A kindergarten student at Ocean Palms Elementary in Ponte Vedra has a peanut allergy that has forced the student's classroom to become a peanut-free zone. WJXT-TV image.
Posted on 09/25/2007 7:15:42 AM PDT by Cagey
ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. -- Some young St. Johns County students are no longer allowed to bring a popular lunchtime food to school. Peanut butter has been banned.
A kindergarten student at Ocean Palms Elementary in Ponte Vedra has a peanut allergy that has forced the student's classroom to become a peanut-free zone, WJXT-TV reported.
Not all parents are happy with the changes in other students' diets and the inconvenience caused by the peanut ban.
Tracey Torres's son is 5 years old. She said one of his favorite lunchtime sandwiches is peanut butter and jelly, which is also one of Torres's favorites because it's quick, easy and nutritious.
"That's just a typical thing that a kid brings to school and it's something my son likes. It's quick and easy for me in the morning. To not be able to bring that and have to do something else is a burden on me in the morning," Torres said.
She said the peanut-free classroom has been a burden on her in the morning since his kindergarten class at Ocean Palms went peanut free because another student is allergic to peanuts.
When the peanut allergy issue first came up, school officials tried to separate kids with nuts from kids without by sitting them at a different table in school but the close scrutiny was too much work.
"Too much work … and the students weren't always able to eat lunch," said Ocean Palms Elementary Michael Parrish.
Under the new peanut ban, students area able to eat lunch but just not peanuts.
Torres said she thinks it's unfair for kids to suffer because of one student's allergy.
"The burden should be placed back on the parent of that child, and their only responsibility should be to create an awareness with the other parents and children," Torres said.
However, Parrish said awareness isn't enough when dealing with a life-threatening allergy.
The principal said the school is working on a more permanent solution. He said they would probably end up with a peanut-free table in the cafeteria and another table that allows peanuts.
A kindergarten student at Ocean Palms Elementary in Ponte Vedra has a peanut allergy that has forced the student's classroom to become a peanut-free zone. WJXT-TV image.
I’ll bet that school is a “common sense free zone!”
Liberalism: Someone craps their pants,
and we all have to wear diapers.
(Except for the “liberal elites”, of course)
When did kids begin to be allergic to peanut butter? Apparently there is some kind of pandemic peanut butter allergy going around. And it has condemned us to pretzels on airplanes. Yet when I was a child in elementary school and high school, I don’t remember ANYONE ever being allergic to peanut butter. Does anyone know of any studies showing what has caused this?
How come there where no peanut allergies 15 years ago.
What have we birthed a bunch of anti-peanut mutants?
I believe this pandemic started during the Jimmy Carter years.
Geez, if my kids was deathly allergic to something like that, I would homeschool them.
But I suspect this is more of a control issue.
How come there where no peanut allergies 15 years ago.
What have we birthed a bunch of anti-peanut mutants?
How come there where no peanut allergies 15 years ago.
What have we birthed a bunch of anti-peanut mutants?
I can hardly wait for the wise-cracks on this one...
How come there where no peanut allergies 15 years ago.
What have we birthed a bunch of anti-peanut mutants?
The part that angered me was if a child brought a PB&J sandwich that child had to wear a peanut tag & sit at another table. Had my child been that allergic I would have wanted them to be in the nurse’s office or somewhere far away from kids eating PB&J sandwiches. I don’t think it was fair to the other children to be tagged with the peanut. I don’t know how the school is handling it this year. The plain fact is many children love them & its a cheaper lunch for many families.
Oh *THANK YOU* pinhead administrators for your clemency. Will the students be allowed to ingest water or beverages also, or does that require another royal decree?
Well, peanut allergies certainly are not a new thing. I have a 50-something uncle who is allergic to them. Also, I had a few friends 15 years ago, when I was in middle school, and even before that when I was in elementary school, who had pretty severe peanut allergies.
The simple solution was, they knew their allergy, and they used caution! We didn't have any ban on peanut butter in school.
Absolutely ridiculous.
I wouldn’t put that sign up if I were you. If you have a nut-free room you’ll get sued for discriminating against liberals.
Yes it was, the mother was really controlling and she made many parents angry. But her child was that allergic that she really had no choice. I think if my child was that allergic I would homeschool.
Peanut Allergy is DEADLY.....my friend’s son has one, so she sought out a PRIVATE SCHOOL that had a NO PEANUT RULE!! This is what this lady should do also.
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