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Have a meeting with the principal
of your child's school, inviting the nurse, teacher and cafeteria
manager. Bring printed material outlining what needs to be avoided
in the school, what foods may contain peanuts, and what plan must be
taken if your child is exposed to peanuts.
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Have an in-service with your epipen
(epinephrine)
test unit. Show the teacher, nurse and principal how to administer
the epipen, and when.
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Be sure the school has your phone
number, cell number, pager number and emergency number posted in the
classroom, and that there is a phone in the classroom.
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All parents must be peanut allergy
educated. Provide a peanut allergy memo to your teacher to
distribute to all parents. This should briefly explain your
child's allergy, and give detailed information on
ingredients
that may contain peanuts. You can also provide your
phone number for any questions they have, and offer to help with ideas
when each child's birthday arrives.
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If your child will be eating in the
cafeteria, ask the school to provide a peanut free table. This
table must remain peanut free throughout the entire year.
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If your child is going to be using
a computer that the general school population uses, have the teacher
wipe the mouse and keyboard down thoroughly. If your child has
severe allergic reactions, you may wish to provide the school with a
mouse and keyboard that ONLY your child will use.
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Consider driving your child to
school. Buses may have smeared peanut butter on the seats, granola
bar crumbs and more. If this is not an option, you will need to
discuss having a peanut free bus for your child. This would
involve every child riding the bus to have peanut free lunches and
snacks.
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Be sure your child knows to NEVER
eat food belonging to someone else.
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Pack water for your child so he or
she does not have to touch the handles of water fountains.
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Ask that all children wash hands
after eating. If your child's class is able to wash hands first,
there is less chance he or she will be exposed to cross-contamination.
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If your school has a fall carnival,
ask what types of food will be served, and help your child avoid it.
Beware of cross-contamination at this type of event.
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Tell your child to never pick up
trash. Your child should also never be assigned cleanup duty in
school.
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If your child is going on a field
trip, be sure you are able to attend.
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Your child should only eat food
provided from home. Do not trust that other parents have sent
items such as cupcakes that are peanut free. Unfortunately,
despite any education you give the other parents, you cannot trust that
they understand the nuances of food allergies and cross-contamination.
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Ask the teacher to be sure all
craft projects do not contain items that may have peanuts.
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Educate any substitute teachers
that may be instructing your child.
