Peanut Butter Sandwiches and Other Weapons

Periodically the peanut butter sandwich controversy rears its head.  I saw some online discussion again today about a child whose PBJ was confiscated at a school which has a “no PBJ” policy.  One side complains that this is an infringement on the right of a mother to lovingly make the sandwich of her child’s choice.  The other side says that the sandwich is potentially life threatening to allergic children who have a right to be safe at school.

As the mother of a son who grew up with life-threatening allergies to milk, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts (e.g. walnuts, pecans), I see both sides of this issue.  It seems totally unfair to declare that no child can have a peanut butter sandwich at school.  It is a favorite that provides protein along with the carbohydrate and fat, so it is a reasonable nutritious option.  It is easy….a child can even make the sandwich himself. 

BUT 

Some allergic children cannot even tolerate the odor of peanut butter or the slightest accidental contact with it.  Suppose the tables aren’t adequately wiped after lunch and an allergic child eats in that spot at the next lunch hour?   Suppose some mean kid decides it would be funny to sneak a fragment between the bread slices of an allergic child’s sandwich?

Some schools have a special table that is peanut free.  That only works if the situation is adequately supervised, and it doesn’t help the child who is allergic to foods other than peanuts.  I was concerned about someone clowning around and shooting milk out of their straw in the direction of my son.  A splash on the arm would have only caused a few hives, but had he gotten milk in his eyes it would have been a different matter entirely.  As a teen he attended a graduation party where pizza was served.  He did not eat any, but after the meal the kids all went out and played basketball.  Most had not washed their hands.  The cheese residue from their hands was transferred to the ball and from there to my unsuspecting son’s hands.  As he played ball, he wiped perspiration out of his eyes with his hands, and WHAM…he was in a lot of trouble fast.  On another occasion, he was at an event where kids were building their own ice cream sundaes.  Two of the attendees picked up aerosol cans of cream and started running around trying to shoot each other with the cream.  My son jumped up and ran for the nearest exit lest he get caught in the crossfire.  Adult supervision quickly stopped this unauthorized warfare, but suppose my son hadn’t noticed what was going on and had been an unintended casualty?

So what to do?  I solved a lot of the problem by homeschooling my son.  It was not the primary reason I chose to home school him, but it was a contributing factor.  However, everyone cannot make this choice.  Not all mothers possess the ability to home school, or it may be financially necessary for both parents to work.

Certainly having a child who is educated about his/her own allergy is helpful, but what if the child is too young to understand or not mentally agile enough to comprehend the risk?

From the school’s perspective, if they allow PBJs, are they committing to supervise the situation closely?  Are they going to adequately train the cafeteria monitors?

I am not in favor of banning peanut butter sandwiches.

I am in favor of education of teachers, cafeteria workers, lunch monitors, and children….both the allergic and the non-allergic.  Education about other disabilities is included in the curriculum.  Food allergies are a significant disability.

I am in favor of careful attention by those supervising the lunch room, so that out of control situations potentially dangerous to the allergic child do not happen.  Lunch monitors should know that maintaining order is essential to safety.

I am in favor of Benadryl and auto-injecting epinephrine syringes being on site and available for use…even without a prescription specific to a given child.  If there is no on site nurse, someone in the school must be trained to recognize the signs of an allergic reaction and respond appropriately.  When a child goes into anaphylaxis, there is no time to stand around trying to decide what to do.

No child should suffer death by peanut butter sandwich.  No child should have to live with the notion that his favorite sandwich killed his favorite friend.