When I was a kid, I would bring homemade cupcakes for the class on my birthday. So did all of my friends. Nowadays, it seems allergies and sensitivies are so prevalent that nothing is safe to eat! If Johnny is allergic to milk and Susie is allergic to peanuts and Joe is allergic to eggs and Katie is allergic to chocolate and Frederick can't eat anything with gluten...what's a mom to do? Is the era of bringing a treat to school for your birthday over?
I had my daughter bring in silly bands for her birthday, the kids loved them!
Dum dum suckers seem to work for everyone....or at least that is what I've noticed. Otherwise, I just think you have to do what you can. I know many of the parents in my daughters school of these children with allergies bring in an alternative for their child when a treat is brought in.
I wish this trend would end! There is such a growing epidemic of childhood obesity and diabetes that theses kids don't need these cupcakes. Not to mention the allergies, intolerances, etc. My son did a science fair project on cupcakes brought in for birthdays and over the years a kid consumed possibly enough cupcakes to gain something like 8 or 9 pounds (I forget the exact number) by the end of fifth grade! My kids have summer birthdays so I have never had to worry about it and I never brought stuff in at the end the year either. Whatever happened to just singing happy birthday and maybe in the lower grades letting the birthday kid wear a special hat for the day? My advice is to rebel against this as I have. Not trying to sound negative but I am so glad my kids are home schooled this year and I don't have to worry about what they are getting fed behind my back in school.
fruit salad with a little cool whip. Or a fruit parfait..yogurt and fruit layered with granola.
Our school doesn't allow homemade treats for just this reason. In fact, they ask no SWEETS at all. Instead they ask you to bring some toy for everyone like pencils, tatoos, etc. We went to the dollar store and picked out a couple of different items so kids could choose.
If your school does allow treats I've heard OREOS are nut and egg free. Otherwise, maybe fruit or jello cups?
Yes, sadly I think you will find almost all schools and daycare centers/preschools (home daycares will be different) require a store bought item for safety reasons (ingredients are listed on the label, and the assumption is that they were made in a safe kitchen that has been inspected for food service, etc..and then the ingredients and such can be tracked should someone be ill with some food bourne illness outbreak).
I know when I was a nanny in the early 90's, the kids I watched also attended a Montessori preschool a few hours a week..and that was when I first remember such rules coming into play. I had a conversation with one of the Moms, who would bring in these wonderfully elaborate cupcakes for some of the bigger holidays. She said she was able to do this because she had a caterer's license. It was as close to "homemade" as we were able to get when those rules were changing for them (with my oldest charge, we could bring stuff we made for parties, but a few years later with the youngest is when the rules changed around here).
I agree to get Silly Bands, or fun Dollar Store items, or some fruit chews or?? See what your class rules are on sweets and treats and try to be a little creative if you can?? I bet they get alot of pencils! LOL
We've done a variety of things - in first grade one of my daughters asked me to send in apple slices and baby carrots with ranch dressing at it was a big hit - go figure! Our school still allows homemade treats so this year one of my girls brought in rice krispy treats that I cut into star shapes with a cookie cutter, the other brought in banana-chocolate-chip muffins.
If I had to bring in something now, though, I'd send in clementine tangerines in paper cupcake liners to give them a 'festive' look - we actually did this last week for one of my DDs' teachers b/c he's big on healthy snacks and not a lot of sugary stuff - we even put a candle on one of the tangerines and the kids sang happy bday to him, it was really cute!
My kids go to a private school (our public district does not have this rule) and we can old bring in a fruit tray or a veggie tray. Good thing is, the kids know know different.
Our "treats" have to be pre-packaged and are for take home consumption only...fruit snacks or bags of pretzels, etc.
My oldest daughter I was only allowed to bring store bought cupcakes or cookies. I had to bring it to the cafeteria to be approved and they could only be passed out during lunch in the cafeteria. With my youngest her birthday is in the summer so she will be at daycare so I am excited about bringing in homemade cupcakes. Yes, we all have to be careful now because the schools can get in trouble. Sad but true.
Skip the treat. Have your child were a special shirt and/or button. If you are able, go to school and take a special lunch. We limit our children’s sugar intake and I, personally, don’t care for all the sweet treats that sent in for birthday celebrations.
To Mallory P. : I pack my children a healthy lunch/snack every day. And yes, from time to time, they are allowed a treat. But that is at my discretion. Give your child the Krispy Kreme for breakfast and don’t subject my child to your sugar beliefs. In response to it being “OCCASIONAL”...it’s not occasional when you have a class of 25 students and the majority of the parents feel like you.
I live in Howard County, MD and we aren't allowed to send in treats for the kids b-days. They request books, stickers, pencils, or something like that.
Ask the teacher, she or he should have a run down of the allergies in the class and what is a good treat if those are an issue. In my 1st grader's class, there is only one allergy and that boy has a stash of special snacks that he can have during special events so it's OK to bring in cupcakes. In my pre-schoolers class, if you bring in cupcakes they have to be made from a certain allergen-free brand of mix and frosting (I think Pillsbury). My older kids have been in classes where there were no treats at all, or you could send in things like a fruit salad. I'm fine with all of it - just ask and the teacher should let you know what the guidelines are for his or her classroom.
We arent allowed to bake anything! Has to be store bought. There are some grocery stores the school has approved to get cupcakes from the bakery. Thats what I did for my daughters birthday. Kinda funny, a stranger is allowed to make them, but I am not.
Now you can only bring prepackaged junk or those horrid cupcake cakes. The days of actually delicious treats are over.
I'm a fifth grade teacher, and as of yet, there are no restrictions on what snacks kids can bring in, as long as they list ingredients or include the label from the box mix. Kids in fifth grade are well aware of any allregies they have been diagnosed with, as are the parents, and teachers always have a list of exactly who has what allregy, restrictions, etc. I have had students who keep a box of whatever food they CAN eat if another kid brings in a birthday treat, and they eat that snack while the rest of the class is having the other one. In my daughter's school, it is much more strict. The website says kids can only bring in Italian Ice or Rice Krispies treats for birthdays, or fruit, I suppose. I'd check with the teacher first and get his/her take on the school's rule, and go from there. It's always good to alert the teacher to the day a snack will be coming in anyway. Good luck!
With all the allergies, diabetes, etc I would skip the sweet treats and pick up some cute pencils, stickers, tattoos, etc for the classroom if you feel you must bring in a special treat. These bday treats were never done in my school when I was little it seemed to be the trend when my oldest started preschool but now the school requests that no sugary/junk food treats be brought to school as a way to help promote healthier eating habits.
Talk to the teachers and buy something store-bought that has a clear allergen label. However, know that anything made in a bakery that also uses peanuts and tree nuts WILL NEVER BE PEANUT/TREE NUT FREE no matter what the label says. Too much risk of cross contamination for highly allergic kids. I sent Oreos with my peanut-allergic daughter to her Pre-K class as a treat -- got a HUGE box at Costco. Fruit is a great option and much healthier too :) but alas my little one wanted the chocolate cookies (since she never gets them). Homebaked treats are not allowed in classrooms with allergies generally -- I have friends who can bake treats because amazingly none of the kids in her kids' classes have food allergies but I would say that is a rarity these days.
