To be annoyed with teacher giving my child food gifts that they can't eat

[mrsfoof]

DC has a gluten intolerance. To clarify, it's 'just' an intolerance not coeliac disease, but if they eat even a little bit of it, they get bad stomach cramps and diarrhoea. DC is 10 and the school are aware of their dietary requirements and are great at providing GF school meals and always remember to provide GF ingredients when the DC does cooking in class etc.
Anyway, at Easter, all children were given an Easter egg by the teacher. All the class had the same type of egg but it contained gluten so DC couldn't eat theirs.
The same happened today - DCs were given various toys and sweets in a goody bag as an end of term gift, some of which contained gluten.
Now the gluten sweets aren't especially obviously 'gluten-y' (Smarties, Mars bars etc) so I expect it never crossed the teacher's mind to link them with the fact that they contain gluten. However, I'm a bit cross that the school are handing out foods with allergens in them to kids that can't eat them. DC knows that they are ones that they can't eat and was very gracious in just saying thank you to the teacher and giving them to their siblings to eat instead. They were a bit disappointed of course but it's not a big deal to them.
On the other hand wonder if I should mention it - what if DC was younger and ate them without checking? Should they have more robust procedures to ensure that allergens aren't given to kids who shouldn't be eating them?
And yes, I'm aware that it's highly likely that the teacher bought these with their own money and it would seem very ungrateful to 'complain'. Any letter I send would be about awareness, not complaining as such.
Or should I just keep quiet?

Of course for medical reasons. UPF and excess sugar are linked to so many medical problems- obesity, diabetes, cancer, autoimmune disease, IBD, IBS, depression, ADHD, leaky gut etc. disrupted gut microbiota is also behind allergies and intolerances. the list of problems caused by this toxic attitude to food and nutrition is endless. it's sensible to limit or ideally eliminate junk food, especially for children who are still building their immune systems, but so difficult to do when the schools work against you because the teachers think they have a right to give mars bars to children.

Oh I don't disagree entirely. There are plenty of families who don't share my view and they raise their kids with way too much unhealthy food as we can see from the obesity epidemic which is just one example of the impact of this.

However there are many of us that do care and I think it's fairly common for parents to say "ok, you've had ice cream (or chocolate, whatever) already today at school so no more of that for the rest of the day." Limiting unhealthy food is a normal practice among most families, albeit not all.

Food is health and as long as our children are receiving food at school then yes the schools are in part responsible for their health. That's not a stretch in the slightest.

Poor health in childhood can be hard to overcome as that's when the foundation for chronic disease is set. Trivial to you, perhaps, but not to those who suffer from it.

Yes I think you should mention it, to educate the teacher and the school. My child has a nut allergy and intolerance to dairy and soya. They were once given a free from item instead of a 'normal' item of food by there teacher unfortunately this contained Almonds which they are allergic to. Fortunately they didn't eat it and we gave it back to the teacher as she asked me to check the ingredients as I picked them up. The teacher reported the incident to the Head, I had a meeting with the head, they were both very apologetic and all procedures relating to allergy's were tightened up. If the school don't know about it they can't make changes to improve things for younger and 'more allergic' kids.

Surely providing healthy/cooked/in some cases free dinners, Pe at least twice a week, afterschool sports activities, a ban on squash and fizzy drinks. My school also provides a bowl of fruit for children who actually don't eat breakfast in the mornings. Is enough to say a few sweets (usually sent from other parents for birthdays) isn't detrimental to children's health and that responsibility lays solely with the parents.

Teachers really can't do anything right, can they 😒

Why do you say that grumpynamechange? Do you think its difficult for teachers not to give children in their care food that will make them ill?

Maybe, parents could step up a bit? Teachers are the reason that children are shaping up to be the best they can, without all the issues in their way.

It's a shame some parents can't work with us but criticise because it's far easier than actually doing something. This thread had been an absolute eye opener for me.

Reach out. Email in ideas. Stop moaning and make a change. I'm all for any type of sugary treats being banned from schools. Parents make that happen. Not us! Ban birthday sweets. Ban cookies and cakes at lunch. Ban the shitty snacks at break parents send in. Sort out those lunch boxes parents pack. Stop giving squash in those drink bottles.

But it's that small bag of sweets at the end of term which is the problem 🤔 😅

A small bag of sweets that's the problem?

Erm, it might be the damn problem if the child has an intolerance or allergy, obviously 🤨

I can't even!!! Read my whole post. It will help you understand. You are responsible for your child. Talk to teachers/Ta's we will listen. I will personally accommodate any child. There's about 1 in every 70 children who need to be considered. So it's no issue.

Why are you so desperate to have your child excluded? Use your voice. We're really busy and appreciate any help/advice you can give.

To be honest if you can't work out that giving a child a food that will make them ill is a horrible idea then you shouldn't be a teacher.

Parents shouldn't need to 'email in' to point out the bloody obvious.

Not a teacher! Don't panic 😂Although I'm trusted with 3 year groups at lunch!!! It's worked so far with zero support from parents so...🙌

I can't even!!! Read my whole post. It will help you understand. You are responsible for your child. Talk to teachers/Ta's we will listen. I will personally accommodate any child. There's about 1 in every 70 children who need to be considered. So it's no issue.

But it clearly is an issue. The OP has talked to the teacher who has forgotten or made a mistake.

