With the imminent return of school looming we began our hunt for a nut free peanut butter substitute. Our seven year old is about to enter grade two after a school career so far missing the lunchtime goodness known as the peanut butter sandwich.
Neither of our children have a nut allergy but like most Canadian schools theirs’ is a nut free environment. More directly concerning is that our oldest daughter has a close friend that has a severe nut allergy.
On top of this we also wanted to find a lunch option that didn’t have a requirement to stay cold in light of research done about school lunches and published in Pediatrics. This study found that over 90% of lunches that children took to school or daycare were found to be sitting in the “danger zone” too long. The “danger zone” is the temperature window where bacteria can grow.
Click here for an article on the reasearch.
Click here for the Pediatrics research.
Returning to nut free “peanut” butter replacements: we have tried about 5 different nut free spreads over the course of the last few years with all of them claiming to taste like peanut butter. I want to be clear that I am not slamming brands as I’m sure there are people out there who enjoy them thoroughly but for us as people who love to eat peanut butter they just couldn’t compare to the taste we had come to enjoy. It had started to seem that we likely wouldn’t find a spread that would satiate our expectations as well as meet the discerning tastes of our 7 year old.
Then someone told us about Sun Butter. I went to the store and picked up a jar for $6.99 without any high expectations but hoping as usual that we had found it this time. I just want to say Sun Butter is AMAZING. Not only does it look like and smell like old fashioned peanut butter it TASTES like it. It is so much like peanut butter that neither one of our children tasted the difference when we put it on crackers for them and put it to the taste test.
If you are in the market for a quality peanut free spread I highly suggest Sun Butter. Not only is it peanut free but also tree nut free and gluten free.
If you have any nut free snack ideas or meal ideas for lunches that make kids just as happy and healthy please share them below.
Which store did you find it at? 🙂
I LOVE Sun Butter, you can find it at the Superstore in the natural foods sections or at local organic/health food stores.
My nephew [6 years old on thursday] has a severe peanut allergy, he’s never ingested any peanuts but simply smelling it or touching it will send him into anaphlaxis.
His catholic school in lindsay, on used to be nut-free now they’ve changed it to ‘nut aware’ and my sisterinlaw learned that here daughter will be starting school with a boy who also has a severe peanut allergy so.. hm… She’s been fighting with the school non stop.. she has very little money to purchase anything really and the school demands she pay for the epi pen that is kept in the main office every year.. pft..
The government needs to get with the program and start helping real people and families that have little to no money for life or death things.
Personally I grew up with peanut butter, not by choice, I could never stand it. And even now the smell makes me want to vomit =(
But anyways sorry back to the replacements, lol.
My dad was hardcore for peanut butter.. so if a product didn’t taste “like” peanut butter he’d chuck it out… He found a brand he loves.. and I can attest that is does smell like peanut butter bleh. It’s label reads “Wow! tastes just like peanut butter” safe4school wowbutter. gluten free, toasted soy spread, peanut butter replacement. It has two kids, a boy and a girl on the label…green label and jar top.. made in 100% peanut, nut, dairy snd gluten free facility. made with natural ingrediants… hmm..
Anywho. My dad usually buys it from sobeys, food basics .. say in the flyers this week a different store has it on sale for 2.99 don’t remember which…
I too found it in the Organic section at The Real Canadian Super Store, my mom bought a jar at her local Zehrs as well in the organic section.
many schools have changed their wording from nut free to nut aware due to the risk of cross contamination from children and products. It just means their risk of being sued for not ensuring a peanut free environment is less. This was the can say they did not say they would provide a nut free environment but that staff and students are educated about the risks and how to deal with an exposure.
sad but true.
as for the epipens, it is a necessary item and it should be a priority for parents, whether or not insurance covers it. Most insurance companies will, but I bet those parents that complain about the price of them (out of pocket if no insurance) have no problem buying their kids toys or video games and mcdonalds several times a year. Put 20 bucks a month aside for yearly epipen purchase and you will have enough for 2 every year. And it is tax deductible.
