Food Allergy and Field Trips
Dec 1 2009 in All Site Articles, Food Allergy News, School Info by Ruth LovettSmith
I have a bit of a situation that I need help working through and would love to open up a discussion on this.
My 6 year old son has life threatening food allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, sesame and soy.
He is allergic by ingestion AND by touching surfaces with allergens present and touching his eyes, nose and or mouth.
We have a school plan that states (among other things) that we are encouraged to attend all field trips.
There is an upcoming field trip that I have volunteered for and was bumped to accommodate other parents who have not had the opportunity this year.
The explanation is that there will be no food consumed on the trip.
What I’d like to know is–as parents of life threatening food allergic children:
1. Do you feel you have the right to go on field trips to keep your child safe and administer an epi pen if necessary?
2. Do you feel safe Not going on field trips?
3. Do you trust a parent or teacher–to keep an eye on your child outside of school, to notice potential allergic reactions, to administer epi if needed?
4. What is your plan should your child have a reaction and you are NOT on the trip. Ie does a school nurse go and if not who will ride to the hospital with your child? Are you okay with your child riding to the hospital alone?
Of course age plays a role in this. I’d like to hear from everyone about how they handle field trips but I’m especially interested in hearing how parents of young children handle school field trips. Please pass this post along. I’d really like to get an idea of how the allergy community feels about this.
Please post your comments below and thank you in advance for your insight!
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Tara Stanford said on December 1, 2009
I would want to be there. He is only 6! If no room on bus, etc. I would drive separately and offer to pay own way if possible. Surely if you express your concerns, they could make room for you.
Being safe in a classroom you have seen with your own eyes is one thing. But somewhere else? His teacher has no idea what he could come in contact with.
Elizabeth Goldenberg, President, Onespot Allergy said on December 2, 2009
If we couldn’t attend the trip, at our expense if necessary, we likely wouldn’t send our son. Sometimes there’s another food allergy parent in the class who can stand in your place, but usually we’re watching out for their kids for them. If I spoke to my son (age 7.5) in preparation to take the trip alone about eating his own food, no sampling, wash his hands first, he’d likely feel concerned and not want to go. I think your best bet would be to speak to the principal to see if you can be added to the trip. The teacher may have missed your point and a gentle nudge from the principal may get you back on the bus. Good luck with this!
Connie said on December 2, 2009
My son is 5 and allergic to peanut, tree-nut, sesame seeds, poppy seeds,sunflower seeds, egg and shellfish. In addition he is severely latex allergic.
My son’s school is very helpful in that they always extend an invitation to me to attend, I would not feel comfortable sending him alone to most settings although his teacher is wonderful and I did let him go once as I could not attend. He had an EA with him though which was most reassuring.
I would not trust another parent to take care of him ever, sadly, it is hard for me to even trust family members to take care of him.
Ruth LovettSmith said on December 2, 2009
Thanks so much for your time and responses Tara, Elizabeth, and Connie!
Those are pretty much my thoughts exactly. But sometimes we all need to hear what others do to keep us in check.
I think some schools think our requested accommodations are crazy–but should a reaction occur…..
It’s our vigilance that keeps our children safe.
Danielle said on December 2, 2009
I have a son with LT allergies to peanuts and he’s been going on field trips since the age of 3 without me. However, I feel very comfortable with his teachers and he hasn’t had a reaction to touch alone. Every morning of the field trip I remind him and his teachers of the “special rules” for him. He MUST always be in his teacher’s group of kids and not assigned to another parent; his EpiPen bag (which includes benedryl, wipes, disposable placemat) is with the teacher at all times; he shouldn’t touch food from anywhere (including the bus seats) or anyone.
There have always been enough chaperones on his trips so the lead teacher could be/go with him to the hospital if necessary.
My son’s schools have always been very accommodating in allowing me to join. If they have enough chaperones, I still join and pay my own way for everything. In this case, I’d consider just driving him myself and meeting the class there – if you’re not comfortable sending him without you.
Good luck!
9to5to9 said on December 2, 2009
I wound up not going on my son’s – then 5yo – second field trip last year when several people who were supposed to babysit his brother flaked out on me. The district bans siblings from field trips.
I suppose I could have “just happened” to show up at the site, but the site wasn’t my concern. Getting there was, particularly since my son is contact allergic to peanut. I had his teacher’s word that they wouldn’t be eating on the bus, but I had no idea what other hands had touched what previously and then touched the bus.
The concern was eased somewhat because the kids were leaving before normal school hours, which meant no morning run for the bus and the bus had been cleaned the night before. Realizing that wouldn’t eliminate peanut traces on seats or rails, I gave his teacher a pack of baby wipes and asked her to wipe down the area where he would sit. I also knew that the school cafeteria had packed PBJs for sack lunches for kids who wanted to buy their meals (smart move, huh?) so I asked his teacher to keep my son away from those kids during lunch (he and they already were used to that drill in the cafeteria) and make sure EVERY kid used them after lunch. Not that I was necessarily concerned about every kid – though there were a lot of Lunchables that day because the kids had to have all-disposable lunches – but I didn’t want any one kid to feel singled out.
