Ah, Back to school! Thank you to the All About Parenting Blog Carnival for reminding me school is around the corner.
Back to school is a time of excitement, new clothes, and the old classic stand by — the PB&J
But, for some children going to a new school this year, it will be a year of Soy Nut Butter sandwiches instead. As more and more schools ban products that aren’t labeled peanut safe, parents who aren’t used to the strict dietary confinements are having to open their hearts and wallets to a new kind of lunch hour.
Peanut Allergies Can Be Fatal
As any parent of a peanut allergic child will tell you, peanut allergies are serious business. Depending on the sensitivity of the child, even a whiff or small fragment of a peanut could cause the child to go into epileptic shock. If the child is not administered EpiPen ® immediately, the results can be fatal.
What makes matters worse is that cross contamination is particularly threatening when dealing with peanut allergies. A product may not have peanut or peanut based ingredients on its label but that doesn’t mean that product is ‘peanut safe.’ Even if the factory only made one product that contains trace amounts of peanuts, all the other products created in that would not be safe for a peanut allergic child to consume.
Why This Issue Should Concern All Parents
For some parents without peanut free children, it’s very difficult to understand the severity of the issue or why a peanut allergic child could be in danger if their child (who is not peanut allergic) has a peanut butter sandwich in his lunch.
Cross contamination is key here. In the case of young children, cross contamination via hands and mouths and toys is as serious a threat to children as eating trace amounts of peanuts themselves. Most parents educate their peanut allergic children not to eat strange foods, but what if another child told them the product was safe and they had a fatal episode? These are the concerns of the parents of a peanut allergic child.
As the number of children who are severely allergic to peanuts grows, so has the need for safe environments where a parent feels that their child is safe from harm. To meet the needs of these parents and to protect the children with these severe allergies, both public and private schools have made bold moves to educate teachers, parents, and children about the threat a child faces when exposed to foods containing peanuts. Some schools have even banned peanuts and products not labeled ‘peanut safe’ from the school entirely. However, the change hasn’t gone over as smoothly in the past, in 2005, a school in Indianna tried to ban peanut products from school. This decision was greeted with outrage from parents so a compromise was struck. Students with peanut allergies were to be isolated from their peers at the “peanut allergy table” – a compromise that parents of the peanut allergic are wrestling with to this very day. For schools less committed to the issue of peanut allergies, there is usually an allergy table which has problems of its own.
But, what does a parent with no experience with peanut-free foods go when faced with having to buy peanut-free products for their child? Many granola bars & cookies and other snacks contain trace amounts of peanuts.
What Can My Kid Eat?
If your school was smart, they probably sent you out some nice pamphlets explaining to you some of the foods your child can eat and how to prep your child on kids with food allergies. However, I find that the internet has a lot of great free information to keep your child happy and keep you from pulling out your hair.
- PeanutAllergy.com has a good list of foods to avoid.
- If you don’t mind doing a little blog research, you’ll discover a whole world of peanut free foods that kids love including Pirates Booty and Smart Puffs
- By doing an advanced search on Zeer, you can discover all the peanut-free foods in our site. To get more specific, narrow down your search by a keyword, food category or caloric content.
- Fresh fruit & vegetables are great year round. Be sure to check to see if a local farmer’s market is nearby – fresh fruit is a great thing to include in your child’s lunch year round. Plus, it’s healthy (and with the childhood obesity rate, that’s a good thing). If your child is fond of peanut butter and celery, stock up on Soy Nut Butter (available at most major food market chains). It tastes great, and it’s a great replacement for the childhood staple.
- Cheese is generally nut free. String cheese or cheese and crackers (might need to do some work to find out which crackers are nut free)
Peanut Free Blogs
Peanut Free Blogs are a great way to get information about recipes, tips and advice from moms who deal with peanut allergies every day. Though your child may not be peanut allergic, you’ll find great information on these blogs including links to products that your child can pack in their lunch box daily and peanut free news.
Peanut Free Products
Sometimes piggy backing on other peoples great research is the best way to find out about new products for your child. The food allergy community does a great job of “taking care of their own” by providing fantastic lists of foods and manufacturers that make peanut free products.
Order Peanut Free products straight to your door at Peanut Free Planet
Divvies products are quite popular with Peanut free moms & families. You also can get Divvies cupcakes delivered to your door. If your child’s classroom is peanut-free, you can guarantee your child will be safe with Divvies cookies and cupcakes.
Disappointed dad, Matthew Amster-Burton over at Serious Eats, was sad that his daughter couldn’t enjoy PB & J like she used now that her school went peanut free. However, he now recommends turning to Sunflower Seed butter over SoyNut Butter claiming he “couldn’t in good conscience serve it to anyone with taste buds”
Peanut Free Ideas
Need some great Back to School Tips? Check out Victoria Groce’s blog for great allergy tips including this great Back to School burn down of what to do when you find out your child’s school has gone Peanut-Free.
Good Luck and We Hope Your Child Has A Happy First Day of School
As frustrating as changing your child’s diet can be, try to get some assurance that your child doesn’t have to live with a life-threatening allergy. Being a parent is difficult enough, but just imagine the extra stress you’d endure if your child was not safe from foods as everyday as peanut butter.
Though the debate is still out about whether banning peanuts completely is a good idea or only creates a fault sense of security.
However, the media coverage over this hot button issue is the best and greatest way to get the conversation started about what solution is best for all children.