Our son’s school was nut and seed free as well – we used NoNuts Golden Peabutter for a while, then it seemed silly for my son to be using a substitute product at school when there were SO many other lunch alternatives. He could have a PB sandwich on the weekend if he wanted; it wasn’t like it was a daily staple.
Harder than not having pb sandwiches was with snacks/desserts for school, we found. We rarely used prepackaged products, and I did tons of home baking – many with peanuts, tree nuts, seeds, etc. – so that was a big thing we had to change, to make sure he had simpler things to bring to school for lunches.
Save on Foods (AB) has WOW soy nut butter on sale for $3.99 (Reg. $4.99), it’s been a year since it was on sale so I’m stocking up. This is my favourite kind for taste and price.
Sobey’s used to carry I.M. Healthy soy nut butter, but I didn’t see it in my local store the last 2 weeks.
I also like the Organic soy nut butter at RCSS but it’s not available at my store.
Pea Butter does not taste good to me.
I might have to give Sun butter a try, I think I’ve seen it on the shelves before. Is it the one made with sunflower seeds?
The whole thing kind of ticks me off. Now it’s my responsibility as the parent of an allergy-free child to make sure a complete stranger’s allergy is under control?
My last daycare banned feeding our children anything with peanuts, EVER. We had to sign an agreement that our child would live in a peanut-free home to prevent possible cross-contamination.
There are children with anaphylactic allergies to dairy and bees as well, are those banned from schools? Why not? (Ok, I get the bee thing, but I don’t see schools putting bee-monitors outside to chase down any potential invaders.)
My point–as I’m sure many of you are already pissed at me and ready to attack–Is this: Shouldn’t we be more focused on anaphylactic-preparedness? An Epi-Pen in every room of the school. Course-training for all school employees, as well as a small seminar for students. And, most importantly, making sure the children with the allergies are in full understanding of their situation. How many parents say their child is allergic, and send him off to school with an Epi-Pen but no real concept of preventative measures? Hopefully none. But if all parents were steller, there wouldn’t be kids coming to school with weapons, hungry bellies or mysterious bruises. Right?
I work with children, but I love peanut butter. So I’ll be trying this, and hopefully I’ll like it enough to take for lunch when I’m in placement! n_n
Superstore has the Wowbutter on sale this week for $3.99 (regular 4.99) for 500g. Might try my kids on that.
Though I’m curious about what’s in the crunchy version.
I agree with thatgengirl. It was really tough on a budget not being able to send traditional peanut butter sandwiches and baking to school. Who can afford lunch meat all the time? This school also tried to ban ALL milk products.
Wowbutter gives out samples, however they are not free. They charge $1.87, for processing the samples. But if you really want to try it out before you buy a big jar this would be a good way to go
Request Samples and Literature for your school or organization
Many schools have requested samples and information to send home with every student at the school. In order to make this process easier, we have set up this simple online sample request form.
One display case contains 200 x ½ oz (14g) samples of WOWBUTTER, enough samples for 200 students or members. Each shipment will also contain enough information flyers for everyone.
This offer is available only to SCHOOLS and ORGANIZATIONS in Canada and the U.S. We will need to confirm your eligability before shipping and samples are shipped in order of request.
http://www.soybutter.com/samples/
Ok, I’ll bite. My son is allergic to peanuts and nuts. He had a severe anaphylactic reaction that sent him to the hospital. We are well aware that ingesting an allergen could kill him. I sent my child to school when he was 3 and half. Of course, he understands his allergy to a certain extent…as much as a 3 year old can. I was lucky to have a wonderfully supportive JK teacher and a principal who does everything to create a safe learning environment for EVERY child. I am a realist and understand that mistakes happen. However, parents who send peanuts to school knowingly and cite the excuse that “it’s the only thing Johnny will eat” really gets me upset. I bet you wouldn’t be happy if I sent my son to school with a loaded gun – well, peanut butter can kill my son just like a loaded gun. I truly hope you never have to see your son/daughter (at any age) fighting for their life…I don’t wish that on anyone.
