Those with elementary school kids, question about birthday treats

[liasmommy2000]

At what point blood sugar wise do you or the school tell your child no to treats that are being served in class (for birthdays or other celebrations)? Or at what point do you say they have to bring it home for later, only eat half, etc.

I have a reason for asking but first I want to see what you all do, etc.

[momtojess]

I can only think of once that we told her she couldnt eat it with the rest of the class.. she was over 400 for no reason, and was very symptomatic of being high (cranky, peeing, etc). We didnt want her to eat a cupcake since we were trying to trouble shoot what was causing the high (bad site? or what).

99% of the time we let her just have it, even if she is high (due to a food spike or another reason we know of).

[Christopher]

This is a great question and one that I was going to ask, almost verbatum. Tomorrow her class is having 3 treats: a Friday reward treat, ice cream cake for a students b-day, AND pizza for a student who is leaving!!!!!!!

As of right now I am letting Danielle eat the same treats the other kids are. The problem is that, #1 there seems to be an awful lot of treats being brought in (b-days, celebrations, rewards) and #2 they are usually not the most healthy treats (doughnuts, ice cream cake, pizza). The other problem is that many times there is no carb information for the treats so I end up guessing. I am being "urged" by several people (school and home) to just say no to some of the treats and send a "substitute" treat for her to eat. I will be really interested to see how others are handling this. Thanks for the thread!!

[Lee]

I let her eat them - the nurse has Calorie King, and she calls me for input - but I have never said no to a school treat - although, she does have some 2 carb koolaid jammers in the nurses office so when they have punch, she can have those instead.

[mathcat]

I have not said no at any time, at least so far.

Jacob pre-boluses almost all the time. Class treats are the one time where he can usually test in class, eat, then go take care of his insulin with the nurse (unless I happen to be there to give the insulin so that he does not have to leave anywhere around a time of a treat). If he is above 350 he does need to get the insulin with the nurse first (who would call for a high like that) but I would still accept him getting the treat. In fact, I ask his teacher to have him test just enough ahead of time that he will have a chance of getting back to class fast enough just in case he does need to bolus ahead of time.

I guess if his meter ever said "HI" I would be reluctant to let him have the treat. But I have never seen that on his meter (other than the ER meter at diagnosis) so I do not know exactly how I would react (other than I would have the nurse retest, give a shot, and I would quickly be on my way to school)

By the way, if at home I would simply find a way to test ahead of time enough and to delay enough to have him closer to in range during a treat. But sometimes it does not happen and he gets a treat even if he is way too high (such as 300).

Lori
Jacob (age 7)(dx 8-30-04)(pump 3-29-05)

[HBMom]

I allow my son to have the treats. Yes, I agree that they are not healthy, but I do not want to take that away from him. The only time he would have to wait is if his numbers are too high at the time. In some of the elementary classes, the teachers request at the beginning of the year that they do NOT want treats for b-days, etc, and they suggest other things (a book for the class, little favors for the kids such as pencils, etc). This does bring down the amount of treats, but not everyone pays attention to the request. You might want to make a suggestion to your school to try and do that?

[frizzyrazzy]

I don't ever say no because the way I figure, if he's high, he's going to get a correction anyway and we normally don't see any difference in how fast he comes down with a correction alone vs a correction with food.

that being said, in our class the kids can only eat ONE item that's brought in; so if there's cupcakes and candy and cookies (some parents go overboard) they can eat one of those and the rest has to go home. Someone sent in pixie stiks the other day!!!!! unreal.

[selketine]

William eats them (or sometimes a substitute treat because of his peanut allergy - but it is usually something he picks out that is equally as dessert like). He sometimes does the drink they bring but usually not. He doesn't seem to mind going to for the low carb koolaid pack instead but if it is an issue I let him have it and bolus.

No one at the school should be pressuring you to not let YOUR child not eat the thing that all the other kids are eating just because of the diabetes. It is just as unhealthy for all the other kids - they should consider making everyone's snack or party, etc. more healthy if that is the issue.

[jules12]

We allow Josh to have birthday treats with his class. The only thing we like to have is at least a day's notice if possible. The nurse has a calorie king book, a 1 cup measuring cup and a small cheap scale. Last year we had trouble determining if it was a large brownie or a medium brownie so the scale helps.

If I know there will be pop or juice, I will substitute with Crystal Light or a low carb pouch. The only other time I have substituted was when they were making a trail mix type of treat in school for the 100 day of school (everyone was to bring 100 things to eat). I just took him to the store and we picked out different things to put in his bag so it was easier to figure the carbs but yes, he had some skittles, m&m's etc. like the rest of them.

