It's not hard. It shouldn't even be a debate. If leaving the peanut butter at home saves another kid's life, it's really that simple.
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Don’t Be a Jerk. Just Leave the Peanut Butter at Home

 

By Heather Jones of hmjoneswriter.com

It’s 9:00 am and my five-year-old is already on his second peanut butter sandwich of the day. He has gone very few days at home without peanut butter of some kind. Sandwiches. Banana “hot dogs.” Tortilla boats filled with peanut butter and banana. You name it. He is the pickiest eater on the planet, and to get some protein into him, I’ve had to get creative.

Why am I telling you this? Because he is back to school in a nut free environment, and he will give up his beloved peanut butter for 6.5 hours a day, and the world will continue to spin. He will be told he cannot have it for breakfast or lunch. If he wants some after school, he is welcome to it. And he will understand because he wants to keep his friends safe.

Every year, I see at least one parent complaining about their lack of rights to send peanut butter to school because it is “all their child eats.” I get it. See first paragraph. But here’s the thing: our children’s food preferences are secondary to the seriousness of food allergies. I don’t care if my child needs to figure out some other things to eat or be hungry if it means that one or more of his classmates’ lives are not put at risk. I mean, priorities here.

I understand that there are some children for whom giving up nuts is harder; for example, children who are diabetic or children who are not neurotypical. This post isn’t aimed at you. Yes, there still needs to be some way to accommodate your child’s needs without compromising the safety of others, but I recognize it isn’t cut and dry for you.

This post is for the parents I see every year, saying, often literally, “Your child’s allergies are not my problem, my kid is a picky eater.” No. Just no. Your kid can survive 6.5 hours without peanut butter. A child with a life-threatening allergy might not survive coming into contact with nut residue.

So at the risk of sounding rash, suck it up and leave the peanut butter at home, and don’t make the parents of kids with allergies feel badly about it. Just do it.

This post was originally published on Heather M. Jones – Writer.

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About the Author

Heather Jones is a freelance writer in Toronto, and mother of two young boys. She is a regular contributor for Yummy Mummy Club and the Savvymom group of parenting websites. Heather has also been featured on the CBC, The Mighty, BluntMoms, The HerStories Project, and several other publications. Read more at hmjoneswriter.com and follow Heather on Facebook and Twitter.