What
do you think? Have nuts or other foods been banned in your
child's school to accommodate someone with allergies? How do you
feel about that?
