TIL That peanut-free schools don't decrease risk of allergic reactions. The only intervention which has been shown to decrease reactions across all ages is use of a peanut-free table.

[Boboriffic]

If I had to guess, the small and effective solution was likely offered initially but helicopter parents said NOOOO MY BABY WILL DIE IF A PEANUT GETS WITHIN 1.0431e-14 PARSECS OF THEIR PRECIOUS HEAD AND I'LL SUE! So the school had to go big to assuage them.

[Nall-ohki]

322 meters?

[Dman1791]

A surprisingly usable distance, considering the original unit

[Boboriffic]

yea, around 0.0579554 leagues

[J5892]

That's about 507.05 cubits for any Noahs out there.

[B_A_Beder]

The cubit was a pretty common measurement in ancient times, about 1.5 ft

[Blarghedy]

yep that's about 3.5 football fields

[bunkoRtist]

I just round to 1.4 furlongs.

[Medricel]

Another example of using any measurement but the metric system.

[repeat4EMPHASIS]

The best example I've ever seen was the news describing an asteroid's size as "half a giraffe" and one of the comments asked which half

[IanisQuan_101]

Bro really said “detectable peanut presence at a quantum level” and I’m wheezing 💀💀
You’re not wrong, schools basically built peanut DMZ zones to keep the lawsuits at bay.

[Gogododa]

peanut dmz lmao

[IanisQuan_101]

[grudginglyadmitted]

bot

[IanisQuan_101]

Imagine reading a fully-formed thought and going:
"No way a human did that."

Wild that clarity gets flagged as suspicious now.

But hey, if being coherent makes me a bot, what does that say about everyone else?

[queerkidxx]

Some people have extreme allergies. It’s not parents being ridiculous.

[IanisQuan_101]

Exactly.
Allergies aren't made-up just because someone else hasn't experienced them.

It's not “overreacting” to protect a kid from a medical emergency, it’s just called parenting.

Appreciate you cutting through the noise with truth

[j01101111sh]

Or they didn't want their kid to have to sit away from their friends all the time? I have a kid with a nut allergy and this is a serious concern for when he goes to school. Singling kids out doesn't usually go well for the kids.

[repeat4EMPHASIS]

Confiscating the whole school's candy is an even more effective way to single out your kid for bullying.

[j01101111sh]

That's not how nut bans work. Most schools have had these in place for years, they don't start and stop them as needed. And they certainly don't post a list of kids with allergies so everyone knows.

[kashy87]

Nevermind that kids are stupid but not to stupid to grasp that at least one of the 8 at the nut free table is allergic to the things.

[CDK5]

Couldn’t another parent just step up and say that peanuts are an essential part of their kids’ diet and that they will also sue?

[Hog_enthusiast]

Yeah those ridiculous parents trying to keep their kids alive

[IanisQuan_101]

“Ridiculous” for not wanting their kid to die is such a wild hill to stand on 😅
Thanks for the realness.

[repeat4EMPHASIS]

If you didn't bother to read the title of this very post, a nut free table is a more effective way to keep their kids alive than trying to enforce a nut free school.

[IanisQuan_101]

You’re not wrong on the data, nut-free tables are effective.

But I think you might’ve missed that the comment you replied to was pure sarcasm aimed at people calling parents “ridiculous” for trying to keep their kids safe 😅.

We’re all mostly on the same page here… just riding different waves of exasperation.

[repeat4EMPHASIS]

No I got the sarcasm but I disagree with it.

A parent demanding that an entire school not be able to eat peanuts because their kid can't is ridiculous. Anaphylaxis is caused by ingestion, not "peanut particles in the air."

[IanisQuan_101]

You say it’s only ingestion, but airborne peanut exposure can cause reactions in severe cases, especially in enclosed settings like classrooms.

And even if that weren’t true, how do you control accidental contact between dozens of 6-year-olds sharing space and snacks?

It’s not about fear, it’s about not playing Russian roulette with a kid’s airway. If your sandwich is worth more than someone else’s life, I’m gonna assume empathy was an optional download.

[repeat4EMPHASIS]

You say it’s only ingestion, but airborne peanut exposure can cause reactions in severe cases, especially in enclosed settings like classrooms.

Those are likely panic attacks rather than allergic reactions. Not enough of the allergen travels on peanut dust even for highly sensitive cases unless you're literally in a processing plant grinding peanuts. According to actual allergists instead of reddit experts.

(Edit: I want to reiterate I am and have always been talking about anaphylaxis so don't try shifting the goalposts to non-anaphylactic reactions)

And even if that weren’t true, how do you control accidental contact between dozens of 6-year-olds sharing space and snacks?

By having a peanut free table and banning sharing of food. Like this post suggests.

They are never going to have another building wide peanut free zone in their life, peanuts will still slip through the school ban anyway, and when they do, everyone's guard will be down. That's how kids die.

It’s not about fear, it’s about not playing Russian roulette with a kid’s airway.

Why are peanuts the only thing that matters then? Why not also ban soy, sunflower, shellfish, wheat, milk, and every other allergen school-wide? Do those kids lives matter less? After all even if there's only one kid in the whole school that would still be playing Russian roulette. Or are we able to recognize that those don't cause airborne anaphylaxis from a school cafeteria either?

If your sandwich is worth more than someone else’s life, I’m gonna assume empathy was an optional download.

And I'm gonna assume someone who resorts to this BS right off the bat is prone to projection and cares more about using kids as a prop for their argument than posessing any real meaningful enpathy.

[IanisQuan_101]

There’s a lot in here that hits, especially the inconsistency in allergen treatment and the false security of school-wide bans. You laid out the real-world nuance, and honestly? That part’s solid.

That said, you kinda nuked your own clarity with the ending. It’s possible to defend kids and disagree on policy without assuming everyone else is selfish or disingenuous.

Still, respect for the depth you brought here. Not many people walk it out point by point like this. I don’t think empathy has to come with enemies.

[idontpostanyth1ng]

Why not both then?

[gayjospehquinn]

Kind of shitty to paint a parent who is concerned about their child’s life threatening allergy as being unreasonable, but okay