I only give my kids nut products at home, as I do think that it could caus others issues. I worked at a school where a student was so allergic that if someone ate peanuts before school and washed their hands first thing, she would still have a huge reaction if she touched that same tap at the end of the school day! But if you have a peanut allergy you cannot rely on the whole world to know and/or take responsibility! If you have the allergy, you need to take precautions, yourself. If peanut butter was the only thing my children would eat, then I’d be giving them peanut butter sandwiches when we were out and about in public (prob outdoors more so than say sitting on a bench used by heaps of others) because I can’t not feed my kid on the off chance someone might come past who has an allergy!

Anywhere kids are with their parents then its their responsibility to make sure their kids stay out of contact with the allergen. Not random parents that are out.

Crazy! Are they going to ban satay from being sold in food courts too!

How ridiculous! The kid was in a shopping trolley- if you are that worried about your child with allergies maybe you shouldn’t take them out in public. I can understand it school but people should be able to eat what they want to. We love peanut butter in our household and when I pack a picnic lunch it is often peanut butter sandwiches.

I bet there are hundreds of adults though that eat nuts then go touch a trolley or other various items that everyone else touches. You can’t control something like that in the outside world that is huge compared to the confines of your own home.

The only thing would be that the girl was eating the sandwich in a shopping trolley. What if some peanut butter was smeared on the seat, and the kid sitting after her had a peanut allergy? Would that be enough to trigger an episode?

It is important to be mindful of anaphylaxis and peanut allergies are unfortunately very high. Peanut butter is very sticky and can be smeared places, which could affect a child with an allergy, for this reason we only eat it at home. I have been to parks where people have shelled and dumped peanut husks all over the playground, if your child had an allergy and was to touch these they would be in trouble. I would not want to be responsible for placing a child’s life at risk. I would however, not intervene if someone did chose to eat a sandwich in public.

Like this mum I don’t give my kids peanutbutter or nuts to school when there is a nut restriction, but I’m fine with giving my kids nuts in public. One of my kids can’t have any diary. Would I abuse anyone I see licking an icecream in public, just because my daughter can’t have it ? That’s nonsense !

I really cannot understand all these allergies that children seem to have nowadays when I was a child this sort of thing was never heard of , where do these allergies come from . — we ate anything no ill effects , and nothing happened to children around use or had contact with us, as for what you could eat at school you could take your own or buy an oslo (spelling) lunch, (shows my age)
question: is it how the food is processed nowadays, maybe all the preservatives and additives that our food has in it and on it, fruit and vegetables are sprayed . also picked too early and placed into cold storage. the latest craze with all this is tomatoes on the vine whoever has seen tomatoes growing on a very bright green stalk, it is a long time since I have eaten a tomato that tastes like a tomato they look ripe but are not ripe when you cut into them,
nothing keeps when brought home from the supermarket it really has to be eaten straight away. I could go on and on about the food that is presented to us by the supermarkets, most of it not fit to eat .

where do you draw the line, the world is getting crazier all the time, why dont we just ban eating in public, then will everyone be happy?

Best way is don’t touch another person or let your child do the same, Yes, it sounds extreme but if you have a child who can’t have skin to skin contact because of some allergies that is what you may need to do. e.g. some medications actually leech out your skin for a few hours after you have taken it and can cause breathing / and or balance problems for others. e.g. Iboprufen which is an ingredient in some anti-inflammatory medications. Also now Codeine is by prescription only it is now being substituted in painkillers that didn’t use to contain it.

Can imagine a possible problem if the child touched the shopping trolley – but if you wipe it down after your child exits then it isn’t a problem in my mind.

No. Sorry, I don’t take any special precautions when in a public place with what I eat. Aren’t there many things that can give people serious reactions ….sesame seeds, eggs, tofu. I wouldn’t know where to start, or stop, my efforts. If this is a really serious issue for those with nut allergies maybe there should be some general code that applies not just to consumers but to food vendors in public places as well (eg ice cream sellers who add nuts, coffee shops that sell carrot and walnut cake, supermarkets who sell loose nuts etc.). Surely they are all possible sources of contamination of items in a public space, like trolleys and seats, etc.

I’m careful about not sending peanut butter/ snacks to any kid activities. I must admit that I’m less careful in situations where my kids are less likely to have physical contact with others.

Probably should not have given her the sandwich while using a trolley that other people/children would be using after her – some people/children with allergies are highly susceptible not just to eating but also to smell and touch. She certainly shouldn’t have been abused though!

I don’t think she should have been told off for it but I would maybe not have given peanut butter out in public, purely because i do know people with severe allergies so it is more in my thoughts. Yes the people with the allergies need to take responsibility for their own health but a small child doesn’t understand this themselves. It i something you don’t really think about until you have to