My oldest child has a severe peanut allergy. We chose his pre-school in part because it is a peanut-free facility. I'm proud that he's learning to be careful. In fact, on Halloween, "trick-or-treat" was followed by "I'm allergic to peanuts." We got a lot of funny looks from candy givers.
Today when I picked him up from pre-school info was out on the next field trip - to the Texas Roadhouse. There was a note mentioning for parents of peanut-allergy children to take note. I've never been there, but they said there are buckets of peanuts out. I informed the teachers that if that was the case, that we wouldn't be going...
Since then it has kind of eaten at me. Why would they choose a location that a couple of their students could not participate in? I feel like my kid is being knowingly excluded. That's not fair to him. I pay a flat fee for field trips and feel a bit jipped. I'm torn between shrugging it off and saying something.
What would you do?
8 comments:
Is he allergic to being around them or just eating them? And are you going along or staying home? Try not to assume ill motive and see if you can work out to go along with him.
I would let it go. The world does not change just because a few people have a problem - they need to learn to live around their problems.
Our eldest could not do a lot of things when she was at school because of problems that she had. We could not expect the school to plan around her, it was us that had to do the adjusting and compensating.
Why in the world are they taking pre-schoolers to Texas Roadhouse in the first place? Will they be showing them how to butcher a cow or something?
I wouldn't let it bother me too much...teachers have a lot of different kids and different issues to deal with.
Try to think of the long run...missing this one field trip probably won't have a life-altering affect on him.
Okay...I'll be the different one here. My first thought is WHY IN THE WORLD ARE THEY TAKING PRESCHOOLERS TO TEXAS ROADHOUSE??? Preschoolers typically don't eat STEAK!!! I don't see any big 'learning' opportunities there. ***BTW, there are peanuts EVERYWHERE there...not just out but all broken open and all over the floor!!!!! DO NOT take Ryan to that place!!!!****
Secondly, if they school advertises to be sensative to the peanut allergy issue then this is wrong! I could see the other points of view if they were going to take them to an Elephant farm for EDUCATIONAL purposes and there would be peanuts...then yes, just hold your peace and stay home but such is not the case! There are a million restaurants they could have choosen that DO NOT have peanuts spread all over from floor to ceiling!
More and more children are becoming severely allergic to peanuts every single day...there needs to be changes made so that these children can have the same opportunities as all the others! It'd be different if Ryan were the only one but he's not. The peanut allergy is everywhere!
I say, do it in love and respect but kindly show them your side and ask for a change or at the very minimum a refund for the feild trip fund for that particular trip. Ryan should not need to feel "different" or "excluded" in a place that he is to feel comfortable every other day away from his Mommy!
Be the change you want to see...bring it to their attention for Ryan and for the other kids who are unfortunate enough to have to deal with the peanut allergy!
You go Mom!!!
Being the mother of a child with a severe dairy allergy, I know how you feel.
I agree a bit with Teresa... you chose this pre-school because it offered a peanut free environment for your son, so why would they choose a restaurant that has peanuts everywhere for a field trip. I might ask a few whys to the administration to gain perspective for myself.
I also agree with Rock Chef... M is the only child in her class that is allergic to dairy. We provide all of her lunches and snacks everyday. We also provide snacks for the classroom that M can partake in. When a child celebrates a birthday we send in a treat that is M-friendly. I don't want M to feel different or singled out, but the truth is that if we don't drill it home with her then she could die if a bit of milk gets on her hand and she puts her hand in her mouth. She IS different, but I ensure that M knows that being different is not a BAD thing.
Good luck:)
I don't understand why they are going to a restaurant like Texas Roadhouse - there are peanuts everywhere - are they doing a cowboy theme? surely there are other more child friendly restaurants? - I agree with what the others say - but - I would ask very nicely what the purpose is -
Posting this for a friend who emailed her comment...
I read your blog, and wanted to comment, but didn't really want to set up an account to do so, so I did the email thing.
I totally disagree with the 3 comments that are on there now. I think you should say something.
Didn't you choose this pre-school because they had a no peanut policy? Maybe I am remembering that incorrectly, but if that is the case, that should extend to field trips.
You were asked to pay a flat fee for field trips, and they chose something they know not everyone can attend. Not just because they don't want to go, but because their child could die. Give me a break.
You also pay for pre-school. To me, there is a difference there between pre-school and Kindergarten etc. You are paying for a program, and that program should be taking into consideration everyone in it, and that they were chosen by you.
I would not recommend being confrontational, but I would certainly say something. You probably won't get anything out of it, but maybe next year they won't take a trip to Texas Roadhouse (which, I might question regardless of the peanut thing) and the kids that come after him won't have to miss out.
Hi,
My son is allergic to soy, peanuts, eggs, wheat and dairy. I started www.spewdfree.com to help other people who are have food allergies. All of the recipes on SPEWD Free are free of soy, peanuts, eggs, wheat and dairy. SPEWD Free also has a food allergy blog.
Thanks,
Heather
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