Freaking out about Kindergarten. Ideas?

sabrina69barnes

DS2 has a severe peanut and onion allergy. He will start school in 2014. When DS1 was in Kindergarten I was very involved in the classroom. He doesn't have allergies but classmates did. I loved his teacher but she made a lot of allergy mistakes. I was usually the one that caught them. We live in the sticks and all of the schools around here are pretty clueless when it comes to allergies. They have minimal policies but they aren't strictly enforced. It's really bad when there is a sub.

One of the kindergarten teachers at the school has children with allergies. She is great and on top of everything. The principal at the school told me to remind her when I enroll DS2 but said she would make sure he gets this teacher. I was relaxed about school. I figured this gave us a year to keep DS safe until he can read and help advocate for himself. The teacher has tried to change school policies but hasn't gotten anywhere.

I found out last week that they are changing boundries for the schools and we may be going to a different school. Now I'm freaking out and I'm not sure what to do to make sure DS stays safe. Ideas?

ali26

Try to teach DS as much as possible about his own allergies?  My younger cousin is allergic to peanuts and I feel like by age 5/6 she had a pretty good understanding of why she couldn't eat certain foods at parties, etc.  that's probably the best way to prevent him swapping snacks with another kid or something- it's probably hard for teachers to keep track of every kid during lunch and snack.  

 

Id also request that the teacher not feed him any outside food, only what you send in.  If there is a party or something in the classroom try  to find out ahead so you can send him with a special treat.  A lot of schools are getting away from food centered celebrations anyway so maybe this won't be as much of an issue.   

EastCoastBride

Use this time to really teach DS about his allergy and that he needs to only eat what you provide.  My DS is 4 and has celiac.  While not serious in the sense that he'll go into shock, we clearly don't want him to eat anything that will make him sick.

He's VERY good about only eating what I tell him he can eat, and he's often the first person to tell someone "I can't eat wheat or gluten. I have celiac".  

Past that, when you find out where he'll be going and who his teacher is, I'd request a meeting w/ the teacher (and principal too, perhaps) to review the issues w/ DS and what it means if something happens to him (and seriously - put the fear in them....), and what it is that you REALLY need from them to help keep DS safe.  "It takes a village".  

This is the one thing I wish our preschool had been proactive about.  Over this past year, it's been clear to us that they really don't "get" allergies - specifically celiac.  While they absolutely do their best and work with us, they've also had odd reactions to some things and I just think that if we had all sat down at the start of the year so that we could really go over w/ his teachers what it means - they wouldn't have been so nervous themselves!  

bklynbridecesh

How severe is the allergy?   My DD has an ingestible peanut allergy.  She is not bothered by peanut dust near her for example.  Does your DS have asthma?  Other issues? What is your state's public school policy about food allergies?  Become familiar with the laws in your state.  In NY for example, at least two people must be Epi Pen trained, and there must be a written plan in place.   Depending upon the severity, you may want to considered a Section 504 Health Paraprofessional. We did not go this route because we felt it was too restrictive, however, I put everything in writing to the principal, teacher, and school nurse about our wishes.  In PreK it was hard because the teachers and staff were really lax about it.  Now in Kindergarten, I am much more comfortable with my DD being able to advocate for herself, and I stayed on top of the administration and staff.  You need to teach your son about his allergy.  Role play with him different scenarios and what he should do.  HTH. 

Sexynerd

My ds has a severe peanut allergy too. He as never even ingested peanut butter or any peanut product, but when he was a toddler, he had some peanut butter just touched his arm and he immediately went into anaphylactic shock. I swore I was going to homeschool him because it was just too much stress on me.  

Our school district has a policy where only the school nurse can administer the epi pen, and it must be kept in her office. All I could imagine was some kid eating a pb&j sandwich for lunch, then that kid (with his dirty, peanut butter-infested hands) and  my ds playing ball, and ds getting it on him, and him going into anaphylactic shock again...

So we talked about it every day. We can share anything but lunches. I made it clear that he cannot take food from anyone. Also, we got him into the habit of asking everyone if food contains peanut and/or wheat ingredients (he has celiac disease also). He asked servers in restaurants, family members, room parents, etc.

Our school district does not allow birthday celebrations in class, so that was easier on me but for when they had special holiday celebrations, I would either offer to supply the "sweets" for the class or be in excessive communication with the room mom about what was being provided so that I could be let them know what ok and what wasn't. I was never met with any resistance about his allergies and my efforts to protect him by any of the room parents; he's in third grade now and that's still the case.

We bought a cool allergy bracelet with an extra band as well as dog tags so that he could choose which to wear, but he understans that he must wear one of them every single day. In fact, he never takes off his bracelet now. He has this one:

 https://petitebaublesboutique.com/store/WsDefault.asp?One=1845

 I provide him with wet ones wipes so he can wipe his eating area and hands before he eats. And I made sure he knew how to wipe an area properly.

Just keep talking to him about it. For my ds, it is his way of life and we don't make a big deal of it. His friends know about his allergy and have helped him wipe his area, they've informed substitutes about his allergy, and they let other kids in the lunch room know he can't be near the pb&j if someone gets too close. 

I know it's a stressful thought but its all about keeping him informed and aware.

Hth! 

Nea2009

Wow! As a teacher myself....anytime I have a child with food allergies I make it a "peanut free zone" without a doubt.....or whatever the allergy  is. I've never had students'  parents not respect this. Good luck! I say talk to the teacher and be kind about it but blunt about severity of allergy. 

wifeofadam

This was my initial reason for homeschooling.  I just don't feel safe sending my dairy and peanut allergic son somewhere and trusting others to feed him.  Even our own family members who are aware of the allergies have made mistakes before.