Our school does not allow home made things either. I have made items because I am certified/licensed. This year my daughter has 2 children with peanut/wheat allergies. I chose not to separate these children from the group and brought something everyone could eat. In fact one of the children came to my daughters birthday party. I made her something special but it matched the party cake. There are SO many kids now with allergies. I've actually considered home school for next year... for other reasons. Coming from a mom with a child who has other issues to overcome I totally know where you are at Kitagrl.

Just one other small point, but since people are learning more about allergies here:
Peanuts are NOT nuts! Peanuts are legumes. They grow under the ground. Tree nuts are seperate things.....almonds, cashews, macadamia, brazil nuts, etc.....
You can be allergic to peanuts and eat tree nuts with no issues. You can be allergic to tree nuts and be allergic to peanuts. Or, of course, you can be allergic to both.
There are several possible reasons there seem to be more allergies nowadays. When you think about it, we have more varied foods easily available than we did even 20 years ago! When my grandmother was a little girl, getting to eat an orange, banana or nuts was unheard of! You didn't see peanuts unless you lived in the south. Now, with shipping by air and grocery stores that carry thousands of products from around the world, we're exposed to so much more than people ever used to be! We're also exposed to pesticides, weed killers and all kinds of other chemicals.
It's very likely that people had the same allergies and diseases even then, but people didn't just know what it was. People got "the vapours", had "spells", were "fragile". Children died young on a regular basis and that was just a fact of life. Anaphalaxtic reactions were probably assumed to be instances of choking.

I agree with Kitagirl. Precisely the reason I make his lunch every day. Even after we instructed the school that he is not to even touch offending foods, they had him playing in bran flakes with some kind of buggy thing. His behavior kept getting worse and worse until I went in one day and saw him playing in bran flakes with this buggy thing (some kind of worm or something). So I told them (again) that he couldnt even touch the stuff. Fewer problems now that theyre paying more attention!

Kitagirlyou and I seem to agree on hot button topics on CC! At least the ones I inadvertently started! Are you my long lost sister?!

Great idea about the cake Tarheelgirl. Right now, we have all chosen not to have any of these things around him since he is only 19 mo's old and doesn't understand. When he gets older, I'll have to keep that idea in mind.

Jonahsmom...funny.

I've heard its because our society is so "clean" that the immune systems are grabbing ahold of anything they can to react against. I know my son with urticaria...its an autoimmune disease and basically his immune system is overreacting to life!

I have heard that in third world countries their bodies are so busy fighting off daily germs that they aren't able to worry about being allergic to anything.

It really is something to think about, not that we can help it!!!! Seems like the "cleaner" and more sanitary our culture gets, the more allergic and autoimmune it gets.

Oh well.

Just to say again...I feel for you moms who deal with food allergies. I didn't realize how psychologically difficult a special diet was on my son until I took him off of it...he literally was somewhat food-dysfunctional for about a good 6 months (yeah I made that up haha)...he would steal treats occasionally (now that he knew he *could* eat them) and he was obsessed with whether it was "itchy" or "non-itchy" food. I'm so glad we are past that, even though 11 pills per day and still having a few hives isn't the best...it could be tons worse. haha. He's starting Kindergarten this year and I'm glad he can eat whatever and fully pity those whose children cannot.

And who knows, my kids are young...we still may end up having to deal with something like that. Seems so prevalent.

Oh...I do agree with no homemade foods though, to be fed in the classroom...my kids are ok with it at private but in public, you have NO clue who is making what, and what is inside the food...I would make that same decision if I were in charge, definitely. Today you can never be too careful about stuff like that.

I agree. I just think all these antibacterial things we have now a days may have to do with this too. This is just my opinion I just think we are killing too much of the good bacteria as well as the bad ones along with it.

Some of the teachers won't allow homemade treats. They have me do it only because they know that I do cakes/cookies/etc. on the side and know that I'm professional (clean, sanitary) about it.

One teacher said the things she has seen come from people's homes are SCARY so she doesn't allow it in her classroom anymore! But they trust me to be clean and know exactly what I'm putting in the food - probably in part due to how I am about my son's diet.

But I do know, now, that if I'm asked to do something for the whole elementary school again I will ask about allergens so that I can assure parents/teachers that there isn't anything to worry about, or that I will have to do something special (but hopefully identical) for the kids with allergies. I definitely don't want to leave any one out and am glad that the little girl WAS able to participate!

I love being able to include people with food allergies as well..its fun to give them a special treat!

Absolutely! I know the couple times that one of the parents thought to include Jonah he was amazed! And so was I!!!! I never would've asked them to. It was wonderful that they thought of it and made me, and Jonah, feel GREAT!!!!

As peanuts are legumes, then are those people also allergic to other legumes?
Beans, peas, clover sprouts, etc. or are peanuts somehow treated differently by the body?

They aren't necessarily. Peanuts and other legumes share some proteins, but not many. There can be cross reactivity to the similar proteins though. If you're allegic to peanuts you need to be tested for allergies to other legumes.
I developed food allergies about 4 years ago. My allergist said that people can develop allergies at any point in their lives for no reason. Literally from one week to the next I had a very bad reaction to shrimp. When they tested me, I tested severely allergic to shellfish and brazil nuts. They suggested that I avoid all tree nuts, which I do, even though the tests for other tree nuts didn't show reactivity. It's just the smart thing to do. I don't worry about being in the same room with people eating shellfish or nuts though. I just don't eat them myself.

Jodie

My four year old son has a severe peanut allergy and what we learned is that peanut allergies are usually progressive. His first reaction was a few mild red spots around his mouth. Being uneducated about the allergy, we just thought "Okay, we won't give him any for a year or so", but still had it in the house. A year and a half later, he pulled a chair up to the counter and got into the jar while I was in the bathroom. Immediately hives up his arms, eyes swelling, face red, ears swelling and coughing because his "throat felt really funny . . .". Directly to the hospital. They told us that each exposure could produce a worse reaction. This is why at the schools or other places the "may contain . . ." label needs to be considered. It may not contain anything bad, but IF it does, the reaction could be worse than the last time.

It is hard for everyone these days that we need to consider food allergies all the time. I am thankful that his playschool and the school he goes to are both peanut free. He has an epipen, so sending him to school will not kill him, everyone is trained on how to use it and eventually he will be to. I believe in the public school system , having been a teacher before staying home with our three young ones. He already misses out on a lot - no playdates anywhere else, no cake at birthday parties (or any treats really), every special occasion at school other parents bring in "may contain" items and he knows to ask and then say no thank you. I always make extra for him and offer to bring the treats as often as I can so that I know he can eat them. Do I think he should have to be homeschooled on top of all the other modifications we already make for him? No, I don't. He is just a kid. He didn't ask for this allergy. Am I sorry that other kids can't bring peanut butter to school? Not really. If you can be creative in the kitchen with cakes, I'm sure you can be creative with sandwich options! No rudeness intended at all, I just think we need to be able to think globally and consider the needs of others.

That's all. Interesting thread! Just so you all know, even Wilton gel colors "were processed in a factory etc. etc.". A kind CC'er informed me that Crystal Colors are peanut free!