Good Times Girl

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Latest post on 28 November 2011 - 22:54

Sue Posts 370 I am for the ban. Between 24 kids in the class, birthday parties on the weekends, Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's days, After school bake sales/fundraisers,neighbour's houses, kids at school buying junk at the cafeteria and sharing etc etc, my kids get offered junk at least three - four times a week from people other than us. Kids are getting fatter, less active, and Diabetes is escalating.I think it is fine for my kids to have a treat once or twice a week as a TREAT and we the treat is to be decided by us. I do not want someone else deciding to fill my kids up on junk in school and then yes they come home with an uneaten lunch that has to be tossed. Sometimes they come home from parties with party bags that have enough candy in them for 3 months. If you cannot afford a party for 24 kids then just have 3 of the best friends over for some cake and a movie. Simple. Regarding allergies, I think some posters think the nut allergy thing is a fad or a joke. I find the nut bans a royal pain in the a** but I try to put myself in those parents shoes- Nut anaphylaxis can be instant, and a child can be dead within 2-3 minutes. I have seen a reaction and hope to G*d I never see one again. Yes when kids get older they need to be aware and learn to avoid other people's food, but the little ones will not be able to do this. What are you teaching your kids when you say " I don't see why 23 kids have to be inconvienienced for the sake of 1 kid (Who might DIE- terrible inconienience I guess)- you are teaching them they must get immediate gratification of their wants and needs without Empathy or consideration for others. Nice. Sue, I applaud you!!! What a lovely, sensible post (my opinion) For some other poster's perhaps I could put forward a different perspective. fyi There are more people with Coeliacs Disease than Alzheimers. Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease, where one speck of gliadin, the protein found in gluten (wheat Rye and Barley) causes the body to attack itself. This can lead to a wide array of deficiencies, linked diseases and in rare cases lymphomas and related cancers.There were 300 million people worldwide (euromonitor 2009) with severe food intolerances, however with percentages rising even in third world countries that will have increased significantly. My children cannot tolerate gluten or dairy. Our school has so far chosen not to ban cupcakes, and for the most part we have wonderful mum's, some of whom have asked for recipes to cook for my children. However with contamination issues being so important we rarely feel that we can accept unless we know somebody extremely well and know they understand the importance of not even a crumb (how hard is that - we have a wheat and gluten ban in our house because it is too hard to separate - I'm lazy). Then we have the busy Mum's who do not have time or desire to bake who either feel pressured or the Mum's who decide to bring in doughnuts. (nor so infrequent), because again they feel they need to bring in a treat, whether for a child's birthday or not. There are 24 children in each of my children's class, and so far there have only been less than a handful that have not chosen to bring in something. That's 40 cupcakes a year. I know I have to bake them from scratch (which I would do for my children gladly). But the times (there have been three in succession for my son) where they come home and look up at you and say, Mummy I didn't have a cupcake in my bag today, everybody had cake, (with huge eyes that say you let me down) breaks your heart. The alternative -"you can't expect a cup cake or treat just because EVERYBODY else in your class has one - that's reality". Could you do that to your child. My solution - let's celebrate every child's birthday, let's sing happy birthday - in any language, let's make a fuss of the birthday boy/ girl, let's give stickers. Let's make new traditions and don't let ANY CHILD suffer at the expense of another:)

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Good Times Girl

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Latest post on 28 November 2011 - 21:58

Having read this thread all the way through I have been so horrified with the reactions of some parents that I have for the first time ever used my wife's login to comment on this forum. Our children are Coeliac as well and whilst not having the immediate reaction of nuts the side effects of one crumb can leave them in extreme pain for days afterward and ultimately the long term effects can be far more serious. Please google this disease if you think it is a fad. Yes they are exposed to this every day at school and yes they know what they can and can't have and for the most part avoid contamination. However, it is very hard for them when there is a 'surprise celebration' and they have to go and sit on a separate table and miss out. This is not rare as there are cakes in our school nearly every other week. We have tried to cater for the majority and requested we be forewarned so we can make other arrangements and provide gluten free alternatives; however, this very rarely happens. I'm not saying this is because parents don't care, it's just that life gets too busy and they forget. Or they do let us know but only the night before and we don't have the ingredients to hand to make an alternative. Of course children should be allowed to celebrate their birthdays be it a party in the park, at their house or one of the many play places. They can have their birthday cake and celebrate as they see fit. We will go to the party and celebrate with them and have our gluten free option stashed ready for the right moment because it's a party and cake is expected. At school we don't have that luxury of knowing what is coming unless it is more strictly regulated. For all those against the ban please come to our house to babysit after a contamination and listen as our children cry through the night. I bet you will have changed you mind by the morning.

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