Saw this on the news today, all over peanuts....unbelievable

[marmalade]

The problem I have with this idea is that what the school is doing is NOT keeping the girl any safer than a peanut free classroom would. Mouth rinsing, especially in small children actually spreads the allergen around more than not doing so. Also, you cannot "kill" the allergen with antibacterial products, os using them is not going to increase the effectiveness of the clean unless they are used in concentrations great enough to actually break down the protiens in the allergen, Those kinds of cncertarions would be harmful to skin.

Like I said I am not a parent of a child with an allergy and really am uneducated on the entire thing. The article does not say what they are using to wash and rinse so I can't make any comments on that, nor can I even pretend to know what will kill the allergen, or stop it from spreading. I just don't think it's really that big of a deal that these parents are making it out to be. Maybe if I knew more about what they were rinsing with or washing with I might change my mind, but the parents aren't protesting the products they are protesting the practice.

 

[princessmom29]

Like I said I am not a parent of a child with an allergy and really am uneducated on the entire thing. The article does not say what they are using to wash and rinse so I can't make any comments on that, nor can I even pretend to know what will kill the allergen, or stop it from spreading. I just don't think it's really that big of a deal that these parents are making it out to be. Maybe if I knew more about what they were rinsing with or washing with I might change my mind, but the parents aren't protesting the products they are protesting the practice.

I would be protesting the practice as well, becuase it is completely ineffective and a waste of time. I think that is the point they are getting at, even though it is not specifically said in the article. These practices are NOT gonig to keep that little girl safe. There is not anything they could be washing with that is safe for skin contact, AND will completely eliminate the allergen. Simply washing hands after eating is all that can be done here. Rinsing mouths is doing more to spread the allergen than contain it , and so it is pointless. There is no reason to take away from instructional time to do it when it does nothing to protect that child. There are some things out there that are not substantiated that say that this child is getting a lot more special treatment than just what is reported in the article. Parents from the school are claiming all kinds of things, and i would think at least some fo it has to be true based on the sheer volume of complaints. Apparnetly it is effecting the learing environment far more than just hand washing and mouth rinsing, at least according ot some of these parents.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Personally if my son were in this child's class, I'd be petitioning to get him out! Not because I'm against hand washing or mouth rinsing, but because I don't want my child to be responsible or have to worry about accidentally killing their classmate. We eat a lot of peanut butter and peanut products in our household. I'm not going to change that, and because of that I cannot guarantee that DS would be free of all peanut residue or oils on his person or possessions.

I think its ridiculous to put that kind of pressure on children and educators. Could you imagine if this child died, what that would do to the psyche of the children in that school, all because someone mistakenly went to class with a peanut butter smear on their sleeve.

 

[Hannathy]

I would be with the parents protesting! This is one of the craziest things I have ever heard. Why in the world are they rinsing their mouths? they plan on going around kissing each other? If it is a peanut free school why do they need to rinse their mouths (if we even say there is a need for the first time) after the first rinse of the day? How are they going to say the playground is peanut free unless it is guarded 24 hours a day?

If this child is this allergic they are not going to have a long life because there is no way to protect them to this extent their entire life.
It would be better if they learned from an early age to protect themselves and not expect everyone to adjust to them.

That is what is wrong with society now the entitlement mentality that everyone adjusts to you instead of the person adjusting to the masses.

 

[spacemountainmom]

I can't even imagine dealing with a serious food allergy, but this is going way too far. My ds11 has eaten peanut butter toast for breakfast pretty much every day of his life and all through elementary ate pb and j for lunch most days. What am I as a parent supposed to do? Let him eat breakfast and then shower??? Completely ban peanut butter from my home because my child happens to go to the same school as your child??? I have to worry because he might leave the house with a little peanut butter smeared on his shirt or pants.

I am sorry for what this family has to deal with, but at some point the needs of the rest of the students have to be addressed.

I would tend to agree that the child needs to be homeschooled or the school district needs to send a teacher out and treat the child as homebound.

 

[jmartinez1895]

I personally think that if a child has that kind of problem they should not be a school. My son has an immno issue and we home school. so do these parents take this child to walmart or anywhere else? How do they manage that? I feel for them, but for the saftey of the child he needs to be home so htey can protect him.

 

[livndisney]

I personally think that if a child has that kind of problem they should not be a school. My son has an immno issue and we home school. so do these parents take this child to walmart or anywhere else? How do they manage that? I feel for them, but for the saftey of the child he needs to be home so htey can protect him.

From some of the comments, it seems the child lives a "normal" life outside school and goes to McDonalds, Chuckie Cheese and WDW.

 

[reelmom]

What are these kids washing their mouth out with? I don't see how plain water could get rid of the allergen. Mouthwash would not be safe because some children might ingest that. Plus who is going to clean up all the mess when you have 20 kids spitting mouth rinse? Can you imagine how many germs will be on that surface?

 

[Zeebs]

My sons school is nut free, I have no problem with that, I think the majority are in the UK. I would have a problem with the precautions they are suggesting.

Cullen is allergic thankfully not life threatening to many things, his skin is a mess we don't use soap at home for washing his hands, he will do so if in a public toilet and then put moisturising cream on.

I found out recently about a little boy at the school that cried and created a fuss every time they tried to put antibacterial wash on him when they came in from the playground and before lunch. - apparently it takes too long to get them to all wash their hands so they all get a squirt of this gel. Guess who the little boy is? I didn't even know they did that his hands are so cracked and scratched he has open wounds everywhere. You can imagine how much that antibacterial gel hurts him, poor love.

