So there is a child in Ridge's class with a wheat allergy so all snacks have to be altered. I think the family also practices not eating soy or eggs so these are out as well.
The Moms' of children with allergies have to provide a list of approved snacks. This is what we have.
Gummy bears ....WTH? That is not a snack.
Rice Crispy Treats ....WTH? Again, that is not a snack.
Milk ...WTH? They are drinking milk WITH their snack. That again is not a snack.
Some fruits.. apparently her child doesn't like many popular fruits.
Cheese.
That is it.
I've sent the Mom an email with some alternate food ideas that I've found online that are healthier and give the class more options but do not contain wheat, soy or eggs. But OH MY GOODNESS....poor child can't eat anything but crap. And I know this is selfish ...but I find it very annoying to have such limited options for snacks and parties. UGH.
Anyone have any other food suggestions? This is what I sent her.
Fruit
Rice Chex
sunkist fruit rolls or welches fruit snacks
Raw Vegetables with dip
Cooked Vegetables covered with cheese
String cheese
Jello Cups
Chocolate pudding cups (not vanilla)
Pop Corn (orville redenbacher only, act 2 has wheat)
Fruity Pebbles and CoCo Pebbles (they are made with rice)
Banana Chips instead of a banana
Corn tortillas and salsa
glutino pretzels
pickles
Re: Classroom snacks ...wheat allergy ...OH MY
does that mean that none of the other kids can have regular snacks? Also, that you can't bring in cupcakes for a birthday party?
That is annoying. We had kids in Alec's class with extreme allergies, but they were the only ones that had alternative snacks.
As a side note, I'm trying to stay off the fruity snacks like gummy bears and other sugary stuff...it's like crack for Alec and I know all the crap is just sticking to his teeth.
Last year they had a child with allergies and he brought his own snacks ..but this year in this class all kids have to have limited snacks due to the allergy. It is up to the teacher to decide.
So sigh ...no birthday cupcakes, cakes, brownies ...not even a gold fish.
Wow! Letting the kid bring his own snack is one thing but to think that all parents should have to provide a compliant snack for your child is redic! If Ava had a food allergery I would actually prefer sending in my own snack so that I knew exactly what she was getting. I can understand a peanut free school but gummy bears as a snack. Come on! Here is a PDF file intitled Go Gluten Free which may help you with some healthier snacks she can ask parents to bring. However it may have some soy and egg items on it. Good luck! https://rd411.com/pdf/go_gluten_free.pdf
My daughter has a severe egg allergy and doesn't eat at school with the other children so food is not an issue for us.
With that being said, as a Mom of an allergy kid the suggestions the woman made would not be acceptable to me either because they are unhealthy. There are a ton of websites that offer snacks that have no wheat, eggs, etc.
I think the ones you suggested were better....
Also, how about raisins or cranraisins? Even if her child doesn't eat all types of fruit why can't the other children?
Just read some of the other posts.... In our case, my child can LITERALLY NOT be in the same room as ppl eating things that contain eggs. If she is touched by someone who has she goes into shock and stops breathing. So just providing a seperate snack will not be enough to keep her safe.
I know this is very hard for some people to understand, but for a minute think of the utter FEAR we have of sending our child off to school with LIFE threatening allergies.
I agree completely that there should be healthy alternatives, but suggesting that your child suffers bc they can't eat this or that during the school day is wrong.
I'm sure I'll get some flames for this.. but go ahead. I have very strong opinions about this topic since I've had watch my child struggle to breathe.
Please I beg for your compassion for these children... they didn't do this to themselves or ask for this ailment... it just is.
I am so sorry about your daughter
I can only imagine how hard this is.
I do think, however, that the OP makes it sound like they are not eating eggs out of choice, not due to allergy reasons. I could be wrong, and if I am please correct me, but if that is the case then that is wrong (excluding the wheat allergy). I am 100% not flaming you, because I am sure any parent in your shoes would feel the same way. But saying kids can't have foods because they choose not to eat them vs kids being allergic is a very different thing.
