It's Little Dude's birthday. Finally, right? He's been looking forward to this day since the WonderTwins turned 6. Here's my dilemna. He wants to bring a treat to preschool for his birthday. The school has a whacked policy on school snacks. Or maybe it's not whacked. You be the judge.
With the onslaught of allergies. the school gathered a focus group of moms of allergy ridden kids and made lists of what that particular group of kids could and could not eat. From that list they decided upon what would be acceptable for the entire school...for years to come.
At the beginning of this year they handed out the list (that only had fruits and vegetables on it by the way) and a mom raised her hand (at orientation) and said, "Excuse me, but my son is allergic to tropical fruits so please, everyone, don't bring tropical fruits. To this day I have no idea what is included in the "tropical fruit" category.
I asked (read: BEGGED) the director to allow Little Dude to bring Krispy Kreme donuts for snack and the director firmly said, "NO!"
But I'm still expected to provide not only a snack (of fruits or vegetables, and NOT tropical fruits) but also a special something (preferably a toy) for the 20 kids that are in his class. Really? I'm supposed to provide toys for 20 kids? I asked for specifics from the 2 teachers and the director and really still did not understand what I'm supposed to do. For the 3 times I've provided snacks thus far this school year I've brought BANANAS all THREE TIMES.
You moms of allergic kids...tell me I'm wrong. I just feel like 17 kids should be able to enjoy whatever the snack is and the school can provide an acceptable treat for the 3 (considering how different the allergies are) if the treat falls outside the acceptable parameters. I'm not saying it should be this way EVERY day but can't there be special occasions? This school is down to vegetables and some fruits for snack for 3 and 4 year olds.
At least they're healthy I guess. Jamie Oliver would approve.
As a mother of a child with allergies, some kids are actually allergic enough to have a reaction to an allergen just being in the room. A friend of mine has a child who can have an allergic reaction to the closed packages inside the grocery store. That is most common with nut allergies (IMHO) but, I can understand why the school wants to be careful. Children of that age aren't always trustworthy about not sharing their snacks. How do they handle meals? Do the same rules apply? If not, a request for three apples served along with your donuts seems fair to me.
ReplyDeleteWhat about fruit kabobs? Grapes, strawberries, apples (the pre-sliced work best because they won't yellow,) and blueberries...on round tip skewers? They are pretty and can be festive. None of those are tropical, which to me means mango, papaya, guava, etc.
OR...talk to the school about GFCFSF (and nut free) cupcakes or cookie cakes, and stay away from artificial dyes and HFCS. They will likely agree to a snack free from common allergens. BUT, you would probably have to buy it, because your kitchen could cross contaminate, just by having used the pan for something conventional in the past, no matter how well it has been cleaned.
Genius...thank you. Can I trust 20 4 year olds with kabob sticks? Ha!
ReplyDeleteSo, I was all ready to do your idea VIV and then realized I'm not quite sure what falls into the "citrus/tropical fruit" category so I can't do it. It's Happy Birthday apple sauce for Little Dude. Oh well.
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