AS the mother of a child with a very severe allergy to peanuts (he just spent 24 hours in the hosp after getting hit in the face with a peanut butter cookie at a food fight), I do not expect schools to become peanut free. What I have worked out with schools is that there is a peanut free table in the cafeteria, where only people with no peanuts in their lunch may sit.
Incidentally, when he was in elementary school, the cafeteria did go peanut free after my son had to be airlifted from a cookie that was inadvertently placed on his tray. I suspect more school cafeterias will go to this
This is a real problem, and these kids can die after just touching something that has touched peanuts. I think kids can cont to enjoy their pbj at school and reasonable accomodations can be made for allergic kids--I do not dictate to others what they can do, just ask for understanding and cooperation. I think this can solve most problems.
First I have heard of this: story of a teenage girl who asked her mom to get her a "peanut sniffing dog" so she could go to school and not be at risk from her peanut allergy. Such a dog qualifies as a service dog and with one she will no longer be homebound.
Read it or watch the video--take your pick.
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/money/news-article.aspx?storyid=38694
Anyone know more about this? One anecdote is not enough to establish this as a solution.