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Is your child's elementary school nut/peanut-free?  

post #1 of 43
10/6/08 at 7:40pm
Thread Starter 
Both of my children have food allergies. In addition to some milder ones, my DD is severely allergic to peanuts, and my DS is severely allergic to tree nuts. My dd's preschool was already nut/peanut free before we started going there, but the attached elementary school has no policies even though there is another child in grade 6 with a severe peanut allergy.

I will be meeting with the principal in the coming weeks to discuss strategies for keeping my dd safe when she enters kindergarten next year, and I'm wondering if I should request the school be peanut-free, or request only for for other types of strategies. There are pros and cons with the peanut ban which are rather lengthy to get into.

So, if your child goes to elementary school (public or private) anywhere in Canada, or you know of friends' kids' schools, can you post and let me know whether the school is peanut/nut free, and what province you're in?

Thanks so much.
post #2 of 43
10/6/08 at 7:43pm
I know that this isn't a popular opinion, but if your child is that allergic you should consider special schooling. Maybe a school that is already peanut free.
post #3 of 43
10/6/08 at 7:53pm
My daughter goes to Lord Roberts Annex downtown Vancouver and there is no official policy for the school, but each class is different. I know that the class next to hers has a child that has an allergy so it is posted on the class doors. They also try to teach the kids to be aware and take charge of their own bodies. I don't know if it helps...

Good luck!!
post #4 of 43
10/6/08 at 7:56pm
I am in a suburb of Edmonton AB and I don't know of a school in my town that is *not* peanut/nut free. Personally, I think all schools should be.

It hasn't been an inconvenience for me. I bought sunflower seed butter for dd's lunches and have never looked back.

I notice that an increasing amount of the "convenience" snacks packaged and marketed for kids' lunches have the label "made in a peanut-free facility" on them,
post #5 of 43
10/6/08 at 9:09pm
My kids go to a school in East Van. There is no policy that I know of, but I have seen "peanut free" signs on classrooms when there is a kid with a peanut allergy.
post #6 of 43
10/6/08 at 9:20pm
My dd's public school in Ontario is peanut/nut free. In addition, some classes have extra restrictions (fish, peas, etc) if a kid with an unusual allergy is in the class. I'm pretty sure all the public schools around here are like that.
post #7 of 43
10/6/08 at 9:23pm
I live in Victoria; my son is just in preschool this year, but I seem to recall Oaklands Elementary is nut-free and possibly dairy-free, too. I'm pretty sure there are other schools which are nut-free; however, it is certainly not the norm here.
post #8 of 43
10/6/08 at 11:15pm
Most schools that I know of make an effort to keep peanuts away from school by educating parents and patrolling kids' lunches to some extent. The vigor with which the rules are applied probably varies a lot though. I have certainly never sent a nutty snack to school with any of my kids. In my experience and that of my friends with an allergic child, schools are generally very reluctant to offer a guarantee of being nut (or other allergen) free because of liability issues.
post #9 of 43
10/6/08 at 11:29pm
I'm in Montreal (Quebec), and my daughter's school is totally nut-free. We are not allowed to make the kids peanut butter sandwiches, etc. and they are really very strict about it. I believe most schools here (Montreal) have nut-free policies.
post #10 of 43
10/7/08 at 12:32am
No, no policy at ds's private school in North Vancouver
I have seen at least 2 preschools in north van where they have a no-peanut rule, and also at the West Van family place.
post #11 of 43
10/7/08 at 1:08am
I've worked at a peanut free public school in Burnaby (not sure if it is still peanut free as the student who was VERY allergic is now in high school). The school I'm teaching at now has 2 peanut free classrooms (where there are students with nut allergies).
post #12 of 43
10/7/08 at 3:13am
Thread Starter 
Thanks so much for the info and the support, everyone! Keep the info coming in!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aubergine68 View Post
It hasn't been an inconvenience for me. I bought sunflower seed butter for dd's lunches and have never looked back.
Oh my, you are an allergic parent's dream!
Quote:
I notice that an increasing amount of the "convenience" snacks packaged and marketed for kids' lunches have the label "made in a peanut-free facility" on them
Yes, you're absolutely right. I can only imagine how much more difficult it was for allergic parents in the past when it wasn't as common!
Quote:
Originally Posted by robugmum View Post
Most schools that I know of make an effort to keep peanuts away from school by educating parents and patrolling kids' lunches to some extent.
Yes, our meeting with the principal will talk about these methods as well as hand washing, cleaning off table tops, etc.
Quote:
In my experience and that of my friends with an allergic child, schools are generally very reluctant to offer a guarantee of being nut (or other allergen) free because of liability issues.
You're right, and I can understand them not wanting to be liable, because even if they tell the parents not to send nut products, it's really impossible for them to know if a parent forgets and something slips in.

