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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