Oh, and I almost forgot. Peanut butter alternatives are excellent for breakfasts before sending your child to school. But consider avoiding them for lunches at school as it really is tricky to distiguish them from actually peanut butter and might cause a bit of chaos if the lunch monitor discovers it. Just a suggestion.
Sorry, did not explained previous post. Above information is for requesting samples for Schools or Organizations, which they dont appear to charge for. Then they have a separate request for consumers, which they charge $1.87 for the processing.
ahhhh….the great PB debate…though, I am never sure why it has to be a “debate” at all.
I am blessed- neither of my kids have allergies to PB or anything else for that matter. We are very lucky.
But I’ve never met a kid with allergies to nuts that said, “gee. I am SO GLAD I am allergic to nuts and that I could DIE if I got too close to them! How LUCKY am I?”
Tongue-in-cheek, but you get my drift. No child or parent wants to be in that situation–but unfortunately, they don’t get to choose. People without allergies at least get the choice to eat PB or not while those with food allergies don’t even get the option AND they are always at the mercy of other people’s good will and humour for their different needs.
We respect our school’s “no nuts” policy and it’s really no skin off our nose to do so. Eat peanut butter on the weekend and enjoy a variety of other things in school lunches. Bagels with cream cheese; a hot thermos of soup; a vegetarian pita wrap; bean salad; crackers with ham and cheese.
If you ask me, packing a no nuts lunch is NO MORE expensive than packing a lunch with nuts in it–and it’s healthier too! Believe me– I love peanut butter as much as the next person–but not when it might come at a life threatening cost to someone else.
Eltada– you raise an excellent point. How much outrage would the rest of the world feel if we sent Johnny to school with a loaded gun. A most excellent analogy, imho. 😉
I work as nurse and have seen kids in ER die from peanut allergies. My kids don’t have any allergies, but I would hate to be the cause of another childs reaction. I give my kids PB on weekends. As a parent I should think that you would be concerned about any childs well being.
As a teacher and a parent of a 3 year old with a nut allergy I have a foot in both worlds. Before my daughter was diagnosed I was always dreading having a child with said allergy in my classroom as it would always be a danger I would have to avoid – I call it karma that I complained and now my daughter has it! I would never wish a life-threatening allergy of any kind on anyone but walk a day in the life of a child or parent and you will see how difficult it truly is. My daughter had her first ice cream cone the other day b/c places like the TO Zoo are now offereing Chapmans (thank god for that company) cones! She also can’t eat out anywhere but McDs and Swiss Chalet and even then it is a gamble (we haven’t attempted anywhere else yet as). Birthday parties and family functions are a nightmare as she can’t have “the cake” and I always have to make pre-visit warning phone calls. I am so happy that I know her school will make every effort to make sure she is safe once she starts attending next year. I have educated her as much as I can (she is only 3) and she wears a medicalert bracelet all the time. WHen she attends school I will strap her with the Epipen “just in case” as I know precious minutes could be lost trying to track one down. I have done everyting I can to keep her safe and I would hope that the rest of the world would do the same – sadly it isn’t the case and there are people out there selfish enough to believe having their child eat peanut butter is more important then my child’s safety…
A great alternative that we have found for our boys is Apple Butter – no it does not taste like peanut butter and its not marketed that way either – but our boys love a simple apple butter sandwich or mini bagel or we spread it on crackers – and no its not somethign they get everyday – just like i wouldnt give them peanut butter everyday – but they quite enjoy the apple butter!
The best defence for keeping children with nut (or any) allergies safe is to EDUCATE THEM on what is safe to eat and not safe to eat, and what to do if they come in contact with the allergen! You NEVER KNOW when some kids ‘Mayonnaise’ was tainted by the peanut butter knife. Other than banning stores from selling nut products period, there is always a risk for cross contamination. This goes for any type of allergen…nuts, eggs, dairy, wheat, soy, etc, etc.
When I was in grade school 15 years ago you never heard of nut bans. People ate peanuts on the plane, and at ball games and in theaters.