[Kaileen]

We always send her a snack just in case. So far, if there's been a question, her teacher called us. But the teacher also tells the other parents that there is a diabetic child in the class, and she gets taken care of. Pretty neat. Her class had an end-of year party: they made treat bags for all the children with all kinds of candy in them. Hers was full of sugar-free candy. :)

When the teacher called, I would have Deirdre check her BG. It was usually low at snacktime anyway, so we always let her have the snack. But if it was high, I'd tell her to have the snack we send.

[jules12]

Someone sent in pixie stiks the other day!!!!! unreal.

OK - I just had to comment - for Valentine's day this year - my ds really really wanted the pixie stik valentines!! - so I let him have them to pass out - I am sure some people thought I was a crazy Mom who let the kid with diabetes pass out pure sugar!!!!!:rolleyes:

[liasmommy2000]

Thanks for the input. The reason I ask is that I had a meeting with the school yesterday. We had Lia's IEP meeting two weeks ago but had another as we are trying to make some major changes to how D care is handled at school (basically asking for in class testing which will require an aide of some sort).

I had an ADA advocate with me for both of these meetings. One thing that the principal brought up which bothered me was that she is not comfortable letting Lia have birthday treats when her number is high. She had mentioned this in passing once before at which time I explained that there is no longer a "ban" on sugar for kids with diabetes etc. This time I explained that our endo at diagnosis told us to always let Lia have birthday and other occasion treats as they never want kids to feel too different etc and later rebel.

I have a call in to the CDE's for some forms the school wants (we have a DMMP/IHP already but they want this other form). I'm going to ask them if we should have a set number saying she can't eat it if she's at this number or what. Right now I almost always let her have it. A few times when there were more than one snack I have said eat one and bring the other home. Or have said only half etc. But I've never said no that I can recall. I just don't want to do that to her especially as she's at a point now where she is really hating D and very sensitive to her differences etc.

Of course it would help if any of these teachers were consistent in what times they had these treats. I rarely know in advance what days they will have a treat, what time, what it is etc. Which we need to address in her IEP and I need to talk to the ADA advocate and the school about this. But I wanted your opinions and that of the CDE/Endo. We will also be switching endos soon, I'm just waiting for an appt with the new one.

[CJ's Mom]

I haven't run into this situation since CJ was dx'd at 14. But what I did send to school for Haley's birthday this year was carrot and celery sticks with a jar of peanut butter and bottle of ranch dressing along with a bag of pretzels. I The teacher thought this was great since junk is usually brought in for birthdays.

[CJ's Mom]

OK - I just had to comment - for Valentine's day this year - my ds really really wanted the pixie stik valentines!! - so I let him have them to pass out - I am sure some people thought I was a crazy Mom who let the kid with diabetes pass out pure sugar!!!!!:rolleyes:

OK, I'm going to admit this. I DID send the healty snacks to school with my non D child. I took cupcakes to CJ's study hall (there's only 9 kids and it was the last class of the day and even though these kids are 13-14-15, they thought it was great) for his birthday.:confused:

[Abby-Dabby-Doo]

My thought on this, and it's only my opinion...
At no point does the school decide what my child will or won't eat. That is my decision to make, period.

I have never said no to a any kind of a treat when Abby has been high at school. My goal for Abby at school, is she is treated just like everyone else- whether it be lunches, treats, physical activity, field trips, it doesn't matter.

[frizzyrazzy]

One thing that the principal brought up which bothered me was that she is not comfortable letting Lia have birthday treats when her number is high. .

You can just tell her that when she has a child with diabetes then she can withhold the treats if it makes her more comfortable. Otherwise, she has no business telling you what your child can and can't eat. I would not even BOTHER to justify this to her or feel that you have to give her some proof. It's simply none of her business.

In our class, I simply have asked that in the morning if a treat appears at school that they call me and let me know. This way they can tell me appx when the kids are going to eat and I can give the nurse a heads up and figure carbs.

[lotsoftots]

when Samantha was still on shots we use to keep a box of cream puffs in the freezer at school just in case there was a birthday treat that we didnt know about. I think the cream puffs are 12 carbs for 3 of the cream puffs..it worked well for us. then she would just bring home the treat that they gave out in school and save it for after dinner..now that she is on the pump they office just calls me to see how many carbs to put in, treats are always late in the day so that works out perfect for us now she gets her treat before having to go on the bus.

[frizzyrazzy]

OK - I just had to comment - for Valentine's day this year - my ds really really wanted the pixie stik valentines!! - so I let him have them to pass out - I am sure some people thought I was a crazy Mom who let the kid with diabetes pass out pure sugar!!!!!:rolleyes:

hahaha...I didn't even know they still made them truthfully! I am not a candy nazi or anything, I simply don't like that stuff and never did, so I can't see why anyone eats them. They're just nasty to me. lol.

