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Back To School With a Celiac Child

Sat Jul 24, 2010 8:50 AM EDT
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By eElementary
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Now for Year Round and Later (just a month) for Traditional schedules here in Wake County (NC). With our oldest starting kindergarten, we wanted to share our experiences so far. We definitely came a long way with Celiac since she was diagnosed four years ago. Celiac Disease definitely entered the main stream in that time, with all the various gluten free products out there in traditional stores and restaurants.

So how to prepare for school? Well, we printed out the Gluten Free Snack List (http://www.celiaccentral.org/SiteData/docs/Gluten-Free-Candy-List/370e802df5a4b099ad419d940cf8fe22/Gluten-Free-Candy-List.pdf) for the first step. We definitely encourage you to look the list over, and highlight definite gf items, as we did. This list is about 2-3 years old, so some things may not be accurate any longer, and we highlighted those we felt safe with our daughter eating. We provided copies of the list to her teacher and teacher assistant, just as we did for preschool. They assured us they would keep tabs on things.

Other good tips:

    We prepped a 'gluten free snack sack' for her to keep at school. While students bring their own snacks in daily, no more communal snack, we know there will be 'surprise' treats at times. And birthdays. And parties. So this will allow her to pull out a treat and not feel left out
    We encouraged her to never put her lunch down on the bare cafeteria tables. "Eat over your containers' we told her! Even without Celiac, we would encourage her to do that!
    We took a deep breath and believed in our girl! While we know so many of these things are out of our control, we need to leave it up to her to make good decisions for her own health. She will need to be accountable for those choices, and with all the prep over the years, we definitely know she can do it! (-: Kindergarten and this–talk about letting go…
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eElementary

Anyone else have hints to make summer-->school transition easier for Celiacs?

    Reply#1 - Sat Jul 24, 2010 8:51 AM EDT
    bonos_rama

    Good luck! I have a friend who has two children (out of 3) with Celiac, and I know it takes constant vigilance.

      #1.1 - Sat Jul 24, 2010 12:15 PM EDT
      Reply
      Janeinthisworld

      I always have mixed feelings about notices like these that come home from school. There was a boy at my younger son's school who has a peanut allergy. So the school stopped serving peanuts and peanut products at school and asked parents not to send peanut foods to school with the other kids. My son LIVES on peanut butter, so according to this letter, I shouldn't send something with my kids that they love because 1 kid out of 700 can't eat it. On days when we were asked to send food for special events, we had to be very careful about what we sent. I sometimes feel that as a parent I already have enough to do to take care of my own kids, I don't really want to have to put a lot of time and effort into what to feed other kids. Don't get me wrong, I'm sensitive and sympathetic to the plight of other families who have to deal with this, and I do my best to be within the guidelines. But sometimes its really difficult to do. I have enough to do getting my own kids ready for the transition back to school.

      The list you attach is certainly informative and comprehensive, and that is helpful, but honestly, if this list was sent home I probably wouldn't do more than skim it and I would be very unlikely to keep it for future reference. I guess I'm not sure I understand why I should have to make sure that the food I send with my child to eat should also be compatible with what other kids can eat. What other kids eat is not my responsibility.

      Good luck. Hope it works out for you.

      • 1 vote
      Reply#2 - Sat Jul 24, 2010 11:56 AM EDT
      bonos_rama

      Interesting viewpoint, Jane. Tell me; how do you feel about having to go through security lines at the airport on the tiny chance that someone might bring a bomb aboard a plane? And what it it's not even YOUR plane, and your kids aren't going to be on that flight? Do you resent keeping other people safe on planes?

      • 1 vote
      #2.1 - Sat Jul 24, 2010 12:13 PM EDT
      Janeinthisworld

      Hmmm. If something goes wrong on a plane, everybody dies, or at least has the risk of it. I generally don't have to worry about that with a peanut butter sandwich.

      I don't fly anymore. I hate it. It aggravates my vertigo.

      • 1 vote
      #2.2 - Sat Jul 24, 2010 12:31 PM EDT
      eElementary

      Jane--I think you miss the intent. This letter is what WE as the parents send in to our daughter's class. We are definitely not asking the school/classroom to be gluten free. We are just giving a list of things to her teachers that she can eat safely. Often, those surprise parties/treats get sent in with other students, so we send in a 'snack sack' of gluten free things, that our daughter can have in the place of what the treat is, should it be wheat/gluten.

      No, we NEVER expect a school, parent to plan for our special needs, although some do at times. We just like to be informed. Like if the school has a pizza party, we want to know ahead of time so we can send in a gf pizza for her. Or cupcakes--we usually send in a few frozen, again if the class has a special treat. We do that when we go to birthday parties as well.

      I hope that clears up this intent! (-: We definitely do not expect, nor should anyone, that a school go completely allergen free. I have heard of schools being peanut free, and I agree that is partially silly. Just taking good precautions is all that is necessary.

      • 1 vote
      #2.3 - Sat Jul 24, 2010 12:33 PM EDT
      Janeinthisworld

      I have no problem with that and I appreciate it. Like I said, I do my best to follow the guidelines, but sometimes it really can be overwhelming. There's the boy with the peanut allergy, but there's also another boy who's lactose intolerant, there's a girl who doesn't eat eggs, another girl who only takes soy milk, and at least a couple kids whose families are vegan or vegetarian. Class parties can be a nightmare. If I have to worry too much about the dietary requirements of other kids, I just won't send food to school. Which is a bummer; I LOVE potlucks!

      • 1 vote
      #2.4 - Sat Jul 24, 2010 12:48 PM EDT
      bonos_rama

      So if one child dies from a peanut allergy, it's no big deal to you b/c it's only one? That's pretty sad. It's not a huge sacrifice to keep the peanut butter at home and feed it to your kid at home.

        #2.5 - Sun Jul 25, 2010 10:14 AM EDT
        Kozakura-1552259

        :( Jane the thing you might not understand about peanut allergies is that they can be very sensitive and very fatal. Yes it does suck not to be able to have peanuts in school, but it will suck much worse for the child(and his family) that dies from contact with one smudge of peanut butter no bigger than the head of a pin. It is really that bad and that serious. This is much different than other food intolerance's.

          #2.6 - Fri Jul 30, 2010 1:52 PM EDT
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