I was a lunch lady.
Yes, when my children were in elementary school I took my turn as the lunchroom supervisor.
I was “Mrs. Mac” because I was Mac’s mom. Some of the kids couldn't get their heads around the fact I was "Ms" not Mrs., nor that my son and I had different last names. What can I say? It was the 1990s and the third wave of feminism had not yet washed over all families. So, it was just easier for them to remember "Mrs. Mac" and I lived with it.
Besides my revulsion at what some parents sent their kids to school with for lunch (a package of ramen noodles and a Twinkie, blech) my strongest memory is the constant vigilance I had to exercise for the presence of peanut butter sandwiches. They were verboten because there were children at the school with peanut allergies.
For decades, parents like myself across Canada have feared the risk of peanut allergies in children. Classrooms transformed into nut-free zones, daycare menus were rewritten, and birthday parties featured alternative treats. Yet, in recent years, doctors and researchers have noted a surprising shift: the rate of peanut allergies in children appears to be declining.
Peanut allergy in children is primarily caused by an immune system response that mistakenly identifies proteins in peanuts as harmful. When a child who is allergic consumes or comes into contact with peanuts, their immune system reacts by releasing chemicals such as histamine, leading to symptoms that can range from mild to severe.
It was during the late 1990s and early 2000s that the number of children diagnosed with peanut allergies soared.
Medical authorities advised parents to avoid giving infants peanuts or peanut products until they were three years old, hoping to prevent allergic reactions. Schools responded with bans, and the public became hyper-aware of the danger peanuts posed to those at risk.
By the late 2010s and into the 2020s, however, preliminary data from pediatric clinics and allergy researchers suggested rates of new peanut allergies were no longer climbing as they once had. In some cases, they appeared to be slowly declining, sparking intrigue in both the medical community and among parents.
One of the most significant shifts in allergy prevention has been the recommendation to introduce peanut products to infants as early as four to six months, especially for those perceived to be at higher risk. This change came after research found early exposure could help a child’s immune system tolerate peanuts, reducing the risk of developing an allergy.
Some scientists also theorize that a cleaner environment, while generally positive, may have inadvertently contributed to the rise in allergies through what is known as the “hygiene hypothesis.” The theory is that reduced exposure to common microbes early in life may make the immune system more prone to react to usually harmless substances like peanut proteins.
As families reconsider the balance between cleanliness and exposure, children may be developing more robust immune systems.
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