[CJ's Mom]

Thanks for the input. The reason I ask is that I had a meeting with the school yesterday. We had Lia's IEP meeting two weeks ago but had another as we are trying to make some major changes to how D care is handled at school (basically asking for in class testing which will require an aide of some sort).

I had an ADA advocate with me for both of these meetings. One thing that the principal brought up which bothered me was that she is not comfortable letting Lia have birthday treats when her number is high. She had mentioned this in passing once before at which time I explained that there is no longer a "ban" on sugar for kids with diabetes etc. This time I explained that our endo at diagnosis told us to always let Lia have birthday and other occasion treats as they never want kids to feel too different etc and later rebel.

I have a call in to the CDE's for some forms the school wants (we have a DMMP/IHP already but they want this other form). I'm going to ask them if we should have a set number saying she can't eat it if she's at this number or what. Right now I almost always let her have it. A few times when there were more than one snack I have said eat one and bring the other home. Or have said only half etc. But I've never said no that I can recall. I just don't want to do that to her especially as she's at a point now where she is really hating D and very sensitive to her differences etc.

Of course it would help if any of these teachers were consistent in what times they had these treats. I rarely know in advance what days they will have a treat, what time, what it is etc. Which we need to address in her IEP and I need to talk to the ADA advocate and the school about this. But I wanted your opinions and that of the CDE/Endo. We will also be switching endos soon, I'm just waiting for an appt with the new one.

Could the teachers put a policy in place that they need a week or so advanced notice on snacks being brought in for the class? Each teacher at our school puts out a weekly news letter explaining what lessons they will work on, when tests will be and other classroom/school events.

But I agree to let her have it. That would be hard to sit in class while the other kids get yummy treats and you can't have yours til later in the day :(. Besides, every time my kids have brought treats home from school they're nothing but a mess by the time they get home.

[selketine]

I had an ADA advocate with me for both of these meetings. One thing that the principal brought up which bothered me was that she is not comfortable letting Lia have birthday treats when her number is high.

Was Tami with you? She would probably have asked the principal when she got her medical degree in Pediatric Endo. Or at least thought it....;)

Just to smooth it over why not have the real pedi endo write in the orders that your child can have any treat brought into school with the parent's permission. :)

[Tigerlilly's mom]

Tylers teacher will have the "extra" birthday treat served at regular snack time, Tyler can then choose to have his snack from home or the "other" snack. His snack time is late in the day, so I can correct any high that may occur from this extra snack within an hour or so of him eating it. So far this has worked out pretty well. He gets extra insulin for his lunch shot that covers his afternoon snack.

[liasmommy2000]

Thanks everyone for the input. I asked because I was wondering if I was wrong by letting her have the treats. Honestly I wished they didn't have so dang many treats as it's just plain unhealthy for all, but I don't want to push the issue for various reasons. Since they do have the snacks I want Lia treated the same as everyone else.

Carol, Tami wasn't there, it was another woman that she initally referred me to. Very helpful woman! I know she (along with my dh and I) was a bit annoyed by the principal.

[selketine]

Carol, Tami wasn't there, it was another woman that she initally referred me to. Very helpful woman! I know she (along with my dh and I) was a bit annoyed by the principal.

Tami would have the principal bringing your daughter cupcakes every day on a silver platter just in case she felt like having a treat.;)

I know the other advocate is great too. No doubt the principal has some experience with type 2's. I hope you get it worked out.

[jwk's mom]

We have never withheld a school treat. We are still fairly new to dx. But I don't want Jacob to rebel with his D. So far he has accepted everything so well. But we strive to keep things as normal as possible. His BS may run high due to a treat but I try my best to just let him be a kid. Sugar treats make most kids on the hyper side, do we tell them NO you can't have that it will make you hyper. Jacob's school has been great about letting me know of planned parties, or I'll get a call if something different comes up. We have been very open with all his classmates and several times I have been asked what would be better to send for birthdays etc.

[Tori's Mom]

Nope, the school does not decide whether to give or withhold.
She gets to have whatever the class is having pretty much regardless of BG. The pump will calculate the bolus for the high and I just have them bolus the additional carbs for the item. The teacher has a calorie king book and if questions or problems can always email or phone me at any time during the day.
Like others have said...if there are 3 things like candy, cookies and cake, I will tell her she can have one of them and bring the others home.

