My four year old is ONLY allowed to bring CRISPS for a playtime snack. Is this normal? Or am I weird...

[savoycabbage]

Have had information pack from the Infant school that my dd will be starting in September. The school says that they provide fruit for all of the children that want it and if you want you can bring a packet of crisps for morning break. Nothing else. Not a nice home-made flapjack or a biscuit. We are going to the parent's meeting soon and I can't decide if I should say something or not as there is NO WAY MY CHILD IS EATING FIVE PACKETS OF CRISPS A WEEK FOR THREE YEARS!!! But I sometimes have difficulty in deciding if I am normal or not.....I don't want to make a tw*t of myself before she even starts. What do you think?

[getbackinyouryurtjimjams]

Ds1 couldn't have pasties (he's gluten free- and anyway he wouldn't eat meat or vegetables for 4 years) or fruit shoots (aspartame etc).

He would eat crisps (plain ready salted), gluten free biscuits and cakes, buckwheat panckaes with cheese hidden in them and jam on top, gluten free toast and jam, and gluten free cheese pizza. That was it.

His first special school teacher sorted it out- but it did take over a year - he went from a crisp with a tiny piece of baked bean sauce to a crisp sandwich (crisp broken into quarters with one baked bean between 2 quarters) to crisp with a bit of mashed potato on. Then suddenly he was eating widely again (he ate everything and anything before his regression) I do think it's this sort of thing that is incredibly difficult for mainstream schools to deal with/teach etc etc. And almost impossible for families- especially if you have other children to deal with.

Now, for an autistic child he eats very well. Sometimes the combinations are a bit odd, but hey ho - he'll eat meat, fish, potatoes and some fruits (apples and pears), scrambled egg etc. The nightmare days are (touch wood as you never know with autism) over.

[getbackinyouryurtjimjams]

But the bloody fruit only rule was a sodding nightmare the whole time he was in mainstream!!! (and at that stage he couldn't imitate so he could have spent 24/7 in rooms of children eating fruit and it would have meant bugger all to him -it would never have occurred to him that he could do the same, that's not how autism works).

[getbackinyouryurtjimjams]

Food is how I time his regression btw. Age 11 months he ate everything and anything and was making animal noises and had a few proto words 'da' for star for example.

Then illness.

Then between 12-15 months slowly stopped gaining new words, then lost old ones and sounds at the same time as he stopped eating and started singing until by 15 months he would only eat cheerios and chocolate buttons and din't talk but sang instead. At 11 months he was tucking into massive stews of meat and veg,

Sorry this is totally irrelevant, but the food stuff is bringing it all back. It was such a nightmare. I feel for your friend yurtgirl and truly I will always be incredibly grateful to his first special school teacher.

[Yurtgirl]

Its fascinating to read your experiences Jimjams. My friend says they did try to wean her boys off the junk, the autistic brother became unmanagable, the parents cracked under the pressure and now all three boys continue to eat rubbish - I find it really sad.

I can only hope their little boy may encounter a teacher like yours did jimjams - Its fantastic that your ds eats well now

[getbackinyouryurtjimjams]

Does he have gut problems. So many kids with ASD have dodgy guts and bacteria that they crave the stuff as well- carb junk. It' so hard.

I'm writing a relevant blog entry right now. Will link when I've finished.

[southeastastra]

they're crisps not big macs, talk about over reacting

[EachPeachPearMum]

sorry, OT, but Yurt/jimjams- interesting that he would only eat flat food- was that part of the attraction for him do you think?

[getbackinyouryurtjimjams]

I think it was more non-sloppy- chewy food. Not sure. He started visually- it had to look acceptable (flat could have come into it I guess interesting- he had massive depth perception problems then) - but then he developed a ridiculous sense of smell so bang went all the supplements I used to hide in food.

Yurtgirl todays' blog link. I'd really recommend following up on Derrick MacFabe's work - relevant I think for many fussy eaters. I'm gong to start trying to get probiotics etc back into ds1- we used to, but it got harder with the developed sense of smell.