Maybe, just maybe, parents today should start being more conscious of why children are developing allergies to this awesome food, find a cure and stop banning nuts from every single institution. The Tim Hortons in the States still carries peanut encrusted doughnuts, which are by far my favorite. How is it that here in Canada, not two hours away, people are flipping a gasket when a peanut butter sandwich enters a school, but they can still freely be found all over America.
Prevention is not a cure. Until people start focusing on why these allergies are cropping up, I will have no sympathy for peanut bans.
My real concern is this: At what point do we stop banning things that a small percentage of the population is allergic to? For example, there are people with anaphylactic SOY allergies. they will die if they come in contact with the peanut butter substitutes listed here.
And what about tree nut allergies? Did you know that a child allergic to ALMONDS is likely allergic to PLUMS? Or a child with a CASHEW allergy is likely to be allergic to MANGOES? Does your school also ban these fruits? Should they?
I have nothing but empathy for children with anaphylactic allergies, and their parents. But a school’s “zero tolerance” policy is just another way of saying “we don’t want to deal with the actual issue, we just don’t want to be liable.”
I have to agree with aaahh. I have an allergy to tree nuts. They thought I was allergic to peanuts too for most of my childhood. The BEST tool my parents gave me was knowing what to do to avoid my allergens and most importantly what to do if something happened. While I agree, a 4 year old isn’t responsible enough, but a 14year old is. You can’t ban the allergen from the world, so teach your child to deal with it. The idea of banning nuts, ect… in high school is extreme in my opinion.
What I find more interesting is why do we have so many more kids with severe allergies? Growing up I was the only one in my school.
whats up with all the peanut allergies?!?! have these always been around and i was just a blissfully unaware kid? i used to get pb&j sandwiches from the school cafeteria! i hadn’t even heard of peanut allergy until i became an adult!
I also have a food allergy, seafood. Everyone seems to serve shrimp at every party I go to. I don’t complain, I just avoid it. I understand that a child doesn’t always that ability. However, saying that 799 children and their parents, from a school of 800, are selfish because they find it inconvenient to cater to one child’s allergy is pretty selfish in itself. And the gun analogy is a reach, at best.
Please be careful sending your child to school with the “alternatives” to peanut butter. At our sons J/K intro to school they advised not using the alternatives because it is hard for kids and teachers to distinguish between what is real PB and what is not. They suggested everyone stay on the safe side and not use it at all. Before I had children I had the attitude that the nut free zone wasn’t fair to children who don’t have allergies; but after becoming a mom and seeing my son fight for his life I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. If I can make a few changes to help someonelse ill do them, and my son can enjoy PB at home. Another suggestion is stress to children how important it is NOT to share their lunches.
Eric.. Wow butter is made from Soy Beans, so the chunks are dried soy beans.
The first time I sent soy butter to school my son was not allowed to eat it, even though he told the teacher it was peanut free. After that I sent a note to the teacher and each subsequent teacher letting them know. Wow butter also has a little cut out peanut-free label that can be stuck to the sandwich containers if your child has different lunch time supervisors.
Yikes I can’t believe the response of the person that said her allergy free child shouldn’t have to suffer because other children have allergies. You would think just being a mother you would care about the well being of all of the children in your child’s class!
My daughter has a peanut allergy and even though last year her class was a “peanut free zone” many parents sent peanut butter cookies or other things with peanuts on party days etc. I didn’t understand that. Thankfully she had a really great teacher that would make sure she wasn’t around, or consume, those items.
My daughter, at 5, is very aware of the allergy and will not touch food that I haven’t given her unless I tell her it is ok. Sometimes I will tell her something is ok and she still won’t try it telling me that she thinks there might be nuts in it. I feel lucky that she is so cautious.