I agree with Andrea. I cannot imagine how scary it must be for you to have your daughter out of your eyesight. You literally put her life in someone elses hands by asking them to give her a snack.
But at the same time, limiting the "acceptable" list to the foods your picky child eats is not fair to the other kids. I'm sure even with severe allergies, there are healthy options for your daughter. But if all she wanted was gummy bears and milk, I am sure you wouldn't suggest her entire class eat gummy bears and milk as a snack, right?
I'm not flaming you, I'm just saying, this woman does not sound like she's being very accommodating.
MLK.. I agree this woman sounds nutty. If you read back.. I do whole heartedly I agree there should have been healthy options given to parents. Not sugar snacks.
My daugher eats a ton of healthy snacks.. cheese, fruit, applesauce, etc. (ok she is 2 so some not so healthy too, but that's not bc of her allergy! haha)
I choose at this age not to have to deal with this issue, so we found a school that allows me to bring her for the academic portion of the day and she leaves when the other children have lunch. But this is only going to work until she hits full day preschool.
I have a gluten (wheat) allergy, and everything you listed is a great alternative. Much better then everything she listed. Which you would think she would be more on top of snack suggestions since she is the one who has the child with an allergy?!?
I can't believe she would suggest candy as snacks? Also, if they are going to make you be wheat free for an allergy problem that is one thing, but how does the kids personal tastes come into that at all? I mean if they don't bring certain fruits simply because the kid doesn't like them, shouldn't they have to make sure that every other kid likes it too? That's just rediculous.
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The wheat allergy I get, but the other things because they don't eat them? No thanks. My question here is, are you all being asked to provide the snacks for the class? If not, can you just send Ridge with something wheat free that is a healthier option? Does the director know that this is the list this woman has provided? I know that in Nate's class, there is a child with Celiac disease and we're not allowed to send food in with them (like have them walk in finishing breakfast or whatever) and I get that that's different, but I would NEVER agree to let them serve my child Rice Krispi treats or gummy bears.
?
Wowza?
This post certainly got a star! haha
This is my view on the ordeal. Yes when your kid is in a classroom with a child who has allergies to things like wheat..the entire classroom HAS to be wheat free. We are talking about toddlers here. They do not know "to not to share with Elizabeth or whoever ". The risk of something happening to that child is not worth the gamble. So I do not understand why some people might be whiney about not doing cupcakes for bdays ect. get over it.Its very possible to to special celebrations or school parties without having any wheat,eggs or whatever.
But in response to Danielles post- She should NOT be able to dictate what the entire class eats because they are egg and soy free for perosnal reasons. not allergy issues.
Danielle- you did good by emailing and suggesting other healthy items.
You also have a choice to not allow your child to eat crap all day long as she does to be egg and dairy free.
hth's
You can ask moonstar, I am the popcorn police, its a choking hazzard so we are not allowed to serve it to our preschool kids.
There is a kid in my class with a dairy issue so we can't do cheese or goldfish or cheezits, well the cheesy kind. Which to me would be tragic as that is my go to snack.....but I know the importance of keeping the children safe and healthy so you do what you can. Plus you have many kids that are grazers and as much as you try to keep them to their plate, well its not guaranteed, so better safe than sorry.
Our director approves everything that goes out from the classroom to the parents, so hoping this lady has a clue about the lack of healthy options or filling ones for snack time.
perhaps this child had such issues the family went soy and dairy free as a precaution......becuase they just couldn't figure out what was the problem and things got better when it was eliminated from this child's diet. I know a mom from the Northside BF group who had a heck of a time with her son....she gave up EVERYTHING - dairy, soy, wheat and her son did much better. Plus she lost 35 lbs.