The other part of the policy is on what to do if/when a reaction does occur, and involves epi-pen storage, staff training and emergency procedure.

Thanks so much, everyone!
post #13 of 43
10/8/08 at 6:37pm
Our school went no nuts 3 years ago when our first peanut allergy kid(with epi pen) came into the school. He was in K so he was only there every other day. The kids eat lunches in their classrooms, but the entire school was no nuts, however things that "may contain traces of peanuts) were okay.

The next year another kid came into the school with a more severe peanut allergy plus tree nuts. They tried doing the whole school as not allowing anything that "may contain traces of peanuts" but it was hard. The one day they tried telling my dd she could not have her peanut free, not made in a factory with peanuts granola bar because it had coconut in it. I called the school & the secretary told me they could have coconut(which I knew & that was why I called). A note came home the next day stating that if your child was in this specific classroom then anything that stated it "may contain traces, or made in a factory where peanuts are located" could not be sent. All the other classes are okay with the may contain nuts.

It can't be guaranteed though, today for example a new to our school(but has been in class since Aug 27th when we started) brought Reeces Peanut Butter bars today. A note is sent home at the beginning of the year & in the first newsletter & it is in the agenda. In the 6-7 months I"ve been doing Noon Supervision, this is the FIRST time I've had this happen. I made him put it in his lunchkit & reminded him(as did the rest of the class,lol) that peanuts & peanut products are not allowed. He said he didn't know & I got the impression that he packed his own lunch. If he was in the class with the child who has the allergy I would have made him go & wash his hands/face to get any residue off.
post #14 of 43
10/9/08 at 1:55pm
My children's school is nut free and we're in Ontario. We're big nuts eaters at lunch (particularly almond butter and raw nuts) so it's been a tough adjustment.


I completely understand the school wanting to provide as safe an environment as possible for allergic children.
But I'm wondering how realistic of a teaching environment it is for the child in terms of learning to keep away from nuts? In other words, what is done in other public situations like restaurants, playgrounds, etc.?
post #15 of 43
10/9/08 at 2:09pm
Our school in the Okanagan is nut free.
post #16 of 43
10/9/08 at 2:12pm
I am in Ontario. Our school is not nut free because there are no nut allergic children in our school currently, but the board has a nut free policy for any school where an allergic child is enroled.

Our school does ask that you not send nut products in for the first few weeks so they can make sure there is no allergies.
post #17 of 43
10/9/08 at 2:52pm
Our school is peanut-free (and encouraged to be completely nut-free) and we're in central Ontario. Not a big deal to me.
post #18 of 43
10/9/08 at 11:28pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the info, mamas!
Quote:
Originally Posted by CarrieMF View Post
They tried doing the whole school as not allowing anything that "may contain traces of peanuts" but it was hard.
I allow other kids in my DD's preschool to bring 'may contains' because it's not mandatory for companies to put an allergy warning on their labels. So, just because something isn't labelled as 'may contain', it could in fact, contain traces of the allergen. It just becomes very confusing for other parents, and I know that DD's teachers are taking very good precautions during snack time, and the risk of her having a reaction to another kid's 'may contain' is low.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MamaDaednu View Post
But I'm wondering how realistic of a teaching environment it is for the child in terms of learning to keep away from nuts? In other words, what is done in other public situations like restaurants, playgrounds, etc.?
This is a good point, and just the reason why some parents of allergic children would prefer their school *not* be nut/peanut-free. I agree to some extent, and haven't decided what I'm going to suggest to the principal.

However, one difference is that when an allergic child is at a restaurant, playground, or out in the real world, they are with a parent, or responsible adult who knows a lot about their allergies and how to treat them. At school, the teacher to student ratio sometimes doesn't allow each child to be that closely monitored. Once children are in say high school, they would be expected to take more responsibility for their own safety in a more 'real world' environment. When they are 4 or 5 years old, though, they might require more attention than a teacher is able to provide if allergens were common in their classroom.
post #19 of 43
10/10/08 at 4:02pm
DS' gr 1 classroom in North Van is peanut-free but the rest of the school is not.
post #20 of 43
10/10/08 at 8:41pm
My Ds's Annex in e. Van is nut/junk free. I am not sure how strong the policy holds (new principal this year...that yr the old one was very on top of it) With only 100 kids I am sure if there was a child w/sever/any nut allergy the school would step up more.

East Side Family place is nut free to my knowledge. I know it is scent free for sure....I thin I saw an "no nut" sign.
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