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Agree

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I agree that peanut products should be banned from schools. Up until recently I never really felt passionate about this. I heard a case about a young child that died on a school camp because he decided to try peanut butter, knowing that he had an allergy to it.

The problem is that we are talking about children. They are still learning what is right and wrong, safe and unsafe and the consequences of their actions. In an adult-free environment they may still be thinking 'will I really get sick from this, or are mum and dad being overly safe. I might actually like the taste'.

Parents can only monitor the child's surroundings to a point. Peanut allergies seem to be a more common allergen in children now, and is as dangerous as a child suffering from asthma, or diabetes. A food that could potentially kill a child should not be allowed into an environment that is supposed to be a safe and protective environment for our children to learn and grow.

I discovered that my son has a peanut allergy by accident, after eating foods that contained peanuts. The second reaction was so severe that he was hospitalized and I thought he would stop breathing before we got to the hospital, and he needed medication to control his swollen, red skin. I was told that each reaction will be more severe.

If a child of mine took a peanut bar to school and offered another child a bite, and they suffered an allergic reaction and stopped breathing or worse, I would be mortified. And I would hate for the reverse to happen to my son.

Should peanuts and peanut products be banned in schools? For the safety of the children with allergies, and the children that aren't yet aware of their allergies, ABSOLUTELY.

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