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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be planning a letter of complaint to the PTFA for poisoning my children at the Christmas fair?

342 replies

Mincepiedermama · 09/12/2007 12:52

Why does it have to be so packed with sugar? After the fair at the juniors my nearly three year old was sick several times in the night because someone gave him those disgusting sugar walking sticks.

At the Infants fair yesterday I gave my kids pocket money and sent them off browsing reminding them about the sugar poisoning incident so ds3 decided to go for the lucky dip. He pulled out a handbag which I thought was great. I later discovered it was FULL of lollies FGS!

I can;'t watch them all every minute of the Christmas Fair because it's one of the places they should be given freedom to roam. Also I was running a stall.

I love school fairs but the sugar thing really ruins them for me and poisons my kids. Why are people so obsessed with sugar for kids?

I have many years to go at these schools so am thinking of writing or talking to the PTFA people about capping the amount of sugar available at these events. Is that reasonable?

Now if you'll excuse me I have to put some more vomitty bedding in the washing machine.

OP posts:
CrushWithEyeliner · 09/12/2007 12:57

It's Christmas, a little indulging never killed anyone really. I am sorry that your LO was sick but maybe you needed to monitor what he was eating - I do think he could have just as easily got sick from an organic ginger flapjack

Sorry but I thing YAB abit U here..as long as it's not every day of the year, it's sugar, not poison.

Weegle · 09/12/2007 12:59

Poison??

You lost me at that point

TotalChaos · 09/12/2007 12:59

apologies if i've got the wrong person, but if you are who I think you are, one of your children is diabetic, so I'ld have thought you had very good reason to complain about lack of decent alternatives to suggary prizes etc.

smeeinachristmastreeinnit · 09/12/2007 13:00

could have been anything that made him sick

tbh i think the PTFA would not do alot about it,why spoil the fun for all the other kids who are allowed to indulge at xmas because of one parent?

imo YABU.

BrandyButterGalore · 09/12/2007 13:00

sounds a bit like your dc have a particularly strong reaction to sugar. doesnt seem to affect mine that way.

you can ask about it, sure, but sweets generally arent that bad for most kids and it is christmas

Saturn74 · 09/12/2007 13:01

Sorry your DS was poorly.
I think if you want to monitor what happens at these events, you'll have to volunteer to be on the PTFA committee.

camillathechicken · 09/12/2007 13:02

are you sure it was the sugar? sounds like a virulent reaction

if your child has a food allergy/ intolerance, surely you need to make sure they don;t eat that food, until they are old enough to refuse it or look for an alternative?

agree there should be alternatives to sugary stuff, but 99 % of parents would probably be fine with their DCs having sugar

sorry you are having a horrible time with pukey children

islandofsodor · 09/12/2007 13:03

YABU unless there is a medical reason why your child shouldn;t have sugar in which case the school should have made sure that their needs were catered for.

However if there is a medical problem such as diabetes then you should either suypervise them more closeley or make sure they understand they can't have stuff.

There is a little girl in my dd's class at school who is on a special diet. At parties etc her mum takes her own stuff and party bag prizes she knows to give to her mum who excannegs them for something she can eat. This girl is aged 6.

However my 3 year old ds does not understand that artificial sweeteners (sugar free juice etc) makes him ill so I have to watch him like a hawk.

MerryAnnSinglemas · 09/12/2007 13:04

good, is sugar poison then ? I should be long dead...

MrsWeasleysmagicmincepies · 09/12/2007 13:04

a friend's DC has alergies so she monitors what they win and removes or swaps things if nessecary.

It a bit strong to blame to PTFA because your child over indulged IMHO!

MrsWeasleysmagicmincepies · 09/12/2007 13:05

"it's" even

Curmudgeonlett · 09/12/2007 13:08

it's your job to watch your children until they are old enough to deal with things like this

not the PTAs' responsibility or fault

I served a 5 year old with a nut allergy at the school fair .. first question was is anything nut free? .. his mother came up right behind him

if your children are allergic to over-indulgence in sugar and it creates such a reaction then you simply cannot say a fair is for them to run free ..

and if you want alternatives in place then you should be involved in the planning and creating of the event and not just attend it

so yes YANBU

DingDongJeremyOnVile · 09/12/2007 13:09

Curmudgeonlett

Are you sure?