The teacher agreed to tote his emergency pouch with his EpiPen and Benadryl, and she’d volunteered to be trained on the pen at the start of the year so I knew she knew how to use it. Plus she would segregate my son’s lunch from the others, just in case. I also trusted her completely to recognize an allergic reaction because she’d caught one before after he’d eaten a Kellogs Special K bar that I’d provided for his snack (oh, the irony there!). The bar had no peanut warning at all.
I knew the museum they were visiting did not have a snack bar, and it was warm enough that they planned to eat their lunches outside on the grass, so there wasn’t much to worry about there.
I also knew that there were enough other parents going (there was a ratio of something like 1:4 parents to kids) that the teacher would be able to keep an eye on my son.
Even with all of that, I still was sick at my stomach all morning long, and my son was mad because I was staying home with That Baby instead of going with him. That was garden-variety sibling rivalry, though, not allergy fears. :)
But it worked out OK. The teacher and I had game-planned every scenario we could think of, and I trusted her completely to do what she needed to do. Which is unusual, because like Connie, there are family members I don’t even trust. There were simply too many instances of stupidity with them when he was first diagnosed – letting cousins eat his allergens in his presence and taking NO precautions to prevent cross-contamination or accidental ingestion on his part. He was only 1 at the time.
Bottom line: He’s 6 now, and I’d definitely let him go alone given circumstances similar to the ones last year. Not that I’m going to have to worry about it. Our district has eliminated all field trips due to budget cuts.
Linda Coss said on December 2, 2009
For a child that young — who reacts to touching surfaces and then touching his face (and it seems that all 6 year old boys touch their faces constantly) — I would want to be there. The only exception would be if one of the other parents going knew my child well, was fully trained on all of the emergency procedures, and volunteered to be the one watching him.
By the time your son is around 8, though, you may have succeeded in teaching him not to touch things. So by then you can probably stay home.
Bottom line: I agree with all of the people who say you should take your own car and go. If your school plan “encourages” you to go, you should have the “right” to tag along.
Ruth LovettSmith said on December 2, 2009
Thank you Danielle for showing the other side to things.
Thank you 9to5to9 for your very detailed post.
And thank you Linda for your experience and input.
Most of all–thank you everyone for posting your thoughts, opinions, views and offering your support.
It helps to hash things out so to speak!
Jennifer B said on December 2, 2009
Hi Ruth,
I am disturbed to hear you were bumped. Our school–despite the lack of a food allergy management policy–encourages parents of food allergic children to go on field trips. I don’t necessarily feel it is my right, but since they offer it, I intend to go until my son is older and I feel he can handle the epipen himself. Given that the children are not allowed carry their epipens until high school, I anticipate going on field trips until then.
I do not feel my six year old would be safe on a field trip without me. I have an older child and have witnessed a dumbfounding lack of food allergy awareness. The school even failed to put food allergic students (who have epipens carried by the teacher) with the teacher as their chaperone. Instead, they were in groups with NO epipen nearby. Definitely not safe without me.
Do I trust teachers or aides to notice reactions? No, not entirely. I have witnessed how overwhelmed the teachers are. Too many children, too many distractions.
Re: plans for reactions if I am not on the field trip. This is not necessary because at this age, he will simply skip the field trip if I cannot attend or am not allowed to attend. The school is not well enough equipped to deal with food allergies outside the regular day-to-day routine.
Sorry to be so negative on the school, but I have seen THINGS, chaperoning my older son’s trips. Those trips did not instill confidence in the school’s ability to protect my food allergic child. Nay, those trips made me realize I really can’t trust the school. I know that sounds cynical and paranoid, but I have seen it with my own 2 eyes.
Let us know what ends up happening.
Ruth LovettSmith said on December 3, 2009
Thanks Jennifer for your post!
They did end up getting a ticket for me and I am now going. However, this situation has brought up things I had not thought about.
Ie: if I don’t go and he has a reaction–who would go to the hospital with him?
At this age–as you said–I feel I need to be there due to his allergy history.
I do think it was an honest mistake in that they thought I really didn’t need to be there b/c no food would be served.
I just wish they had called to ask me first rather than assume.
Hope things works out for you with your school going forward! :)
M said on March 23, 2011
I have expereinced all of these concerns over the past 6 years with my two children. No matter how often I have educated school staff, and even with a new policy on food allergies, we continue to have serious communication gaps. My children’s school just wrote into their health plans that a parent may attend each field trip, and I am still having difficulty in making arrangements to attend next month. Ugh! Unless a teacher lives this “allergic life” I do not think they can fully understand all these important issues. Just keep advocating in a positive manner-never give up! I would not allow my kids to go without a parent until they are much older (?age) & 100% independent. The staff mean well, but are too distracted on a trip to be responsible for my childrens’ lives.
Ruth LovettSmith said on March 28, 2011
Thanks M for stopping by and commenting. I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with the field trip issue for so long. I think you are right – there will always be communication gaps and if a parent can attend a field trip with their food allergic child – all the better. If not – I often suggest asking that a school nurse attend.