[Nancy in VA]

The last year my daughter was in public school before we started homeschooling, her school went treat-free. That meant the only time they had parties like are being described was four times during the year (Fall, Christmas, Valentines, and End of Year). I thought it was fine before but I was kinda "whatever"

Now that I have a diabetic, I think their plan is such a GREAT idea. Just listening to all of the junk that the kids are getting and knowing that with 25 kids in a class, you are dealing with 25 random birthday parties throughout the year, in addition to class parties, and other snacks, it gets old quick

[Eminemsmom]

The last year my daughter was in public school before we started homeschooling, her school went treat-free. That meant the only time they had parties like are being described was four times during the year (Fall, Christmas, Valentines, and End of Year). I thought it was fine before but I was kinda "whatever"

Now that I have a diabetic, I think their plan is such a GREAT idea. Just listening to all of the junk that the kids are getting and knowing that with 25 kids in a class, you are dealing with 25 random birthday parties throughout the year, in addition to class parties, and other snacks, it gets old quick

Our school district also went "treat free". They celebrate birthdays by having the principal announcing them on daily announcements and the birthday child gets to be line leader, has a "guest reader" and other things for the entire week! The only parties are halloween, holiday, valentines and end of year. The class parents MUST submit the menu to the school nurse at least one week in advance. She will not allow anything that has sugar in the first 3 ingredients. She also monitors the menu for the carb counts (then contacts me) and screens for milk products and nut products (for 3 other kids in class that have allergies). WE WERE TOLD THIS IS THE POLICY FOR ALL SCHOOLS IN NEW JERSEY- I think this state finally did something right! 2 years ago she had to bring home (our policy at the time) at total of 35 :eek:cupcakes throughout the year!!!!

[Emma'sDad]

We do the MDI thing, so if they have veggie treats, go wild, if you have cake and other stuff, bring it home with you. That's the rule, don't break it!! :)

[wendyc]

When Abby's bg has been 275 or over and a treat was being served, the nurse would call me and as ME what I wanted to do. No one else makes the decision. For example, on Valentines day the weather was lousy so it was only indoor recess. Abby had a high bg and really no way to expend energy to help bring bg down. Treat time came, the nurse called, I talked to Abby and we decided that she could have half the snack, and bring the other half home. Luckily there were free treats such as cheese and veggies to offset all the junk:)
This worked well for us, she was happy and so was I.

[Twinklet]

My thought on this, and it's only my opinion...
At no point does the school decide what my child will or won't eat. That is my decision to make, period.

I have never said no to a any kind of a treat when Abby has been high at school. My goal for Abby at school, is she is treated just like everyone else- whether it be lunches, treats, physical activity, field trips, it doesn't matter.

I completely agree with every word in this post. The school DOES NOT DECIDE your child's medical care! And I always let my kid eat what the class is eating, high BG or not. We just correct, bolus again and go on with life.

[momandwifeoftype1s]

This issue makes me really upset, so I'm just going to copy from our 504 Plan an DMMP. Hope that helps! We have had party after party (all junk food) all year long at school. It was a really big issue for us.

4. SNACKS AND MEALS

4.1 The school nurse or TDP, if school nurse is not available, will work with the student and his/her parents/guardians to coordinate a meal and snack schedule in accordance with the attached DMMP that will coincide with the schedule of classmates to the closest extent possible. The student shall eat lunch at the same time each day, or earlier if experiencing hypoglycemia. The student shall have enough time to finish lunch. (30 minutes) A snack and quick-acting source of glucose must always be immediately available to the student, including on the school bus.

From our 504 Plan:

4.2 The attached DMMP sets out the regular time(s) for snacks, what constitutes a snack, and when the student should have additional snacks. The student will be permitted to eat a snack as needed. The parent/guardian will supply snacks needed in addition to or instead of any snacks supplied to all students. Teacher and nurse will let parents know when more snacks are needed.

4.3 The parent/guardian will provide carbohydrate content information for snacks and meals brought from home.

4.4 Adjustments to snack and meal times will be permitted in response to changes in schedule upon request of parent/guardian. Parents will be notified in advance if there is a schedule change at school. (This specifically includes times of additional exercise or food, field trips, or field days, or dates when lunchtime is changed.)

From Diabetes Medical Management Plan:

Foods to avoid, if any: none

Instructions for when food is provided to the class (e.g., as part of a class party or food sampling event): Teacher is to communicate with school nurse if the carb count for party or special food activity will be over 30 total carbs. Nurse will arrange to come to the classroom to test Connor's blood sugar before the party, count carbs consumed, and administer insulin coverage. Parent is to be notified in writing (e-mail or note in backpack) about any upcoming class parties/food activities. Parent will not be required to attend the party to provide nursing care. Teacher and nurse must work together to coordinate care.

Blood Glucose Monitoring for Parties: Before parties or other special snack days if the carb count will be higher than 30 grams. Nurse to come to classroom to check Connor's blood sugar, calculate carbs consumed, and cover carbs with insulin injection.