Dear preschool, YOU HAVE TO BE MUCH CLEARER THAN THAT!

[HIU8]

DD's preschool classroom just became peanut/treenut free for the summer program. We got an email about it tonight. All it said was no products made with peanuts/treenuts. supposedly there will be a child with a LIFE THREATENING REACTION in the classroom. So, I took it upon myself to email back asking them to clarify whether a child can bring in a product that is either made on equipment that handles peanuts/treenuts or made in a factory that makes stuff with peanuts/treenuts. I assume that those items are also out (not a big deal as I am a label reader). I basically said that they NEED to spell it out and be specific or they will end up putting the child's life in danger. Also, I said it would be nice for parents who don't read labels (I can think of several parents currently with kids in the class who haven't a clue) to have a list of SAFE foods.

SO, why am I doing this????? Don't you think the preschool would have enough sense to MAKE IT VERY CLEAR TO PARENTS OF KIDS IN THIS CLASSROOM. My G-d. It's so easy to spell it out. I think it's the schools responsibility to do so. FWIW, I do not have a FA child. It just annoys me that telling us there is a kid with a life threatening allergy is in the class and then not spelling out specifics of what is expected with respect to food brought in irresponsible on the schools part.

That's all....

[crl]

The made on equipment shared stuff may be okay to have in the classroom, just not for the FA kid to eat. At least that's been the policy in our experience. The list of safe foods is tough because manufacturers change ingredients without warning. I read labels over and over and over again just to make sure this hasn't happened (ds has food allergies, though not peanut.)

Catherine

[MSWR0319]

I, as a parent to a child with PA, find it annoying that they didn't clarify one way or the other. I would have requested they go into a little more detail so everyone knew what was ok. a safe list is hard, as pp mentioned. I have found that labels change and you just don't know it unless you check.

[HIU8]

Ok, well I am assuming that life threatening would include foods made on or near equipment that handles the allergic food, not just from injesting the allergic food. As I understand it, some kids have reactions from eating, some from just touching and some b/c of airborne particles (please correct me if I am wrong). Maybe a list of foods that are blatant known offenders if a safe list is not possible to be made.

Sorry, this is the second classroom my kids have been in that has been peanut/treenut free. DS had a classmate that was allergic but it was not life threatening so they were sort of lax about it.

[MamaMolly]

:kisscheek: for you, Heather, for caring!!!!!