Working Moms

Prohibited lunch box items

At LO's day care there is a huge sign in the entrance that states it is a nut free school. In the handbook there is a sentence or two about if you opt out of their provided lunch, your must provide a nutritionally equivalent meal. Basically you have to omit desserts and other things that those eating the school lunch can be jealous of. LO is on table food and in one of the infant rooms were the kids are all under 3. Well I was called into the office when I picked up LO and was kindly asked if I could refrain from having shellfish in her lunch until preschool when the kids eat off of plates and cross contamination is less likely. I was shocked that shrimp in her lunch box got me a slap on the wrist. The director said the teachers were concerned about other children grabbing/stealing LO's shrimp and made sure they washed their hands and cleaned the table very well. I've seen the food sharing amongst the kids, but it wasn't something I thought about when I packed her lunch with shrimp cocktail. Apparently the owner was called and the verdict is no more shrimp until preschool.

From my point of view the shrimp weren't any worse than the strawberries, mangoes, avocados, or scrambled eggs she has all the time. Our pedi gave the okay for most things at 6m, and I specifically asked about shrimp & other shellfish at the 9m appt as was told 'yes' to LO having it. Anyone else have any similar experiences? I feel like next time I put something in her lunch box that isn't cheese or chicken she'll have to eat in the office :/

Re: Prohibited lunch box items

  • It doesn't seem like a slap on the wrist as much as just a request.  Shellfish allergies can be fatal, and I think they're being proactive, by kindly asking not to bring it.  Kids that young just grab for things off each other's plates, if one has a shellfish allergy, it could get ugly quick. Unless you got yelled at and were asked to write 100 times "I will not pack shellfish for lunch" you may be overreacting a bit.
    AlternaTickers - Cool, free Web tickers Anniversary
  • imageNetty_3:
    It doesn't seem like a slap on the wrist as much as just a request.  Shellfish allergies can be fatal, and I think they're being proactive, by kindly asking not to bring it.  Kids that young just grab for things off each other's plates, if one has a shellfish allergy, it could get ugly quick. Unless you got yelled at and were asked to write 100 times "I will not pack shellfish for lunch" you may be overreacting a bit.
    Basically this.  YOU'VE tried out shellfish on your child.  Other parents probably haven't.  And the school just wants to be careful.

    I would have expected, though, that their explanation to you would have been a little more focused on that.  "Due to the various allergies and the fact that kids grab off of each others place, we'd prefer that shellfish not be brought in". 

    What they said to you just seems a bit odd/ incomplete.

     

    "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
    ~Benjamin Franklin

    Lilypie Third Birthday tickers
    DS dx with celiac disease 5/28/10

  • Loading the player...
  • Shellfish probably isn't listed on their "do not bring" list because it is not a common thing to bring in for lunch. I think that they acted appropriately and kindly asked you not to bring it in anymore. I applaud them for being proactive about the risk of allergies to the kids, it shows that they run a great program.

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker

                                                  View Full Size Image

  • imagejlaOK:

    Shellfish probably isn't listed on their "do not bring" list because it is not a common thing to bring in for lunch. I think that they acted appropriately and kindly asked you not to bring it in anymore. I applaud them for being proactive about the risk of allergies to the kids, it shows that they run a great program.

    I agree. I may be way off base but shrimp cocktail just kind of seems like an odd thing to pack for a young child for lunch. I personally love it, don't get me wrong but would have never thought that would be packed.

    Shellfish allergies are really serious. My MIL is allergic and so I am aware of them, and hope that L is ok with shellfish as DH and I LOVE it.

    Lillian April 17, 2012
  • Ditto the others, shellfish reactions can be much more severe than the ones you mentioned, which tend to be more GI or rash oriented.

    FWIW so many facilities don't even let you bring your own anything in without a medical reason so I wouldnt complain too much :). My daycare even changed their bday rules recently, we have to buy a birthday package from them so they can ensure that all ingredients are safe, whereas in the past you could bring store bought treats that had the label on them, but since so many things now put the 'could have been processed in a plant with...' label on to cover themselves, it is next to impossible to know what is 'safe'.  we have a halloween party today & the donations even had brand names next to them b/c they are brands that the daycare acknowledges to be safe (eg pillsbury sugar cookie dough & icing).

