School is mandatory going to a restaurant is not. Schools already cater to all types of special needs, banning nuts is not a big deal.

Catering to students with special needs and banning nuts for an entire school and its staff are two different things. Schools aren't altering courses and lesson plans for every student to match that of the special needs kid who requires 1 on 1 lessons and takes all day to learn one concept.

My gf is a type 1 diabetic, who stays away from carbs and has an allergy to eggs. We have been together 4 years and I am still figuring out what is ok for her to eat/drink. She often orders a diet coke at a restaurant and is given a regular coke instead. When she informs them that she can't have it and needs a diet coke because it doesn't have sugar, the response is often "There's no sugar in diet coke?"

People are imperfect beings. They can make mistakes, be ignorant, uncaring, or spiteful. Why would I put all my trust in them to keep my kid safe?

Your telling me you are going to put your trust in a 6 year old not to eat nuts or foods that do not contain nuts?

It's up to adults to make sure kids are safe .

FYI: kids with special needs do get extra help and classes are modified to meet there needs.

It's not just lunch though is it. It's breakfast too. My kids have Peanut Butter toast for breakfast. Now they can't because they might take something to school. Wash your hands you say? It gets under finger nails. Also they are kids and they are slow ass some days and I have to rush them to the bus so hands don't get washed. So NO it's not just at school.
Oh wait buy Wow butter instead right? So now I have to think about someone else kid while I'm doing my shopping for MY family. Again your asking thousands of people (every person in every family of a child in that school plus teachers and their families too) to cater to 1 child. If a child has special needs in school it affects that child only and they get special help. The responsibility for them isn't placed in the hands of children and other parents.

Home schooling for kids is a very viable option these days with the advancement of technology.

Berz out.

Is this a serious response?

I am telling you I place the responsibility and trust to keep my kids safe on me, as a parent, first and foremost. I do not expect others, especially an public institution tasked with providing a standardized education at the lowest cost possible for as many as possible, to change the way they operate for all students and staff in order to match the needs of my kids.

FYI: There is a difference between accommodating someone and forcing everyone to be the same as them.

My cousin have a learning disorder and overly active. His parents takes him a special school so he doesn't affect the learning of others around him. Why should other kids be bother by him (He will always go around bugging other kids in class, asking them questions, talking to them). Is not other kids fault that they have to cater to his needs. There are school that are design for special needs kids so they don't affect everyone else.

If my kids are in the same school as someone who is allergic to peanuts sure I won't pack lunch with peanuts or nuts for my kids that I know of. I won't however spend 20mins reaching each and every label of items I buy to make sure it have no peanuts or nuts. So if something I purchase happens to have nuts it them, too bad so sad.

As a parent of two little ones, this discussion has been booted around many times over the years. I can empathize with allergies and parents wanting to care for their children, it's what a parent does. Free education is part of our society, but taxes to pay for it isn't. So when does one groups' needs outweigh another and when will there not be someone that feels included through legislated exclusion? Our current social engineering is headed down a one-way road, starting with parents now wishing the entire system to cater to their individual needs. Not sure there is any answer that would make both sides happy, and the issue will only grow.

When do you draw a line? A few years ago, a woman sued an Ontario school board under a Human Rights Tribunal - yeah, Human Rights, to ban the entire school from all children bringing anything with dairy or eggs. Now, there are hundreds of requests in Ontario - one child has allergies to apples, others to pollen in the air (wants the school board to weed the forest) - as a Human Right. So, where is the severity line drawn? Who caters to whom? This is the aftermath, took years to accomplish: https://www.thespec.com/news-story/5...on-dairy-eggs/

If my child was so allergic to foods that they could die by being around other children - I would not be putting my trust onto the school or other parents to handle the welfare of my child; I would be home schooling or finding another solution. Berz makes some good retorts and I agree to a degree.

The logical fallacy here is called the appeal to extremes.

Well, your child's lunch isn't as important as the other child's life, so that comparison is pretty irrational.

For the record, I agree with you about the part about not sending my kid to public school if she would die from being in the same room as a peanut.

I don't think peanut free is hard to oblige. Nowadays there are so many options. My friend who's allergic to peanuts can eat any other type of nut. Theres almond butter, cashew butter, etc. In terms of your kids school, I dont have kids yet but wouldn't have a problem catering to that because if the roles were reversed and my child had a deadly allergy, I would want other parents to extend the same understanding and compassion.

Having allergies myself, I understand what it's like to feel frustrated that I can't eat what other people eat without having any side effects. My grandpa actually told my parents to give me a little of everything I was allergic to so my body would get used to it and not go into shock when I came into contact with it.

Allergies change about every 7 years or so. I highly believe it stems from our gut and our food. Gut dysbiosis can contribute to a lot of allergies. Antibiotics are the devil....slowly overtime antibiotics destroy the good bacteria in your GI and can cause leaky gut. Leaky gut has symptoms that present themselves as allergies/food sensitivities. Meat, dairy and processed foods are the hardest on your system.

There's natural remedies for most things. For me, anything less than your throat closing up can be worked on. If you're lactose intolerant, you can ingest 250ml of kefir a day and slowly build up. It helps your body learn how to digest properties of lactose.

Fermented foods & raw vegan juices are a fucking godsend.

I think kids with allergies need to learn to deal with their allergies because they are not going to be sheltered their entire lives. There was a girl in UBC a few years back who ordered a smoothie that had peanut products in it (I think intentionally, a protein shake maybe) and unfortunately did not have her Epi-pen with her and passed away.

At the same time, kids will be kids, they get their kids dirty at lunch then get their hands everywhere. So I can understand why a ban is in place in elementary school.

There's a peanut butter alternative called Wow-butter which my kids like.