In which today is pretty much like any other day for Evan
But today is a day with profound meaning for his mother. Today is of course Evan's first full day of Kindergarten.
I awoke with a migraine this morning, which is really too bad, since I didn't get the pleasure of any wine to trigger it. Because of the migraine, I was late getting up. Evan had awakened with Grandma early this morning, and crawled into bed with me - of course, this limits sleeping. I got up at 7:50 and tried to get Evan up. This was something of a challenge; although he didn't get to bed too late last night, I suspect that he just didn't get enough sleep what with waking up.
I learned at yesterday's meeting at the school that there is no hot lunch for the kingergarteners this week, and so had to make him a lunch. The subject of food at school has become a huge point of contention due to hysteria over food allergies. I had pretty much decided that we'd let the school feed him, since they seem to think they can provide a peanut/tree-nut diet, and it's an overwhelming issue for parents to insure that there are no nut products in what their child brings to school.
I'm annoyed enough by all this that I did some research last night. Although the Enrichment teacher tells me that she's got 20 kids with food allergies (out of about 50 kids) , research [1] indicates that only about 8% of children will have food allergies, and of those less than one percent are considered life-threatening. Besides nuts, children may have life-threatening reactions to milk, soy, eggs, shellfish or wheat. No one is advocating removing any of the other common allergens from the school in entirety, although anaphalaxis due to any of the non-nut allergens is just as swift and deadly - and unpredictable, especially in children with a personal or family history of atropy, including conditions such as eczema, hay fever, or asthma.
Research also indicates that the incidence of nut allergies is grossly overreported - many diagnoses are made without sufficient tests and challenges to acertain not only the precise allergen, but if there really is an allergy at all. Just because a person tests for the IgE antibody, doesn't mean that they will react badly to any allergen. The only way to diagnose any allergy is to use double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges. Skin pricks and blood tests are reliable indicators of IgE antiboties, but poor predictors of reactivity. One wonders how many of the "food allergies" present at Lois Lenski (or in any other elementary school) have been thouroughly tested and accurately diagnosed.
The school district has a long-standing rule prohibiting the sharing of food, which should be quite enough precaution - combined with teacher enforcement - against allergic children eating potentially hazardous items. Yet, we are told that one particular potential allergen - nuts - must not come to school. This outright ban on nuts is often supported by the myth that even a whiff of peanut odor is enough to cause anaphalyxis; there is no mention in the research of bona fide reactions occuring other than through ingestion or contact with skin. Although subjects may react strongly to the smell or presence of peanut butter, these are antecdotal reports and not supported by clinical research. There is strong evidence that reactions to smell or proximity are psychosomatic.
A more common scenario is that the victim has had at least minimal physical contact with the allergen. For instance, the person may have been touched (or kissed) by another person who has handled or consumed nut products. For this reason, it makes good sense to maintain high standards of cleanliness in the classroom, both in personal hygene (which just makes good sense in any case) and in keeping surfaces very clean.
Furthermore, we were informed that Evan's class will remain nut-free throughout elementary school. The Kindergarten is nut-free this year; next year, the first grade will be nut-free. The likelyhood is strong that next year's Kindergerten classes will be nut-free too. However, research shows that children will not necessarily have the allergy forever; 20% outgrow the allergy. Will the kids in Evan's class be tested annually using double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges techniques? Doubtful.
If it was a matter of just prohibiting peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, this would be a simple matter. "No sharing" and "wash hands" rules should suffice to keep truly sensitive kids safe. But the prevalence of nuts in the American diet makes this a overwhelming and undue burden. Nuts are in many processed foods, and nut oils are used in many ethnic cuisines. This means that I can't send Evan to school with a long list of foods, which has been thoughtfully been provided by the school. Add to this the lack of education about the risk and safety of peanut oils in various states (and the total lack of labeling as to the state of the oil in question) and this issue becomes a case of Russian Roulette.
Other research indicates that children with food allergies experience a lower quality of life (QoL) than those with insulin-dependant diabetes! I would say that the QoL experience extends to the families of children who are in the same schools. As I'm packing Evan's lunch this morning, I find myself questioning my decisions. Peanut butter is right out, but what about the breading on the leftover chicken I sent? What about the oil in which it was fried? What if the truly sensitive kid pilfers a crumb in spite of teacher oversight and rules? What if my decision causes a child to suffer, or worse to die? Since the school has instituted a ban, am I legally liable? I suspect so. I have a sneaking suspicion (justifiable in fact) that the lawyers are behind all this.
After agonizing over lunch, Evan and I set off for school. His first full day. Well, not really full-day; full-day kindergarten is out of fashion just now. However, there is an enrichment session available which makes up for fashion, at $13 a day. We arrived at school at 8:50, and were directed to the primary playground, where he barely took a moment to give me a goodbye hug and kiss. Then he was off, eager to play with kids and on the playground equipment, and I was left in a swirl of other people's kids and parents clinging to cameras - or kids clinging to parents. I watched Evan for a bit, and then walked away.
He was totally at home, thouroughly absorbed in playing. I'm feeling like my little boy has grown up all too fast. At these times, I am forced to deal - unwilling - with issues of mortality, both his and mine. I know why people have a second child. As the first grows up, we long for the sweet innocence of our formerly very small child, and the need to maintain those sweet innocent days tends to overcome reason. Being an avowed only-child parent, today is especially bittersweet.
I thought I'd come home and cry all day. It still seems like a good idea, but I scheduled some self-care in the form of a hair appointment this afternoon. Make no mistake, I'm terribly proud of my little guy. But it all seems too soon. There are Coffee and Kleenax socials at the school today for the morning and afternoon parents. But I'm ducking all that - I can't handle other parents' grief and mine too.