Although her allergy will always require her class to be peanut free I don’t feel sorry for the other children in the class. I appreciate and thank the parents that follow the rule, however I don’t feel the other children are being deprived. It is peanut butter, one simple item they can have at other times! My other daughter loves peanut butter and we have it in our home- we just make sure that it is eaten by her at appropriate times and not near her sister. I hardly think she is being deprived not being able to have it at school when there are so many other things for her to take. Are those that feel their allergy free child is being deprived, just lazy when it comes to making their child’s lunch?
My child’s school deals with allergens on a class by class basis and does ban anything a child might be allergic to. If a child has a severe allergy to dairy they would not allow that in that class either. I’m 100% ok with that.
Thanks for the recommendation on Sun Butter, I’m going to look for it. I have a delicious granola bar recipe that calls for pb and haven’t found a good substitute so far!
There is a coupon for $1 off Sun Butter from thehealthyshopper.ca.
We love “Enjoy Life” snacks. They are free from many of the major allergens and actually taste good too.
All employees in Ontario’s educational field complete anaphylaxis training once a year. This includes practicing with an Epipen. This is due to Sabrina’s Law which allows ALL staff and students a safe work environment.
Why are some people so selfish? As if ease of making lunches or even finances (the cheapness of peanut butter) are greater concerns than
someone’s life!!!!
A great alternative that we have found for our boys is Apple Butter – no it does not taste like peanut butter and its not marketed that way either – but our boys love a simple apple butter sandwich or mini bagel or we spread it on crackers – and no its not somethign they get everyday – just like i wouldnt give them peanut butter everyday – but they quite enjoy the apple butter!!!
We not only have the nut problem in my grand daughter’s school but she is severally allergic to eggs and chicken. So her school, in particular her class room has to be cleared of all paint products, some play doh products and all food products coming into the class room for egg ingredients. It’s surprising what items have eggs in them. The entire family is now reading labels of everything.
Thank you for this post!!!!!! My 4 yr old son is starting JK this September and he has severe TREE nut allergies but is allowed peanuts and peanut butter; PB is the ONLY thing he will eat on his sandwich! However; like you said schools are nut free, so I was thinking it was going to be a problem. Thank you thank you thank you! 🙂 I was thinking about the daunting task of trying different brands, think this will be the FIRST I try 🙂
Cheers!
I used to agree with thatgengirl when my first daughter started school and it was an “inconvenience” having to make her lunches and snacks to suit other people.
Then my youngest daughter was diagnosed with a life-threatening Sesame Seed allergy and she begins school this September and it scares the crap out of me. Do you have any idea how many foods are made with Sesame products? Hummus, crackers, Chinese Food (most Asian food actually), salad dressings, the list goes on. My daughter has to have lunch at school because we have to work. Her lunchroom has to be free of the allergen.
Luckily my work plan covers the cost of epipens and we have to send two of them to school for her – one for her class, one for the office. I have to send a bottle of Benydryl to keep in the office.
Her Teacher is aware of her allergy and has set up procedures to protect her and keep her safe.
thatgengirl, I hope you never have to go through something like this. I hope you continue to live in a world where food allergies are not a problem for you, but merely an inconvenience or an annoyance. I hope you don’t have to go through what some of us wish to God we didn’t. I would trade anything so that my Daughter didn’t have to ‘deal’ with this.
While I was quite lucky in the fact that none of my children had food allergies, I do tend to agree to some of the points made. My biggest concern about these “nut-free” lunch rules is WHY are all these children now having life threatening allergies? We never had these issues when we were younger and there was no bans in the lunch room, what is causing this? I also wonder why peanuts seem to be the biggest problem? It seems to be the biggest cause of lunch room problems but there are other allergies. One year there was a child with a latex allergy in school, they made all of us parents go out and buy latex free erasers, pencils with no erasers etc…..and this was school wide……and they told us AFTER we had bought school supplies…..I can only imagine the fear, as a parent, sending your child to school with a life threatening allergy, but I really don’t understand why no one is looking into the cause of all this….
I’ve been reading these comments and just thought I might as well comment.. I am the allergy queen – allergic to nuts, peanuts, shellfish, and sesame seeds.
