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Students scared to attend school due to allergies

Categories: Kids 5-7, Kids 8-11, Teens & tweens, Health & safety, Eating & nutrition, Education

In Vaughan, Ontario, just north of Toronto, six kids are scared of going to school. It's not drugs or violence or even P.E. that has them worried. It's eggs. Eggs, peanuts, and other such deadly toxins. Yes, these can indeed be deadly to kids who are allergic to them.

St. Stephen Catholic School had been screening students' lunches to make certain that none of these foods were brought to school, but stopped. The school board contends that it is impossible to check every child's lunchbox, but the parents of the allergic students say that the school had been doing just that, ever since it opened in 2002. They just want the school to reinstitute the checks it was doing previously.

"At school," said one eleven-year-old, "I'm afraid because I don't really know some of the food with eggs and milk look like, and most of the time the kids won't spot it because if it's like a candy or something, they'll just eat it." A complaint has been filed with the Ontario Human Rights Commission claiming discrimination against the kids.

It's hard to tell, of course, from the article, but it sounds like part of the solution would be for the allergic kids not to share lunches. Mind you, I'm sure it's not so simple as that and it may very well be that simple contact or even fumes may be a issue. Now, I'm sure it's easy to poke fun at a situation like this, but if it's your kid who is in danger, it's certainly no laughing matter. Hopefully, the school and the families can work something out so the kids can feel safe in their classrooms and lunchroom.

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