WATCH ABOVE: A preview for 16×9’s “No Milk Allowed.”
The number of children with allergies has tripled in the last 20 years – and no one knows why. Most troubling is the growing number of children with anaphylaxis, a potentially deadly reaction to foods like dairy, egg or peanut. That is putting schools in a difficult position. With milk programs, bake sales, cafaterias and food eating in classrooms, how far should they go to accommodate a child with allergies?
READ MORE: 16×9: How should schools accommodate children with allergies?
Peanuts have practically been banned, but should the same be done with milk? Lynne Glover in Hamilton, Ont., thinks so. She says her seven year old daughter Elodie missed all of grade one last year at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic School because the school did not restrict the availability of dairy around her daughter. She says allergies are a disability and the school has an obligation to protect Elodie by restricting what allergens are allowed in the classroom at served at school events. The school says they did the best they can and they need to consider the needs of all students.
Lynne filed a human rights complaint against the school last year and gone back and forth with the school board in numerous mediations and attempts at getting Elodie back in school. Elodie is supposed to start grade 2 in September, but will her mother and school come to an agreement, or will the young girl spend another year alone?
What do you think? How should schools accommodate children with allergies? Weigh in on the conversation this Saturday from 8PM-10PM ET.
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