Anyhoo, I would talk to the teacher about the snacks on the list and ask to please revise with some healthy options. Gummy bears is not a good snack....why not just bring in a bag of dum dums. :-)
An allergy is not the same as a preference, and it is unclear whether a couple of things listed are really allergies or preferences. I am the odd man out, but I personally wouldn't have a problem if Kate ate a Rice Krispie treat or gummy bears for a snack--at least that would be two more things that she would eat, period. ;o)
ANYWAY, having a child with a severe allergy is literally a life-and-death situation, and a parent of said child has to be vigilant 24/7. Simple things like going to someone's house for a playdate, attending a birthday party, finding a babysitter for a night out, or sending your child to preschool for a couple of mornings a week take on a different level of anxiety. When you have to carry an EpiPen in your diaper bag, I think other moms can be a little more tolerant of limited snacks. I also think responsibility for listing alternate snacks goes to the allergy mom and the school. Danielle, I think that was really nice of you to research some other ideas.
AND ... as the mother of a VERY picky eater (and being a very picky eater myself), I would have no problem following their suggestions, even if that meant Kate didn't eat a snack at school two mornings a week. Kate is eating lunch at her preschool this year, and I have been concerned about it because of her selective eating (and a no-peanut rule--b/c peanut butter is one thing she will eat) ... but in the end, I think it may help our situation because she will see other kids eating a variety of foods. And that's lunch I am talking about (nut just a snack).
P.S. Yeah, no on the popcorn. It isn't allowed at our school b/c it is a choking hazard.
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ITA that allergies are one thing and preferences are another. IMO, if you're choosing to be a vegan for personal reasons and you're insistent that your child's diet be vegan as well, that's not a choice you can enforce on everybody else in the room. So if the child has celiac disease or something else that makes him gluten-intolerant, it's reasonable to ask that shared snacks be gluten-free. If he's so severely allergic that he can't be in the room with wheat products, then the school should make reasonable accommodations -- like putting him in another room when it's snack time.
I do feel for parents who have children with severe, life-threatening allergies -- I know it can be incredibly difficult and extremely stressful. But coming at this from a teacher's perspective, I simply find it unreasonable to expect that 10+ other families limit their children's school diets severely to accommodate the needs of one child.
Trader Joe's also has a gluten-free brownie mix if you're looking for treat suggestions!
At the private preschool level they do not have to protect our children by law. Once an allergic child is in the public school system they are protected BY LAW via the UNITED STATES JUSTICE DEPARTMENT!!!!!!
They are protected from ppl like you who feel this is unreasonable. How selfish are you that I am telling you MY CHILD can DIE!!!!!!!! I pray each night that my child never encounters people/teachers with your prospective.
Would you treat her this way if she was mentally challenged? Would you then feel her special needs were unreasonable?
Let us all remember.... "there but for the grace of God go I"
Enough said out of me.... I will not return to this board.
Please don't leave this board
You have every right to be upset about this and I think that when a child does have a life threatening allergy all parents (I would hope) would respect that.
It blows my mind that private schools don't have to allow for this. My friends son is deathly allergic to nuts and his pre-school is not and will not become peanut free, so he can't stay for lunch. It makes me sad. I can't begin to imagine the challenges you face with your daughters allergy and I am so very sorry because I am sure it is more difficult than anyone can realize.
WOW. Just WOW. Are you kidding me? I sincerely hope so.
It is absolutely REASONABLE--without a doubt--for "10+ families" to limit their diets for a few freaking hours a day when another child's LIFE could be at risk. How about a little perspective. So your class can't have a flipping cupcake at a party. Give me a freaking break.
I would hope that my child never encounters a professional educator who is not sensitive to this situation. And my child doesn't even have allergies.
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Yikes! I didn't know this would cause such a heated discussion. I totally agree if something is life threatening it should not be in the classroom. In this case, it is not life threatening as she can still play with playdoh and some of the snacks listed, rice crispies, do have wheat in the them. The other things are just preferences as what she doesn't want her to eat ...which that does annoy me.
I'm just looking for additional snack suggestions that are wheat free. I need her to approve them first but I think having cheese and blueberries every other day for snack is pretty boring.
Also, we can't bring in homemade items.
rice cakes
Ed law is a bit murky when it comes to private preschool programs, because children are not required to attend preschool by state or federal law. But any school, public or private, from kindergarten or first grade up, is accountable for following ADA standards. And ADA states that you have to make "reasonable accommodations" for people with disabilities, which does include allergies.
