My daughter is allergic to peanuts. Yet I have no desire to stop all other kids from eating peanuts.
Why am I telling you all this? How could such a nutty possibility even come up? Well, some grade schools are banning peanuts in school because a few kids can get sick from it. Schools in at least 10 states are issuing such edicts.
I guess there’s a desire to help kids here. But if your child has this allergy, why not simply make it known to the school that he or she must avoid peanuts and peanut butter? And why not also tell your kid to avoid peanuts and peanut butter? It’s called self-responsibility.
If you’re worried that the kid might bungle it and get sick, you could also ask the school to keep the appropriate medicine on hand. At my daughter’s school, a teacher tried to make her eat candy with peanuts in it. My daughter steadfastly refused.
So I think the kids can handle this. I’m not so sure about our schools. You’d think teachers would take a kid’s word for it if the kid is refusing candy. But the mentality these days is that you have to go by the rule, come hell or high water, no matter what the rule is. If the rule is kids must have peanuts, then you cram it down their throats. Or else you make peanut-eating a crime, even if most kids have no problem with it. Never mind the long and worthy tradition of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Speaking of allergic reactions, I have a terrible allergic reaction to this kind of zero-common-sense mentality. Maybe some of the kids do, too.