I applaud all the schools and parents doing their best to keep schools peanut free.. I CANNOT BELIEVE some of the inconsiderate people on this forum who believe others allergies are not their problem. I will agree 100% with the person who made the loaded gun analogy. Any one who disagrees does not have any idea how serious allergies can be. Mine are not this serious, but my brother’s are. When I was growing up my brother and I were one of the few kids with nut allergies, and schools did not have nut-free policies in place. Many times our parents would come to school because we’d get sick, and not because we ate peanuts, but because there was a lack of education amongst our classmates and teachers about our allergy. There were many hospital runs because of this, and it didn’t matter how careful we were, our health was at the mercy of others. I specifically remember my mom bringing my brother home once with a swollen face after a computers classes so our allergist wrote to the school, and then only did they provide him with a separate keyboard that only he could use. I am so glad now that kids with peanut allergies in this generation can go to school where at least the teachers have been educated to keep a safe environment for them. I definitely do not wish my allergies on anyone, but I do believe the insensitive people out there will only understand if they or their children develop them…
And @robin… I don’t know if you realized this, but science is not a cake-walk. It takes thousands-millions of dollars to put in years of research to find cures to diseases. It’s not something you can pull out of a hat. There are plenty of studies going on trying to find the cause of allergies and there are many theories out there. To say you do not support these bans on peanuts in schools because they don’t know the cause is possibly the dumbest comment I’ve heard in a long time. If you think it’s so easy, why don’t you find a cure then? Seriously people like you should not be able to reproduce.
The key is education. This is why the school always ask if and what kind of allergy your child has and this is passed on to the class. Every year i ask my children if they know of anyone in their class have any type of allergy, not so i can sneak one by but for them to be more aware of the other kids around them. Nut allergy has become such a “BIG” issue unlike dairy, seafood and others because more kids are developing severe reaction from just the smell of it. With the other allergy, one would have to either touch it or eat it. I’m lucky that my two sons do not have any food allergy, and they LOVE their peanut butter. We have also tried the Wowbutter/soybutter from Schoolsafefood and they love it because it taste the closest to peanut butter. They also like it better than the all natural peanut butter and love that they can bring it to school when they have that craving. You can easily find it at Sobey’s in their peanut butter section and i believe i’ve also seen it at Walmart.
Another alternative to peanut butter and jam is butter and jam, which my sons love as well. The best alternative is to buy your child a thermos. You can expand your selections beyond your imagination while keeping the food at a same temperature.
Oops, what i really meant was that a thermos will keep the food at a SAFE temperature.
pretty soon every town should just have a special school for kids with allergies or other medical issues. iam surprised that kids with diabetes don’t get to have sugar free schools. Preventing peanuts is one thing but once you have kids in a school with an allergy to eggs, one to soy, one to milk, one to gluten, one to strawberries… then what do we do? there has to be a better solution to these kind of problems.
I teach at a school where there are no nut allergies nor have there been in the nearly 10 years I have worked there yet it is a “nut free” environment. The school is in a very poor area and many parents have gone to the school board hoping to change this but to no avail. I think there must be a better solution and some common sense applied in situations like these.
That being said, our school also doesn’t celebrate Christmas despite everyone being Christian.
An early solution (long gone now) used to be that the couple of kids with allergies would eat their lunch (for the 10 minutes before going outside) in a classroom with a teach present. All the other kids would have to wash their hands after lunch to ensure that peanut oil didn’t get transferred. It worked until some parents objected to their child being “segregated”. It seemed like a workable compromise to me.
Remember the days back when there were barely any peanut allergies?
I somewhat agree with 22 Robin. We need to focus on WHY there are so many allergies out there now. No one had all this 30 years ago. My kids do not have any food allergies, however I do know some relatives who do. It is the parents responsibility to educate your kids to stay away from other kids lunches etc. as some kids like to share. I know of Diabetics who have life threatening issues if they eat sugar as well. Does the school ban sugar??? No, nor should they as the child should be taught to avoud it. You cannot ban every allergy at school. And when they become adults in the workforce they will come across peanuts, etc whether they like it or not. What will happen then???? I love peanuts and even eat the shells. My kids love PB. I take them to work as well. If you are allergic you may get cross contamination!!! What will companies do?? Ban all allergic foods and substances??? I think not.
