Bans not the answer, say parents

Allergy advocate suggests proactive approach like kids washing their hands

Banning kids from taking cakes and nuts to school or daycare won’t necessarily stop kids from breaking out in hives or having an anaphylactic shock, according to parents of children with severe allergies.

Australasian allergy advocate Jackie Nevard, whose 9-year-old son Thai has seven allergies, said the key was educating parents, teachers and kids rather than removing foods from lunchboxes.

But more and more education providers were instead resorting to banning foods which caused reactions.

“It seems a simple solution banning food, but because there is like nine main allergens that cause an allergic reaction — banning nuts does nothing for the majority of children because milk, eggs and nuts are the top three allergens and you can’t go banning milk and egg,” Nevard said.

“If the school has a nut-free ban, that’s great for the kids with nut allergies, but they often find they don’t often work because there are still nuts being brought into school

Kids will think such and such has got a food allergy so they can’t come to my birthday party so they never even get invites to birthday parties. Jackie Nevard

and then people feel safe and that’s not true because there are nuts in schools.”

In New Zealand one in 10 children are likely to have a food allergy by 12 months of age.

Nevard, the founder of My Food Allergy Friends and author of five children’s books to help explain allergies, said schools and daycares were reactive with teachers only being given training in how to use EpiPens, and instead needed to be proactive and reduce the chances of an allergic reaction happening.

Encouraging children to wash their hands after eating food so it did not go on something a child with an allergy could then touch, telling them not to share food with kids who have allergies, making them aware of what happens when someone has an allergic reaction and to tell a teacher and including kids with food allergies were much more effective ways of keeping kids safe physically and mentally, she said.

“Kids will think such and such has got a food allergy so they can’t come to my birthday party so they never even get invites to birthday parties.

“It’s just explaining to kids that just because someone has a food allergy it doesn’t mean they can’t go to a birthday party — they take their own food most of the time.”

Nevard said if things were not handled well at schools and childcare centres then it could affect the mental health of both the kids and families.

Nevard is visiting schools and childcare centres in Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga this week to raise awareness around food allergies.