How is this not an issue and why do you think OP hasn't stepped up or taken responsibility for her child?
OP wasn't informed or consulted about the end of term treat, even though she had clearly told the teacher her DC can't have certain foods. OP had done her part, this was an error on the part of the teacher.

There is so much fear and diet culture and food bullshit in this post.i really do feel sorry for folk who believe this.and go to subject the poor children to it. When did kids diets,when did kids mental health, when did the level of eating disorders which start rising from people?it occurred when people started to leave behind common Sense and believe in this nonsense about certain things in food (that has never damaged just before I might add!) It's about balance .there isn't a good food and bad food, it's about balance. but beleaving stuff about nitrates and red meat and junk food is just putting so much pressure,shame on food choices. and is putting certain food on the pedestal and he's just confusing and adding further to our kids stress. that we never had when we were young or not to this lwvel.and what do u no who was healthier!. We had education,more aim at meal times,support,more time and mobey to access to fooda,less stress.
we had learning about it all yes, but we didn't have these false beliefs and leaky gut theories. This Is How how both adults and kids have become normalised in disordered eating.dont no how to eat intuitively.turn to shameful diets and food fears.the rise in body image problems.its horrible.

Thanks to everyone who gave an option - certainly a mixed bag

This was never about the teacher not getting my child a treat they could eat. We absolutely don't expect anything special and hugely appreciate that end of term goodies are bought out of the teacher's own pocket. We'd be perfectly happy if every other child was given Smarties but DC missed out due to their dietary requirements. DC would understand and I'd of course give them a little treat at home instead.

It was more about the concern that my child was given a treat that was unsuitable for them and just slightly feeling that the teacher should have known better than to give a GF child a treat containing gluten.

I will talk to their new teacher in September, perhaps making a bit more effort than I did this year to warn that gluten is not just in bread / biscuits / cakes and they need to be careful to check any labels before giving DC any food. I will also send in a bag of Haribo for such occasions.

This is definitely a good way to deal with it. I honestly wouldn't have known that smarties have gluten. Wouldn't even cross my mind. Which is why normally I search for something different gluten free or I ask the parents. In my eyes, it will definitely be safe and somethings the child likes/is used to.

I have been a type 1 diabetic since I was 4 - many decades now, pre sugar free, diabetic, reduced sugar etc etc.

The teachers knew eff all they could do about it - there were no chocolate sweet alternatives. I was given them as a gift just like every other child in the class - because it was a gift and was accepted as a gift.

It was then the highlight of my day to then gift my gift to one of the other DCS in the class. ~( I was temporarily very popular!!!!)

Am I scarred by it - no, did i know I could not eat it - yes. Did I feel left out - maybe a little bit but the ritual of who I would give my sweets/cake to was fun and made everyone smile.

I knew when I got home my Mum had always cooked me my favourite tea as the teachers had told her it was treat day.

Far too much fake indignation going on

I think the fear is that some 4 year olds mightn't be as sensible @lookluv, and that they may take a treat from a trusted adult and eat it and become very unwell - or even die in the case of a severe allergy.
I know this was a simple mistake and definitely wouldn't be hard on the teacher - she was trying to be kind and we're all human. And of course no harm was done in this particular incident. But I do think she and the school should be told so they get the chance to rectify any gaps in their school protocols.
When people do die from allergies/anaphylaxis it's often (usually?) because of simple mistakes made by kind, well-meaning people too.

@lookluv Also, I really don't know why you think people who are upset by what happened are faking it?

I totally agree with Bubbleguppette "I really don't know why you think people who are upset by what happened are faking it..."

I am always worried when I hear of people who are effectively poisoned by something they are allergic to.

I have been in a restaurant where I tried to explain a colleague had a gluten intolerance and the person I spoke to at the restaurant had no idea what it was.

My friend's toddler had a bad reaction to houmus, it was awful.

It's not a mean thing to point out what is appropriate for food gifts.

The school has a duty of care when it comes to a reasonable adjustments around allergies and diseases including Coeliac Disease. I would be cross too. I have experienced the same thing and our daughter was extremely poorly for days. You wouldn't feed a child with a nut allergy nuts so why would you feed someone with Coeliac gluten. You have every right to be mad. Coeliac Disease is serious.

Your dd is old enough to say she cat eat them and she did say this. What is the problem? If she was a younger child who could not say so or who could not judge this then that would be fair enough but she isn't. You are essentially complaining because the sweets are not gluten free. All you will accomish by complaining is to make sure the teacher feels chappy and never buys sweets or treats again from her own money. Seriously? Get a grip. My son has a nut allergy so I understand the concerns about allergy. At some point our kids must take responsibility at an age appropriate time. You have taught your dd that gluten makes her ill so she declined. I can't see the issue. We are not talking about another child. You should not use this as an opportunity to complain about a child that can't make decisions who does not exist in THIS class.

You don’t know how old my daughter is? It’s primary school. You are missing the point completely. Schools have a duty of care. This isn’t the first time. It’s a small school. Would you not want to keep your child safe? Maybe you don’t care 🤷🏻‍♀️

Sorry no idea what you are going on about!

I feel so sorry for primary teachers. When I worked in a school, there was a child who was coeliac so we had to make home made play doh.

It’s all too much. The teachers and TAs are exhausted from dealing with all these things.