I have grown up with a tree nut allergy and a seafood allergy and now work in the school system. I am lucky that I can have penut butter though. I understand the fear some kids can have if a food they are allergic to is around them, the smell is seafood can make me triple in size within 2 min (it has happen and it isn’t fun) and eating a walnut can make my throat close in about 2 min also if I do not have any medication or epipen with me. I do think it is important for shools to keep all children and staff safe. It sounds like some places are going a little over board with making people sign a page saying their home must also be penut free, a school/daycare should not be telling parents what they can and cannot eat in their own home. Society has realised allergies are out there and they will only get worse with time. As others have said it is important that the child with the allergy understand it and understand the dangers of it. I remember in grade 2 avoiding the bakesales because anything homemade was off limits to me, or having to have someone read the ingrediants of everything I ate to make sure it was peanut free. It does become second nature to avoid it, but parents have to respect the dangers that some food can cause to another child. If you can’t put yourself in the shoes of the parents or the child with the allergies then you probably aren’t a good parent to start with.
Accusing people of not being good parents is pretty low. Parenting is the hardest job in the world and NO ONE is perfect and NO ONE should be throwing stones. Our job is to love our children and keep them safe. I do that with my children. While I do feel for families that deal with life threatening allergies (remember I have one too) it’s that parents job to protect their child. We as a society can certainly try to help but don’t throw all the onus on the rest of us for YOUR child’s protection. There is this HUGE problem in Canada where the minority seems to rule and that’s ok sometimes as long as that same minority isn’t in your face proclaiming that it’s their right and it’s owed to them by the majority. (end of rant!)
Well said Lori!!!!!!! If one was to look into peanut allergies they would see that the cause is unknown, however the suspected causes are the fault of the parents, eg. Hygene Hypothesis and late into to peanut butter. Family history can be a cause, but there is no blame there. So if Ragdoll084 has kids with this maybe she is a bad parent. lol
And if theere are schools that make parents sign a page to keep their home peanut/nut free there would be a huge uproar!!! That is against Human Rights and will never happen. Might as well ask for your home to be free of dozen allergen causing products, milk, eggs, dust, grass, pets, feathers, plants, etc. That is the most assinine thing I have ever heard of.
I know this seems like a minority trying to take over. This is more like the minority is trying to get basic consideration of their needs as well. I can’t understand how one child’s right to eat peanut butter should trump another child’s right to stay healthy and alive. Giving up peanuts while at school is very little to ask.
Lori, right now the majority in Canada is white and Christian. It wasn’t always that way, though….the current majority took that position from a former majority by force. There are some people who feel the majority in Canada will change again very soon – just look at immigration statistics – in which case, white Christians will be the minority. The new majority will elect leaders that represent their points of view and values. How will the new majority treat the old majority (when white Christians are the new minority)? Did we set protocols for adapting and flexing a little to accommodate other people’s needs – and rights to be healthy? I wouldn’t want these people dismissing my needs and values, just because I am no longer the majority. I wouldn’t want to be dismissed or devalued as a Canadian.
Most importantly, I don’t know what I could possibly say to a parent whose child is in the emergency room, praying for their child’s life, then looking at me and asking “The school told you no peanuts, but you sent your child in with peanuts anyways….my kid might not live now because of that. Why would you do that to another parent?”
I do not think that anyone here was saying they send their kids to school with peanut products. That I respect, however, it seems that some people go overboard, like the signing of papers to say your home will be peanut/nut free. That is a problem as you cannot tell people what they can and cannot do in their own home.!!! Ridiculous! I would like to know what schools actually do that. I have one word for those parents of the affected child and it is “HomeSchool” as anywhere you take your child, eg. to the mall, movies, shopping, Dr. office, etc. will have the threat of cross-contamination. Fast-forward 2020..there will be no nuts/peanuts allowed in public, just like the non-smoking ban. But you can smoke in your home as no one can take away that right, just like nuts in your home. MY RIGHT.!