  • Shrimp cocktail does seem like an odd thing to pack as a lunch to me too. 

    Our pedi says no shellfish until after 2, because the reaction can be so strong. 

    And there are quite a few other things you can send in lunches that are nutritional and "safe" for others.  If you're still upset about the shrimp, I would suggest beans for a little retribution.  Surprise

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • imagejnealet:

    Shrimp cocktail does seem like an odd thing to pack as a lunch to me too. 

    Our pedi says no shellfish until after 2, because the reaction can be so strong. 

    And there are quite a few other things you can send in lunches that are nutritional and "safe" for others.  If you're still upset about the shrimp, I would suggest beans for a little retributionSurprise

    Thank you for making my day, that is awesome!

    Lillian April 17, 2012
  • My DH has a shellfish allergy, so our pedi said to wait until DS was 3 to try shellfish.  I would not be happy about him getting exposed at school without my knowledge.  Luckily, I go to a Jewish daycare, so shellfish is prohibited anyway.  I think a shellfish allergy is more severe than something like strawberries. 
    Lilypie Third Birthday tickers
    Lilypie Maternity tickers
  • As a preschool teacher with 3 kids with I kid you not SEVEN different allergies between them in my class of 12 the school is just trying to keep everyone safe.  I can't tell you how stressful food allergies can be for teachers.  They were probably caught off guard by shrimp coming in a toddler's lunch.  
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker


    image
  • Sorry, but I find putting shrimp cocktail in a baby's lunch to be rather odd. And, they need to tell you that it isn't safe. That is how they protect everybody. My nephew had  a really bad egg allergy, so eggs were banned completely from his classroom after he stole a boy's and went into anaphaltic (Sp???) shock and could have died.
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker image image
  • imagejlaOK:

    Shellfish probably isn't listed on their "do not bring" list because it is not a common thing to bring in for lunch. I think that they acted appropriately and kindly asked you not to bring it in anymore. I applaud them for being proactive about the risk of allergies to the kids, it shows that they run a great program.

    This- we've always been told no shellfish until 2 years old- (other fish like tuna is fine after 1 year) I'm sure the DC didn't even think someone would send it for lunch.  Shellfish and nuts can be very severe allergies which is why most pedi's recommend not trying until they are older.  Honestly I wouldn't even think about packing fish for snack/lunch for my older kids, I'd be concerned it wouldn't stay cold enough until lunch.

    Image and video hosting by TinyPic
    Lilypie - (HKbp)Lilypie - (WKbt)
     Lilypie - (2DqE)  Lilypie - (1KYE)
    Lilypie - (RlhZ)Lilypie - (1CAm)
  • This kind of post comes us periodically with a daycare claiming that they can't control kids sharing/swapping food & milk, so they try to band certain foods & bottles. 

    Personally, I'm in the camp that the inability to stop the sharing is a bigger problem than the specific food/milk. Illness outbreaks are just as serious as allergic reactions and it doesn't matter what foods you ban, if you can't keep kids from eating each other's food, then you've got a safety issue on your hands, IMO.  

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker

    BabyFruit Ticker
  • imagececilyandgautam:

    This kind of post comes us periodically with a daycare claiming that they can't control kids sharing/swapping food & milk, so they try to band certain foods & bottles. 

    Personally, I'm in the camp that the inability to stop the sharing is a bigger problem than the specific food/milk. Illness outbreaks are just as serious as allergic reactions and it doesn't matter what foods you ban, if you can't keep kids from eating each other's food, then you've got a safety issue on your hands, IMO.  

    Illness outbreaks are nowhere NEAR as serious as allergic reactions. I can't think of a single illness outbreak that can close a child's airways within minutes and send them into anaphylactic shock.

    Could the daycare do more to prevent the sharing of food? Maybe. But food allergies go beyond the sharing of food. A child with a serious allergy can have a response from touching the hand of a child who had touched the offending food, touching a table where the food was, or even sometimes being in the same room as the food.

This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"