I agree with with a previous poster, if the school is peanut free then surely there is no need to rinse 3 times a day, one time first thing should be sufficient.

But to put it out there, maybe the school is going over board due to a sue happy society.

Kirsten

 

[hereyago]

This little girl has it to the extreme. honestly, if my DD was the same, I wouldn't be expecting people to go to that length to accomodate me. she is in 1st grade, what happened when she was in Kindergarten? what school accomodated her or did this allergy make itself this extreme now?

Mouthwash 10 minutes a day, 3 times a day? really? wanna a bunch of 1st grades to try holding that in for 10 minutes? good luck with that. not to mention that the time it would take away from class. would they be adding minutes each day to accomodate this? people have a cow even if it is a snow day having to be made up with 20 minutes a day extra for a certain amount of time.

 

[MarriedToAPrince]

I personally think that the child with such severe allergies should be homeschooled. While it isn't fair for her to have that allergy, it isn't fair to the other students to miss out on time learning. I am sorry but 30 minutes out of a 24 hour day isn't bad, but 30 minutes out of a 3 hour learning day (as most kindy's are 3 hours), is a big deal. As the saying goes...."the needs of many outweigh the needs of the few."

 

[Disneyhayes]

I didn't read others comments but here's mine...

The protesting parents are upset that their kids are missing 30 mins a day for the rinsing but they are also upset that they missed holiday meals which I am sure would take longer than 30 minutes. If the allergy is that severe then there should be precautions made to make sure the child is safe in school. The parents may not have the ability to home school. There are other accommodation made for other situations so why not this one. My ENTIRE school district switched to being latex free after I found out I was allergic. Maybe the child could eat in a separate room with some friends so not to feel alone and other kids can bring their peanut filled lunches. Lunches should be kept in a separate area and only eaten in the cafeteria.

 

[msmama]

I'm just stuck on the fact that there's apparently such a thing as a "peanut-sniffing dog!"

 

[Leajess99]

The 1st paragraph states that the parents protesting claim that the little girls condition can be hazardous to their childrens health.

hmmm.... washing hands after eating? Hazardous? Rinsing out mouth after eating? Hazardous? I think pediatricians and dentist will be glad to hear that an entire school is practicing such health habits.

These parents are upset because their children are being forced to do something outside of what they feel is normal. A quick handwash and mouth rinse is not going to stop these kids from learning.

Not sure if this link has the video but if you watch the video the protesting parents are having a fit about their children's rights to classroom parties yet handwashing is wasting class time.

 

[Leajess99]

I think if it was life or death issue, I would home school my child. I would not want to take the chance. I feel bad for the little one, but It would be my responsibility to keep her safe.

But at the same time not all parents can afford to stay home and homeschool their child.

 

[CandleontheWater]

If it is deemed necessary- and this certainly would be!- then the school would provide an in-home tutor for free. She would get home schooled at the school district's expense.

This is not that uncommon, I know when I was in school I had a friend who was in-home tutored because she had cancer, and was undergoing treatment that compromised her immune system.

 

[Leajess99]

If it is deemed necessary- and this certainly would be!- then the school would provide an in-home tutor for free. She would get home schooled at the school district's expense.

This is not that uncommon, I know when I was in school I had a friend who was in-home tutored because she had cancer, and was undergoing treatment that compromised her immune system.

Okay so the parents who more than likely both work are supposed to do what?? Quit their jobs to homeschool?? Many kids with cancer actually qualify for SSI and many times a parent has no choice but to quit work for that child. It is very different than a child with an allergy.

 

[tink15823]

This is the crux of the issue for me. We deal with a LTA to shellfish in an area where they are literally everywhere. WE make the accmodations for our DD, and WE teach her not to eat anything we don't give her, WE make sure she can recognized when she has been exposed by contact and to go to the nurse at school or mom for help. We DON'T ask for "shellfish free schools". It is OUR responsibility NOT everyone else's, and it not fair to ask them to radically change thier children's diet for my DD when she CAN be safe without doing so. The vast majority of allegry children DO NOT need a school enviornmnet completely free of thier allergen to be safe at school, but many parents believe that if their child is allergic to something, that is should immediately be banned form school. WE choose to tach our child to live in the world with her allergy rather than try to eliminate the allergen from her world. I think she is much better prepared to deal with it herself as a teen and adult this way.

My Ds 6 has so many food allergies its not funny we just pack his lunch everyday and he has a nut free and all the other allergy free table. I pack snacks for school and When we have parties I send in things he can have. We also do this in church youth group when he goes to friends and Families homes. That way I have control and don't have to worry !

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

But at the same time not all parents can afford to stay home and homeschool their child.

We have friends that homeschool due to extreme allergies. They felt it was their responsibility to keep there children safe once they saw how hard it was for the schools to control everything. They adjusted their lifestyle so they could homeschool. It is amazing how we can adjust when life happens. Most homeschool families I know did not start out as one income families. They had to adjust their lifestyles. You do what you need to do in the best interest of your children.

I did not click on the video and I am not agreeing with how the parents are handling this situation. I just wanted to point out that many families do what they "can not afford" because they can not afford not to do it.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Her parents still worked, the tutor just came to her home and gave her school lessons. It was like a classroom of one, just in her living room.