I would be nervous as a teacher that another child's family would forget, or wouldn't look at the labels closely, or would be running late and slip up some morning, and something awful would happen. Even with the best of intentions, it could happen. Our daycare has a 3:1 or 2:1 ratio of children to staff, and I know how busy they are at mealtimes. I can't imagine that they could check every label to be hypervigilant about what's in the room. And for a preschool teacher, who has ten to fifteen children in the room and maybe one assistant or parapro, it seems it would be even more difficult. And what happens if there's a substitute teacher who doesn't know to be highly cautious, or who makes a mistake? To me, a more reasonable accommodation would be to find somewhere else for a deathly allergic child to be during snack times, and to make it fun and special for him so that he doesn't feel left out or punished -- maybe an extra art time or music time, and a place to have a snack where he doesn't have to worry about coming into contact with potential allergens. Another option would be for the school to take over and provide all the snacks for all the children in that room and have all the families pay into a fund to provide them. That way everyone would get the same thing and it would be guaranteed safe for the allergic child, and the responsibility would fall on fewer people (and on employees, not other parents, so the school has a strong degree of control over the situation).
Again, coming from an educator's perspective, I would be terrified of the liability of putting the responsibility for a serious dietary issue on ten or more families and expecting that they be 100% in compliance for 180 days. All it would take is one person to screw up once and then there's a very very sick child, not to mention a potential morass of legal issues for the school, the teacher, and the person who brought the contraband item into the room. It's not about cupcakes for birthday parties at all; I think that's actually an easy restriction with which to comply, because there's only one day you'd have to remember it, and I'm not a big fan of giving sweets to toddlers anyway. It's the day in and day out reality that would worry me. Perhaps "unreasonable" is the wrong word; "unrealistic" would be a better choice. It's not realistic to expect that everybody, even with the best of intentions, would be as vigilant and careful with what they send to school for their child to eat every single day as parents of highly allergic children have to be.
Maybe other preschools and daycares are different from ours? I know that we don't have shared snacks; each family is 100% responsible for all their child's meals. If it's a situation where the families take it in turn to provide snacks for ALL the children in the room, then it is reasonable to expect that they take dietary requirements very seriously. My comment on what I felt was unrealistic was based on "everybody in the room has a separate snack that s/he brought from home," which is my experience.
Please don't feel you have to leave the board; I was not trying to belittle your experience or your concerns.
OK, I have another question that I forgot to mention. How are these OK, but Rice Krispies and Gummy Bears are horrible:
Jello Cups
Chocolate pudding cups (not vanilla)
Pop Corn (orville redenbacher only, act 2 has wheat)
Fruity Pebbles and CoCo Pebbles (they are made with rice)
I am being serious here because I truly do not understand. Sincerely, what makes these better suggestions than the two that were given and have been scoffed at throughout this thread?
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I don't think this would really help because kids that are that allergic couldn't return to the same room with the food all over. We've had kids at my school that cannot touch the same place where another child touched after eating (example) peanut butter crackers. That is really scary and tough to control. I think anything where you have to remove and child and do something for just them is more unrealistic (for me personally). I have 19 children (kdg though) in my classroom so I'm down for doing whatever accommodates everyone and doesn't interrupt our routine/structure (while still keeping everyone safe, of course).
Honestly, I feel like as an educator, I'm just going to have to deal with being liable. There are tons of situations and things that happen where a child could get hurt or something could happen and I'd be liable. It's just the nature of my job. I am responsible for these children while they are under my care and will have to liable for all types of situations with them. I have to protect myself too but I can't always do things so that I'm not liable, if that makes sense. I mean, I'm liable when they're on the playground and could fall and seriously hurt themselves.
Also, someone mentioned would you do this with a child who has special needs... We try to provide an education for all children that can accommodate everyone without having to separate them. I think this would be the same for a child with allergies. It should not stop them from having the same education and experience as every other child in the classroom.
Yes I too am quite confused as to how 11 and 15+ grams of sugar in Jello Pudding Cups orCocoa/ Fruity Pebbles is less than 8g of sugar in Rice Krispie Treats. hmmmmm
Sugar free jello or pudding cups yes.