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
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.
~Benjamin Franklin
DS dx with celiac disease 5/28/10
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.
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.
Thank you for making my day, that is awesome!
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.
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.