Curmudgeonlett · 09/12/2007 13:10

yeah jeremy I'm pretty sure

oh sorry spidermama saw that you did run a stall .. were you involved in the planning too then?

TinyTimLivesinVictorianSqualor · 09/12/2007 13:15

Sorry, but it's your child, therefore your responsibilty to watch what they're eating.
Would you expect someone to cater differently for a birthday party because your DC's were going?
Sweet things are fine for most children in moderation.
I understand not watching kids all the time, but you said your DS was nearly 3??? Any child of that age will eat sweets if given them, and most peopel that see a child at a xmas fair wandering around would think that as they are not being followed by a parent worried about what they are eating then they would be fine with sugar.

seeker · 09/12/2007 13:19

I really do not believe that a child was sick three times in the night because someone gave him a sugar walking stick. Unless, possibly, if it was life sized!

lljkk · 09/12/2007 13:25

ER, I can't imagine how your 3yo got so much, did he really wonder off on his own? Our head would have firmly brought my 3yo DS back (with loads of tut-tutting at me personally) if I had let him go like that. I can't imagine handing him his own money or letting him wander off unobserved at the Fayre. He'd raid every sweet jar en route, little monkey.

I agree it's an annoying sugar fest, but I ration what they're allowed at the time and confiscate the rest to go into the general sweets stockpile at home.

That said, YANBU to write a polite letter and start a campaign about not having too much sugar as prizes -- but do leave the 'poison' word out. For prizes they could instead offer pencils, stickers, pretty shells, little notebooks or tokens for experiences like extra playtime the next school day.

Blandmum · 09/12/2007 13:25

My kids have never vomited after sugar.

More likely to be a virus?

sorry , but I do feel you would be going over the top to complain to them. If you don't want your kds to eat sweets, don't let them.

and sugar isn't a poison, unless you are diabetic, and even then it isn't a poison

We all used sugar every second of every day.

If you feel very strongly, get on the comitee and see what you can do to change the next one.

Curmudgeonlett · 09/12/2007 13:29

Bugger, I said YANBU didn't I? That was why Jeremy was laughing at me wasn't it?

Patently I meant YABU

juuule · 09/12/2007 16:28

Sugar poisoning
You want them to cap the amount of sugar available at the fair
You are joking aren't you? You've not posted this seriously.
Hope you children have recovered, now, and you don't get any more vomitty bedding. Hate that. Especially when you have to rinse the solids off in the bath first. Uuuurgh

NAB3littlemonkeys · 09/12/2007 16:33

My 5 year old was sick after eating some of my birthday cake and while I won't buy that cake again, I wouldn't write to Tesco the shop to complain.

unknownrebelbang · 09/12/2007 16:35

Sorry to hear DS3 was poorly, but I think YABU.

Does sound more like a bug than because of the walking stick, but obviously you know your own child.

ColdPenguin · 09/12/2007 16:36

Looks like you lost that one then, mince pie.

YuleLoveHekateAtSolstice · 09/12/2007 16:38

If you don't want your child to eat something, you take it off them and tell them no.

My little buggers will quickly cram as much as they can into their mouths before I (mummymeaniecowbag )
come along and take it away from them! So I know I have to be watchful.

So be on top of them, and take it off them if you have to.

We all need eyes in our arses, don't we?!!

frothykindofadrink · 09/12/2007 16:38

your son was sick because of a sugar walking stick? a couple of sweets are hardly overindulgence imo - are you sure that's what caused it?

anyhow how are they going to cap the amount of sugar?

will there be ration cards handed out to every child? or will there a very small pile to be thrown down the throats of the first 10 children in the door leaving the rest to nibble on wholemeal crackers?

my kids went to the school fair yesterday and had a mini roll each

is this acceptable?

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