Gluten Accident At School On Friday

[e&j0304]

I thought I would share this with those who understand! My dd was given a regular cookie at school on friday. It was a Valentine's day party and I brought her a gluten-free cupcake, but there was a sub in her room (the regular head teacher was also there) and she gave dd the cookie on accident. They realized it right away and she only took one bite, but she has been sick since Friday evening. She has been complaining off and on of a tummy ache and has had diarrhea. She has also been ravenous, which was exactly how she was pre-gluten-free diet. She just doesn't feel well and I don't think she knows what she wants/needs to help her feel better so she wants to eat. She was miserable tonight before bed and I feel so bad for her.

I also have some guilt because I am usually really good about reminding her teachers about her situation, but I didn't this time and really thought it would be ok since they have had Ella all year. This is the first time we've had a problem at school. I know accidents happen, but I hate to see her feeling sick. Luckily she hasn't been sick the whole day. She seemed to feel totally fine at times and then would just start feeling yucky. She didn't sleep well last night and didn't nap well today though. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!

Anyway, thanks for listening to me vent!

Shannon

[Smunkeemom]

My 4 year old got an accidental cookie a few months back, she felt even worse about it than I did (if that's possible) her teacher was in tears she felt so bad, she just forgot since Kathryn hadn't been on the diet very long at that point, she remembered to give Annika a gluten free alternative but forgot Kathryn.

Kathryn took one bite and then said "this isn't gluten free"

she was sick for a week, it was so hard to comfort her she felt so bad "I wasn't trying to cheat, I just forgot for a minute, I hate gluten" I felt so bad............

She is fine now, even a little more careful, we all are a little more careful now.

It will be okay, hug your kid and remind her that you love her.

[gf4life]

Kathryn took one bite and then said "this isn't gluten free"

Isn't it amazing that your daughter knew there was gluten in the cookie from just one bite! There is just something about the texture and taste that you just KNOW. I did that at Outback one time when I ordered a dessert on the gluten free menu, but didn't notice I was supposed to tell them to omit the chocolate croutons! I took one bite of that crunchy crouton and pushed it away because I knew it was gluten...

I just wanted to let you guys know that it does get better. As the kids get older and learn more about the diet they are their own best advocate in the classroom. I can't even count how many times last year my daughter was given a gluten snack in kindergarten. Usually it happened because they would just be distributing the snacks onto the plates and not looking at the child to notice it was a child with dietary restrictions... But she had already learned well and would calmly tell the teacher (or aide or sub) that she couldn't eat that AND that she needed a new clean plate or napkin! She impressed her teacher with how knowledgable she was.

This year her teacher is more careful, but then she has learned a lot more about Celiac because her son is being tested for it. So she has tons of info from me and this website. She knows how serious it is and is more careful.

My older boys know how to read the labels and check things at school. So it does get easier. It just really is awful to have to watch your child suffer like that. I hate that part.

[munchkinette]

I gotta say, it might be a good thing for a kid to get a bite of something with gluten and KNOW that's what made them sick. I know a couple kids with food allergies. My cousin is now 20. She knew by about age 4 that walnuts made her throw up or swell. A family friend's kid is severely allergic/intolerant to EVERYTHING it seems. Wheat, soy, nuts... at age 6 or 7 she also knew more about foods than most adults, and knew how to read labels pretty well. I know that both of these kids had a couple really bad experiences eating those foods at ages when they were old enough to remember, so they learned the hard way. I realize some kids are extremely sensitive and probably shouldn't learn the hard way on purpose, but you might consider it a blessing in disguise. Both those kids learned to read very young.

[Guest nini]

when my daughter was four, she got ahold of a cookie at daycare... she actually snatched it out of a friends hand and ate a bite before the teacher realized what was happening and bolted across the room to take it away from her. It was an oreo... she only had one bite, but within MINUTES she was in the bathroom with D and a severely bloated crampy tummy... she was ill for about a week after that... so now she has a more vivid idea of how swiftly gluten affects her.

[Nic]

My son is 5 and has been gluten free for 9 months. I have taught him that he is not even aloud to touch cookies, cupcakes, bread, etc. without asking if it is gluten free. I feel bad that I kind of made it seem scary but be knows if someone other than me gives him something, he is to ask "is it gluten free". I was so proud of him, my 14 year old cousin forgot he was celiac and asked my son to go get a cookie for him at a family party. My son said he was not aloud to touch them and came to his grandmother and said, "Billy wants a cookie but I am not aloud to touch them". I just remind him of how sick he was and that even the smallest bit of gluten can make him that way again.

Nicole

[Smunkeemom]

At church there is the rule of "Don't feed Joey's kids anything!" which the more regular teachers interpret as anything unless I brought it for them, but the sub.s just read "don't feed anything" and it keeps my kids out of a lot of trouble.

My 2 year old has been gluten free since May of 2004, so she pretty much has the diet down pat, she will tell you "unless God made it all the way I can't eat it" (meaning unless it's fresh fruit, fresh veggie, or plain meat, she won't touch it unless I check it out)

My 4 year old has only been on the diet since October of 2005, so she is still getting the hang of remembering that she can't have some of this stuff, she is pretty good about asking if stuff is "gluten free" and when they ask "what's gluten free mean?" she says " no wheat, rye, barley, oats, or anything modified" I am still trying to work on helping her help herself but I think she is getting the hang of it, 2 weeks ago she turned down juice until she got them to read her the ingredients it said "modified food starch" and she said "nope, I can't have anything modified, you know what they modify it with? yucky stuff."