[getbackinyouryurtjimjams]

yeah but many schools don;t make reaosnable adjustment (as its not fair on the other children). I wouldn't expect many families to follow up on the crisp offer but if it makes life easier for some I suppose it doesn't matter that much. Free fruit? Bag of crisps? All things equal most are going to go for the free fruit unless there's a real reason not to.

[piggysneed]

Who is over reacting southeastastra? OP was just asking if its normal to be only allowed crisps as a snack and the general concensus is no, its not normal. Lots of parents, including me wouldn't want a child to either eat a bag of crisps 5 days a week for years or be the only child without a snack.

My ds gets fruit at breaktime, they aren't allowed to take anything else in, and I didn't have to sign a form to give permission for the fruit. Very odd to allow crisps but not biscuits imo. they might think that biscuits are a slippery slope to mars bars but why allow crisps if they are bothered about healthy eating?

[KristinaM]

jimjam - my daughter's best friend at school has ASD and she has lots of similar accomadations. the others kids are used to it now and accept it. sorry your child's school was so inflexible

[getbackinyouryurtjimjams]

Oh don't worry kristina- in a way they did us a favour as it meant he only had to spend 4 terms there before being able to hotfoot it to special- far more suitable for him and he has come on enormously in the 4 years he's been there.

[KristinaM]

[getbackinyouryurtjimjams]

It was an awful 4 terms but I do really appreciate what he has now

[savoycabbage]

That is bloody awful what happened to your little boy jimjams and I bet the other kids at that school wouldn't give a hoot if your ds was allowed crisps. Flexibility was certainly needed in that school.

Cat64 - that is what I think. They will not starve in 4 hours, it is habit forming and they should be playing. The only other person I know who is going to the school and who I asked what they thought in has told me that there child will be taking crisps as 'she likes crisps more than fruit'

I am trying to find out if I am overeacting Southeast
asia. That is my whole point. I am not happy with the idea of her having crisps at all never mind 5 days a week for three years, would you be? I think that some people are OK with is which is why I am trying to find out if it is just me before I say something. When she was at nursery and I asked why they were getting sweets every time it was a birthday and every time someone had been on holiday I did so without thinking. On her second day. And they looked at me like I was a loon and I was labelled as a troublemaker. Hence my question.

I have decided that I am going to say something at the meeting. Perhaps there is a good reason like jimjams son.

[nailpolish]

my dd has 2 SN children in her class and they are 'allowed' things the other children arent - they are only 5 but they all understand why and its not even an issue. never has been.

[cory]

I can't understand why it isn't possible to have rules for NT children and explain to them that SN children have different needs.

And as for crips, yes I would worry more about them than about a Big Mac, as the salt content is very high and that is likely to be more damaging to young bodies than fat. I would certainly not let mine eat them every day.

[Romy7]

lol riven, we are sending snack in daily too, everyone else gets the fruit delivery or nowt - and I'm sending - bananas... i'm sure it's going to cause a riot... and lol at your milkshake too - i know a mum who used to whizz egg and chips for her non-chewing brigade

[OrmIrian]

Seems odd. But I'd just go with the free fruit personally.

[StripeyKnickersSpottySocks]

I think its bad that they're offerring crisps as an alternative (sn kids excepted).

At dd's school they get the free fruit/carrot at morning break. If any kids don't like whats on offer that day they may go to their lunch bag and choose a bit of fruit from there instead. But only fruit.

I can imagine if some of dd's friends were bringing in crisps she would be nagging me to let her take in a packet instead of having to eat apples, etc. I wouldn't be happy.

[Yurtgirl]

Savoycabbage - I am appalled that the school is allowing crisps as an alternative. But what I dont really get is why are you suggesting your child will therefore have crisps 5 days a week for three years..... Why cant she just have fruit?

Be thankful they are not asking you to pay - we have to £1 per week