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Is it OK to put peanut paste on my child’s sandwich even though school has a “nut aware” policy?


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  • Yeah, it’s fine, your child just needs to thoroughly wash their hands and face after eating.


  • Check with the school… not sure what a nut aware policy is. My daughters kindy is a complete nut ban.


  • I would be checking with the school first to make sure if it ok or not as well!


  • In a word “NO”. Some people only have to get within the smell of them and instantly having breathing and other problems. Some don’t even smell it first. It can be fatal before others become aware there is a problem, especially when amongst mainly children. The location should be Nut FREE not Nut aware.


  • I probably wouldn’t just in case there is lots of other things you can put on.


  • I have to pack a daycare lunchbox for my toddler and although I haven’t been given instructions about no nuts/ eggs in her lunchbox I choose not to put those ingredients in her lunch. My opinion is that it’s better to be safe than sorry.


  • At the kids’ school they all ate together and no sharing was allowed so we could give peanut butter sandwiches to our own. The kids that are allergic are well aware of what sets them off and what to avoid, it seems. The whole of the primary years had not one incident due to common sense from both sides I guess.


  • I would be checking with the school first to make sure if it ok or not. If they have a nut aware policy I would think that it would be a no, but check just in case.


  • You need to check with your child’s school. But knowing someone who has lost a young child to an egg allergy, I wouldn’t want to risk being the one that sent their child to school with a peanut butter sandwich, I would never be able to live it down!


  • You should check what the policy actually is. My sons school has a policy that you can have it but must wipe the table and clean hands etc as soon as sandwich is finished (or something along those lines)


  • Nut Aware schools still allow nuts, however it is recognised that there are children within the school with moderate to severe allergic reactions. It can be frustrating ensuring that your kids don’t take nut products to school (especially when they love Nutella) but personally I wouldn’t – I just wouldn’t want to be responsible for a child to have a reaction (it’s quite scary seeing someone having an anaphylaxis reaction). The school my children go to are Nut & Egg Aware, and I know one of the children in my younger daughter’s class is highly allergic to both nuts and eggs – so just to be on the safe side I don’t include either and leave nuts and eggs for at home only. But for a Nut Aware school it’s your choice (check with your child’s teacher to see if there are any allergies in your child’s class).


  • Absolutely not.


  • I would not take the risk as I look at it like this…. I would not want to be responsible for another child’s anaphylatic reaction which in some children can result in death or near death experience. Personally it is not worth the risk there are plenty of other filling choices and it is totally unavoidable.


  • Very Good response BLONDIE . Check with school.


  • my daughter loves peanut butter but unfortunately her school is a Nut Free Zone. I have heard that there is a difference in some schools between Nut Free and Nut Aware. Nut Free is quite obvious but Nut Aware is meaning that you just need to be aware that some kids in the school may be allergic, but it depends on how allergic. Example is that in my daughters school there are children with epipens and high risk anaphylaxis. Maybe talk to your childs teacher or principle to find out exactly where they stand on this.


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