Wow, people are passionate about peanut butter and jelly. What started as one Arkansas boy's sandwich has now turned into an international debate with people vehemently raging both for and against the right to eat peanut butter in schools.
It started when Jenkins Clifton-Jones took a PB&J to school one day. Apparently his mom didn't know about the six-year ban his school had in place against peanut products to protect students with allergies. According to Area Wide News, when a teacher saw him about to take a bite, she confiscated the sandwich, helped the boy get a new lunch, and sent a note home explaining the school's policy.
Sounds simple enough, right? Not even close.
Instead, his mom, Denise Clifton-Jones, took to Facebook to express her anger over the policy, and eventually started the page "School Nut Ban Discussion." Since then hundreds of people have chimed in with their very adamant opinions on either side; there's even a warning to people to stop with the profanity and name calling because it's gotten so heated. Comments like this from one woman pretty well sum up the side that's irate about the confiscation:
I joined this discussion because I am so sick of hearing about nut allergies. Many children and adults have allergies that they need to learn to deal with. Don't penalize 99.9% of the school for 1 child's allergy.
I'm flat out appalled that people could be so selfish. It seems like such a non-issue. When so many children suffer from peanut allergies (some reports say it may be as high as 1 in 25) and children can DIE if exposed to them, then I don't think asking people not to bring peanut products to school is such a big deal. It's one meal a day, and no one is going to die if they don't get their favorite sandwich.
Is it somewhat inconvenient? Sure. I always have peanut butter in my cupboard, and when I haven't been to the market in awhile, I know I can always rely on it. If I couldn't, it would be a pain, but not nearly as big as the one parents of children with food allergies face every day, worrying that some speck of food might kill their kid.
It's the epitome of laziness and self-centeredness to try and fight for the right to send your child to school with a food that could seriously harm another child. No, we can't ban every food that every child is allergic to, but nuts are a big one, so why not help these families out? I bet if those parents who are so passionate about sending peanut butter had to walk in the shoes of a parent who lives in fear of the product for even one day, they'd change their minds in a Jif (pun totally intended).
Do you think schools should ban peanut products to protect children with allergies?
Image via {N}Duran/Flickr
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Comments 190
@the4mutts, yes, I agree that you can't control the world, and bad stuff will end up happening no matter how much you try to control the situation. Which is why training your allergy-driven kid to take care of themselves as early as possible is a must. But to just ask parents of a single elementary school to not bring PB isn't difficult. For most, it is only slightly inconvenient, and a small price to pay just to help out that one family that could use the help. I like a world where people attempt to rally around the one "sick" child and help them out if they can. Not bring PB is such a small, small thing to do just to make that family's life easier. What is so wrong with that?
Peanut/tree nut allergies run in my family and I am very allergic to both peanuts and tree nuts. I am 45 and there were no nut bans when I went to school. I was taught at a very, very early age what was appropriate to eat and how to say "no thank you, I can't eat that" when offered something I was unsure about. My classroom teachers had my epi-pens as well as the school nurse in case of an emergency, but I never needed to use one as a child. I was a little more reckless in my high school and college years and did have to dose myself several times after ingesting some type of nut product. My own son wasn't allergic, but both of my nephews are and my sister was able to teach them how to manage their allergies without insisting on a school wide allergen ban as well. It can be done successfully if the parents of the allergic child makes an effort. I would have respected a nut ban with my son, but there wasn't a nut issue when he was growing up. I just wanted to chime in as a nut allergic individual.
My daughter does not have a peanut allergy and I have no issue with a peanut ban in schools. She can eat peanut butter, nuts, etc. at home. We must all work together to keep kids safe.,
Its not all about a pb&j sandwich. Its entire meal plans down the drain.
I make home-made breakfast bars with peanuts to store and give my kids on the off chance we're running late. I then make other foods on the same cutting board. I wipe it down, sure. But can I guarantee that even my kids' turkey sandwich won't have peanut dust or oil on it? No, I can't.
Nor can I guarantee that my kids get every bit of peanut butter out from under their nails after breakfast.
The nut ban will not help with secondary ingredients, cross contamination, or leftover pb from breakfast.
I will not alter my home habits for a public school. These kids need to be kept at home, or in the care of a private school/daycare if they will DIE from inhaling nut dust, or touching nut oil until they are old enough to care for themselves.
I have 7 year old twins that both have food allergies, my son, eggs and my daughter, peanuts. I have repeated over and over to them that they are both allergic since we found out about their allergies when they were 3 years old. My daughter is very vocal about her allergy and if she even thinks there are peanuts in something, she will not eat it until she is told that it is ok for her. My son, not so much... Am I asking the school to ban both eggs and peanuts, no, but does it make me feel better knowing that the peanut allergy is less of an issue because there is a "ban" on them, yes. I really don't see why all of the MOTHERS on here are getting so angry about this issue. Like the one mom said before, until you have a child with allergies, you will never understand the worry we have. And no, there was no ban on peanuts when I was growing up but there also wasn't a ban on teachers smoking in the schools like there is now. Times change, people need to adapt. Is it really that big of a deal to worry about other kids allergies that could possible hurt them very badly if they come across it? Are we that selfish that we have to say, screw you kid, you should have known not to touch that food? Come on ladies, we are all trying to protect our kids and raise them right so why not try to help other moms out and give us one less thing to worry about in this crazy world. please.
the4mutts, I completely see what you are saying. I don't think the school needs to ask that families alter their home life to make sure there are no peanut residues on absolutely everything, but I think it's fair of them to ask point blank to just not bring peanut products in. I view it as a mixture of: Hey we do what we can and they do what they can. Meaning, I'll do my part to make sure I don't give my kid a banned product for lunch if it means making another kid sick, but that kid's family must be prepared themselves. They have to be sure an epi pen is readily available with the teachers/administrators/nurses and start teaching their child to take care of themselves and how to avoid potential problems.
For the record, no one in my family is drastically allergic to any types of food and I have friends who were deadly allergic to peanuts but survived without a school ban. But my attitude is mainly: hey, I got a note saying someone's allergic to peanuts so no more peanuts on campus - OK, fine, whatever.