26 of 59

Disagree

Write now Print Email Article Invite a writer™ Add to Favorites Contact this writer

The idea of banning peanuts and peanut products from schools is a function of our generation being reared by overprotective baby boomers. A good many of us grew up on schoolyards where you could still get into a fist-fight, without major repercussions. Boys could chase girls without getting sued by the girls parents for sexual harassment. We could play tag. Back then (the 80's and early 90's) kids were rambunctious, we learned by doing, trial and error. Our parents would tell us that we'd catch a cold if we went out without a sweater, we didn't listen, we caught the cold, we learned our lesson. We broke bones, and our bones healed, as bones do. Then at some point in the 90's things changed, and now if your kid got hurt, someone would pay. If he got hurt at the school, the school should pay, if he got hurt at Billy's house, Billy's parents should pay. The result of a decade or so of this attitude is that no one will take responsibility for anything, and what that leads to is the banning of everything.

The schools can't allow tag on playgrounds because someone could get hurt which would result in a lawsuit, which no public school can afford (private schools can't afford the blemish on their reputation). At this point our nations schools seem more like prisons than a place where a child can learn and grow. Breaking your arm is a life experience, sure its no fun and we want to protect our children from such harm, as well as protecting ourselves from the financial nightmare that dealing with health care has become. But the experience of breaking your arm "builds character" to quote Bill Watersons "Calvin and Hobbes". So the idea that schools should ban peanuts is absolutely terrible. It is the wrong direction. Now, people are saying that peanut allergies are more common in children these days. The fact of the matter is, we hear about it more from our sensationalistic media. If a child dies at school, no matter what the cause, it becomes national news (perhaps that is because real news like 4000 dead Americans in Iraq is unpopular).
If a child is allergic to peanuts, to the point where the child may die if peanuts are consumed, that child's parents need to make sure that their child knows this. The fact of the matter is that if the parents rely on other people to ensure that their child doesn't come in contact with peanuts, then they will inevitably have to deal with the issue sooner or later. The registration systems at schools ask for allergy info. If parents make sure that the school system is aware of their child's allergies, let their teachers know at parent teacher conferences, and above all make sure their child understands the consequences of eating peanuts. If you're still too scared and think that your school should ban peanuts, maybe you should consider home-schooling.
Another reason peanuts should absolutely not be banned is that peanut butter and other peanut products are healthy, cheap food. Some families cannot afford much else, and to deny a healthy lifestyle to the majority of students because of the allergies of a few is just unfair. Parents, take a more active role in your child's life, don't just ban everything that poses a threat to your child, educate your child so that they can grow up to be a healthy, productive member of society, and that's on you, just as much as it's on the school system.

Learn more about this author, Chauncey Dumfry.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

more options

hide

Add your voice

Know something about School districts should bar anyone from bringing peanut products to school?
We want to hear your view. Write now!