She then explained to her teacher that "the cheap juice isn't even good for you, you should get the real juice, good juice says "ingredients: grape juice", bad juice has more than one thing in it, and it will make me sick"

[e&j0304]

I'm glad to hear that some of you have older ones who are able to remember and remind their teachers. I know Ella will soon be able to do that too. She is feeling a bit better today although she still had some diarrhea. Hopefully she'll be all better again by tomorrow!

Again, thanks for sharing the stories. I'm sure Ella will eventually learn how sick she gets and know that she doesn't ever want to feel like that again.

here's to hoping, anyway!

Shannon

[angel-jd1]

Party days at school are always WILD!! The kids are super hyped up for the party, the teachers are worn out from the hyped up kids!! It is easy for accidents to happen on those days.

My suggestion would be for you to volunteer to help with party days. Be right there so that you are sure your daughter gets her gluten-free cuppey cakes and cookies. Not to mention kids LOVE when their moms and dads come to school to spend time with them. It is a win/win for everyone.

Glad to hear she is feeling better.

-Jessica

I thought I would share this with those who understand! My dd was given a regular cookie at school on friday. It was a Valentine's day party and I brought her a gluten-free cupcake, but there was a sub in her room (the regular head teacher was also there) and she gave dd the cookie on accident. They realized it right away and she only took one bite, but she has been sick since Friday evening. She has been complaining off and on of a tummy ache and has had diarrhea. She has also been ravenous, which was exactly how she was pre-gluten-free diet. She just doesn't feel well and I don't think she knows what she wants/needs to help her feel better so she wants to eat. She was miserable tonight before bed and I feel so bad for her.

I also have some guilt because I am usually really good about reminding her teachers about her situation, but I didn't this time and really thought it would be ok since they have had Ella all year. This is the first time we've had a problem at school. I know accidents happen, but I hate to see her feeling sick. Luckily she hasn't been sick the whole day. She seemed to feel totally fine at times and then would just start feeling yucky. She didn't sleep well last night and didn't nap well today though. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!

Anyway, thanks for listening to me vent!

Shannon

[TCA]

This is a little off topic, but my husband and I have been discussing the possibilities of home schooling our kids just through 2nd or 3rd grade, whenever they get a good hold on the diet and accidents like this are less likely. anyone else had these thoughts? We've never thougth about home shooling before, but the health of our daughter is poor due to her heart and we wonder if it wouldn't be better all the way around. any suggestions?

[ashlee's mom]

This is a little off topic, but my husband and I have been discussing the possibilities of home schooling our kids just through 2nd or 3rd grade, whenever they get a good hold on the diet and accidents like this are less likely. anyone else had these thoughts? We've never thougth about home shooling before, but the health of our daughter is poor due to her heart and we wonder if it wouldn't be better all the way around. any suggestions?

Hi, I homeschool our daughter. We really feel is is the best option for our family, not just because of celiac disease, but it certainly makes that easier too! My suggestion would be to see if there is a homeschool group in your town, talk to other parents and decide if this is something you are interested in. I would be happy to answer any questions for you as well. My dd is 6 and in first grade. She is happy and outgoing (as most homeschool kids are that I know- socialization is not the problem it is made out to be!) and learning wonderfully.

Michelle

[mmaccartney]

Perhaps it is due to multiple food allergies, and Wheat intolernace, but my 4 year old knows that he cannot have anything prepared by other people except for a few specific items that he knows, such as marshmallow Peeps, Staruburst, Smarties.

Other than that he won't accept food from other people, as we've educated him to understand that he cannot risk accepting food from others. Only from Mom and Dad.

His school understands that no food is to be given to him, except for the food that we provide in a special bag of treats for him. We take the burden off of the school (Why should they have the burden?!?!) by telling them, "dont give him anything that isn't in the bag we provide". Further, we talk to the parents of his classmates so that they understand as well. Many times parents still want to get some treats that everyone can share so that he doesn't have to be excluded and they call us asking for product names, etc. One time a parent bought an item that we told them was OK for him, but they called us the next day and said that the packaging indicated it was not OK for him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The school loves us! They have other kids with food problems, and the parents expect the school to manage it for them. They have even asked us to talk to the other parents to help them understand that it isn't the schools responsiblity, but ours!

[Smunkeemom]

This is a little off topic, but my husband and I have been discussing the possibilities of home schooling our kids just through 2nd or 3rd grade, whenever they get a good hold on the diet and accidents like this are less likely. anyone else had these thoughts? We've never thougth about home shooling before, but the health of our daughter is poor due to her heart and we wonder if it wouldn't be better all the way around. any suggestions?

I homeschool my children, mostly because I don't like the schools in the area, but the fact that they weren't sticking to the gluten free diet was just the icing on the gluten free cake....LOL

you can PM me if you have any questions.

I have a lot of friends who homeschool, we belong to a co-op, and a few other "social groups". I personally am unschooling this year it seems to work out well.

[penguin]

Party days at school are always WILD!! The kids are super hyped up for the party, the teachers are worn out from the hyped up kids!! It is easy for accidents to happen on those days.

If you can't volunteer, how about having your kid wear a special shirt or hat on party days to help flag the child for the crazed teachers? The hat thing would be especially helpful if the school rule is no hats allowed and she got special permission, then they couldn't miss her. Otherwise a crazy bright shirt might help.

[mrsnj91]

Just a thought from a preschool teacher...I had some children in my class that had bad food allergies and one Celiac and we used special red plates for parties. Only their food, placed on those red plates could be eaten. They knew not to take from anothers plate. And those plates were done 1st and placed on the table before the others were done. This way we knew the right child got the right food. The moms would provide their own "treats" but I would give them a list of items being served so that they could find similar replacements. AND I encouraged them to provide a special treat to share. This helped the children feel included and not having to eat just their own food. I also tried to include on the sign up list some natural treats so they could have things from the other children. Like grapes, apples, etc. Just some thoughts for the future.