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What has really driven me bats this year is the SCHOOL! It's our first time in public school, and it's ridiculous. When I went in to register him, I took his medical documentation to prove his allergy (gluten), and was told that we could fill out x-form and y-page and jump through a hoop or two and that the school would accommodate his needs. Well, they don't. They do NOT make accommodations for gluten allergies here. They also do NOT have any sort of list of ingredients on school foods that they will make available to me. So, my son qualifies for free lunch, but it costs me four or five times as much as it would cost me to feed him at home. And he's constantly being given "treats" for different things at school. Not ONCE has one of them been a safe food. Not ONE SINGLE TIME.
His birthday is this Friday. I was asked if I was sending cupcakes. I am not. I wish I could. But the school says they must be CUPCAKES (not cookies. That's not okay for some reason. What the heck??), store-bought, in the original packaging with the ingredients listed and peanut-free. That's doable in theory. Except there is not a single local store that carries any such thing WITHOUT GLUTEN. I'd have to drive an hour to spend something in the neighborhood of $50 to make that happen locally! So, not only does he not get to bring cupcakes in on HIS birthday, but if somebody ELSE brings in birthday cupcakes, he can't eat them, AND the teacher can't tell me in advance if there's going to be a birthday so that I can send my own child something safe.
I don't understand. If we can accommodate any allergies, shouldn't we accommodate all of them and/or just ban food from classroom parties?
As a classroom teacher I wish we could keep food out of the mix. I like to acknowledge a child's birthday, the kids sing, we give a special pencil and certificate, and life goes on.Minimal disruption to the school day, everyone with a similar experience, and no issues with allergies, special diets, mess, and clean up. School is for learning, not partying. Twenty minutes x thirty kids = crazy, imho. I always told me son we would celebrate his birthday at home, and we did, in a way that suited our family. Just my two cents. I feel for you mama, not fun for your little guy.
ReplyDeleteUgh. It was the holiday party today, and I imagine the weekend should be grand. There were cookies and cupcakes......... And it's just not fair to expect six- and seven-year-olds to say no to party food at a party. Last time they had a theme party, and a basically "throw-away" day, I kept him home, but he's missed too many days to stay home (mostly due to gluten reactions, too!). I send gluten-free options for him, but I get it. It's not the same! Mom sends vanilla sandwich cookies, because it's all I could get, and somebody else sends massively decorated sugar cookies and even MORE decorated chocolate cupcakes? Yeah, those sandwich cookies look a bit lame next to all that.
DeleteIn a recent development, though, we are waiting for our referral to an allergist. The family doctor suspects that he may also have a wheat allergy, more than just a non-celiac gluten sensitivity.