[1] http://www.allerg.qc.ca/peanutallergy.htm
I awoke with a migraine this morning, which is really too bad, since I didn't get the pleasure of any wine to trigger it. Because of the migraine, I was late getting up. Evan had awakened with Grandma early this morning, and crawled into bed with me - of course, this limits sleeping. I got up at 7:50 and tried to get Evan up. This was something of a challenge; although he didn't get to bed too late last night, I suspect that he just didn't get enough sleep what with waking up.
I learned at yesterday's meeting at the school that there is no hot lunch for the kingergarteners this week, and so had to make him a lunch. The subject of food at school has become a huge point of contention due to hysteria over food allergies. I had pretty much decided that we'd let the school feed him, since they seem to think they can provide a peanut/tree-nut diet, and it's an overwhelming issue for parents to insure that there are no nut products in what their child brings to school.
I'm annoyed enough by all this that I did some research last night. Although the Enrichment teacher tells me that she's got 20 kids with food allergies (out of about 50 kids) , research [1] indicates that only about 8% of children will have food allergies, and of those less than one percent are considered life-threatening. Besides nuts, children may have life-threatening reactions to milk, soy, eggs, shellfish or wheat. No one is advocating removing any of the other common allergens from the school in entirety, although anaphalaxis due to any of the non-nut allergens is just as swift and deadly - and unpredictable, especially in children with a personal or family history of atropy, including conditions such as eczema, hay fever, or asthma.
Research also indicates that the incidence of nut allergies is grossly overreported - many diagnoses are made without sufficient tests and challenges to acertain not only the precise allergen, but if there really is an allergy at all. Just because a person tests for the IgE antibody, doesn't mean that they will react badly to any allergen. The only way to diagnose any allergy is to use double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges. Skin pricks and blood tests are reliable indicators of IgE antiboties, but poor predictors of reactivity. One wonders how many of the "food allergies" present at Lois Lenski (or in any other elementary school) have been thouroughly tested and accurately diagnosed.
The school district has a long-standing rule prohibiting the sharing of food, which should be quite enough precaution - combined with teacher enforcement - against allergic children eating potentially hazardous items. Yet, we are told that one particular potential allergen - nuts - must not come to school. This outright ban on nuts is often supported by the myth that even a whiff of peanut odor is enough to cause anaphalyxis; there is no mention in the research of bona fide reactions occuring other than through ingestion or contact with skin. Although subjects may react strongly to the smell or presence of peanut butter, these are antecdotal reports and not supported by clinical research. There is strong evidence that reactions to smell or proximity are psychosomatic.
A more common scenario is that the victim has had at least minimal physical contact with the allergen. For instance, the person may have been touched (or kissed) by another person who has handled or consumed nut products. For this reason, it makes good sense to maintain high standards of cleanliness in the classroom, both in personal hygene (which just makes good sense in any case) and in keeping surfaces very clean.
Furthermore, we were informed that Evan's class will remain nut-free throughout elementary school. The Kindergarten is nut-free this year; next year, the first grade will be nut-free. The likelyhood is strong that next year's Kindergerten classes will be nut-free too. However, research shows that children will not necessarily have the allergy forever; 20% outgrow the allergy. Will the kids in Evan's class be tested annually using double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges techniques? Doubtful.
If it was a matter of just prohibiting peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, this would be a simple matter. "No sharing" and "wash hands" rules should suffice to keep truly sensitive kids safe. But the prevalence of nuts in the American diet makes this a overwhelming and undue burden. Nuts are in many processed foods, and nut oils are used in many ethnic cuisines. This means that I can't send Evan to school with a long list of foods, which has been thoughtfully been provided by the school. Add to this the lack of education about the risk and safety of peanut oils in various states (and the total lack of labeling as to the state of the oil in question) and this issue becomes a case of Russian Roulette.
Other research indicates that children with food allergies experience a lower quality of life (QoL) than those with insulin-dependant diabetes! I would say that the QoL experience extends to the families of children who are in the same schools. As I'm packing Evan's lunch this morning, I find myself questioning my decisions. Peanut butter is right out, but what about the breading on the leftover chicken I sent? What about the oil in which it was fried? What if the truly sensitive kid pilfers a crumb in spite of teacher oversight and rules? What if my decision causes a child to suffer, or worse to die? Since the school has instituted a ban, am I legally liable? I suspect so. I have a sneaking suspicion (justifiable in fact) that the lawyers are behind all this.
After agonizing over lunch, Evan and I set off for school. His first full day. Well, not really full-day; full-day kindergarten is out of fashion just now. However, there is an enrichment session available which makes up for fashion, at $13 a day. We arrived at school at 8:50, and were directed to the primary playground, where he barely took a moment to give me a goodbye hug and kiss. Then he was off, eager to play with kids and on the playground equipment, and I was left in a swirl of other people's kids and parents clinging to cameras - or kids clinging to parents. I watched Evan for a bit, and then walked away.
He was totally at home, thouroughly absorbed in playing. I'm feeling like my little boy has grown up all too fast. At these times, I am forced to deal - unwilling - with issues of mortality, both his and mine. I know why people have a second child. As the first grows up, we long for the sweet innocence of our formerly very small child, and the need to maintain those sweet innocent days tends to overcome reason. Being an avowed only-child parent, today is especially bittersweet.
I thought I'd come home and cry all day. It still seems like a good idea, but I scheduled some self-care in the form of a hair appointment this afternoon. Make no mistake, I'm terribly proud of my little guy. But it all seems too soon. There are Coffee and Kleenax socials at the school today for the morning and afternoon parents. But I'm ducking all that - I can't handle other parents' grief and mine too.
[1] http://www.allerg.qc.ca/peanutallergy.htm
posted by Melanie Unruh-Bays at
9:24 AM
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