It wasn’t a school, it was a small daycare. They were terrified that a toddler would eat peanut butter toast in the morning and then bring small traces into the daycare on his fingers/face/clothes, harm an allergic child and leave them liable.
I have never said it was inconveient for me to to keep my son’s lunches peanut-free. In fact, my so doesn’t even go to school. When he does, we can easily find other lunches to pack, especially considering he doesn’t much care for peanut butter.
People here are confusing my posts with other posts. Please don’t. If you’re going to call me out by name, make sure you’ve read everything I wrote.
We can’t continue catering to all forms of allergy without eventually banning everything under the sun (and the sun, because there are children deathly allergic to that as well). We need to educate, not ban. “Zero Tolerance” is a bullpoop concept created by schools to avoid liability. We need to make them *more* liable, by forcing them to have epipens in every room and to educate all staff and students on what to do in the event of an allergic reaction. But that would cost money, so instead, they ban the product and make us parents responsible for prevention.
@Justme: so it’s ok in your opinion that immigrants come to Canada to get away from the problems in their homeland and then tell us that our Christmas and religion offends them so we should change our way of life for them?? I totally agree with Australia in this one. If you want to live here then you abide by our rules/laws and do NOT try to change us into the country you left. Canadians are being devalued right now. Who do you think is taking our prayers out of the schools, our “right” to say “Merry Christmas”. When I was a kid there was 1 child in our school who’s parents had her leave the class when the Lord’s prayer was being recited and she wasn’t allowed to participate in any Christmas activities. THE MINORITY DID NOT RULE THE MAJORITY.
BTW I have NEVER sent any peanut products to school or broke any allergy “rules”.
YAY LORI!!! I agree that the imigrants are causing many problems, nut allergies aside, how about underground terrorist groups operating in any given neighborhood willing to eliminate all of us!! They moved here, abide our laws. If we moved to their warped country we would have to do so or be jailed. This is another subject altogether. I am not prejudiced and neither are my children. Their BFFs are of another religion and race, however I do not agree with their values and beliefs and think they are destructive to people in general. I do not blame the kids just the country they came from and the parents who instill their beliefs. I still pray.
And to Thatgengirl: If there was an allergic child with that degree maybe the parents should not have them in daycare. If they were that concerned they should not have, and the daycare should not have accepted the child as it put many families rights violated. Just saying.
@Lori: I think you missed my point.
The current minority in Canada will be the majority soon – the immigration statistics don’t lie. Once they are the majority, do you want them to adopt your philosophy: “We are the MAJORITY now, if you want to be a Christian, then leave this country, we are the MAJORITY now, our rules, no compromise”.
You’re saying they shouldn’t do that when they are the MINORITY. Fair enough – I wasn’t arguing that point. But will it be OK when they are the MAJORITY?
I’m saying that the minority and majority can COMPROMISE and give each other a little respect and consideration – because the majority never knows when politics will change, and they will be on the outside.
A ban on peanut butter isn’t the same as a ban on religion.
I thought that Christianity taught tolerance and serving others. Apparently those teachings apply only when it best serves oneself. JustMe, don’t even bother trying to teach ignorant people about the ways of the world, they’re to busy serving themselves to grasp the concept.
Unfortunatly, many religions do not practice what they preach, and I can think of a few right now. That is another disturbing topic.
Point taken “JustMe”. I agree with compromise. I just didn’t see the banning of all products that a few are allergic to as a compromise. But as a reality is today’s world, hopefully we all find a way to keep most happy and healthy. 🙂
I purchased Sunbutter yesterday…tried it today…YUCK!! I love and eat Kraft peanut butter every day and this product doesn’t compare at all. I much prefer almond butter.
My son’s new school has just released a statement that whole grain bread is no longer allowed as some are made with nuts. So no ssndwiches for lunch unless they are on white bread. WTF?!
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