Has it always been like this?

[whoisjohngalt]

I've been venturing into the world of group/individual play dates lately.

Well, it turns out that you can't possibly have a kids' activity without food and I am finding out that 99% of the time there is some kind of food allergy involved. I probably come off as an insensitive bitch to some parents (hmmm, may that's why I don't have many "mommies" friends) but I am getting to the point where besides water I don't know what else is save enough to bring.

And!!! if it's not an allergy, I get all those "oh, noooo, my child couldn't possibly eat THAT" and than I get all kinds of whacky reasons as to why.

So, the world of children is all new to me, but has it always been like this??? I am from a country where you ate what you had, bc there weren't that many choices to begin with and in my 16 yrs living there I didn't know ONE kid with allergies.

Lena

[Deleted]

Yes. This can be annoying. Depends on what you are bringing food for and where. Are you bringing food to a tee ball team or something? If so, bring a snack that is considered "healthy" (even if you know it is pure bunk) like granola bars or fruit rollups which in reality are no healthier than a candy bar or anything else. But, you can carry on with the pretense and get on with it.

[Miss Tequila]

I do know that we as americans cater to our kids and our kids are picky because of it (at least that is my uninformed opinion). My kids learned early on that they were eating what I served and that was that. My bff's dd will only eat chicken fingers or hot dogs...she actually brings her food to my house when I am cooking dinner. That blows my mind. Don't get me wrong, I would never make somethign I know my child hates (I still remember gagging down liver and onions and that blasted f'n tuna casserole my mom would make!) but other than that, there is no "I want this or that"....you eat what I serve or you starve. end.of.story

[hoops902]

::And!!! if it's not an allergy, I get all those "oh, noooo, my child couldn't possibly eat THAT" and than I get all kinds of whacky reasons as to why.::

"That's fine, I'm not going to force them to eat it." If they want to go without what's the harm?

[Wisconsin Beth]

My kids are in a dcp. When I asked about bringing a treat in, I was told that no one has allergies/sensitivities right now but try to stay with a nutritious treat.

I want my kids to try stuff. Dcp has a 1 taste rule. My kids eat stuff I won't and I do my best to keep my mouth shut about not liking whatever it is they're eating.

[Deleted]

I never "did" playdates when the kids were younger. They've started getting calls from classmates and so far none of the kids have allergies. DS started playing t-ball this year and there was note with the snack list stating "we have some allergies on the team: peanuts and spicy foods".

WTE? First of all, "spicy foods" isn't an allergy (a specific spice would be) and secondly, who is going to bring something spicy to a game for 6 year olds anyway??

It's my turn to bring snack this week and I'm going with Rice Crispy Treats.

[hoops902]

::If so, bring a snack that is considered "healthy" (even if you know it is pure bunk) like granola bars or fruit rollups which in reality are no healthier than a candy bar or anything else.::

What kind of candy bar? A fruit rollup is MUCH more healthy than a Snickers bar (or other mainstream candy bars).

[whoisjohngalt]

So far I've been banned from bringing anything at ALL related to nuts, dairy, sugar, gluten. No crackers, pretzels, no "fruity" snacks, no strawberries, no juice boxes.

I am down to carrots and celery sticks

Lena

[hoops902]

May 23, 2012 12:49:47 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

So far I've been banned from bringing anything at ALL related to nuts, dairy, sugar, gluten. No saltines, pretzels, no "fruity" snacks, no strawberries, no juice boxes.

I am down to carrots and celery sticks

Lena

Wait, banned by who exactly? Is this an organized thing like a team? Or just playdates?

[Miss Tequila]

Lena, wtf kind of list is that???

[Deleted]

See what someone else brings and then bring that.

[Deleted]

Well, i didn't think corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils and all that are listed under "healthy". The "healthy" snack crowd is just more PC ism and nonsense. My son has celiac's and a gluten intolerance. I don't expect anyone to cater to to his diet. When i send him somewhere i feed him in advance or send his food with him if he is unlikely to eat what is served. You can't please everyone so just serve up what you want.

However do take not of peanut allergy because that is absolutely a life threatening type allergy. So, if you know a child has that, absolutely do not send that type of product.

[Miss Tequila]

Shooby, that is what I would do. Honestly, if my child had severe allergies I would send her own snacks because I wouldn't want to take a chance of someone accidentally giving my child something she was allergic to. But the banned list that Lena was presented is crazy...who the hell is allergic to sugar? You might not want your kids ot have it but that is your choice and you should plan to bring your own snack.

[whoisjohngalt]

Lena, wtf kind of list is that???

You telling me??? And it's not just one group, I've joined 3 different groups and they are either health nazis or there are 1001 allergies going on or combination of both.

[Deleted]

May 23, 2012 12:55:36 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

Lena, wtf kind of list is that???

You telling me??? And it's not just one group, I've joined 3 different groups and they are either health nazis or there are 1001 allergies going on or combination of both.

Sneak some of the banned items into the snack just to see if the parents are telling the truth about their kids being allergic.

[Deleted]

I read the package to make sure they weren't packaged in the same facility that contained nuts.
Last week's Mom handed out Hostess cupcakes so I think I did pick something a bit healthier!

[hoops902]

If I were OP, I'd always just bring snacks for my own kids and not worry about the others. I don't want to worry about what other people think I should bring, but I also wouldn't want to subject my own child to their crappy snacks.

[wvugurl26]

That is crazy! I don't see why food has to be involved. If you want your kids to have a snack, you bring it!

I was born with food allergies but I wouldn't expect someone to cater to me.

[Miss Tequila]

JFC, do you live in tree-hugging land?? I've never heard of such a thing...maybe that's the overachiever crowd :-p

[Sum Dum Gai]

I can't think of a single one of the kids friends or teammates that's had a food allergy. Or if they did, it was minor and they kept it to themselves. We've never gotten grief about snacks or anything.

It does seem like roughly half the women I know over the age of 30 are suddenly allergic to gluten though. It's like the new in thing. A few years ago they would all bare their fangs and hiss if you brought a "carb" anywhere near them. In a few more years I'm sure they'll find some other reason to blame for being overweight. It can't possibly have anything to do with the fact that they eat crap and don't exercise enough. Nope, there's got to be some medical thing that makes it impossible for them to lose weight.

[Deleted]

The problem is that we now have to cater to the whiners in the world. And instead of telling them they should take responsibility for their own issues, we have to do it now. I have no problem with reasonable restrictions like peanut allergy. But, all this PC BS nonsense about what constitutes "healthy" is absolutely idiotic.

[kittensaver]

Snacks that have always been successful in our little corner of the world (little league, girl scouts, classmates): apples; oranges; bananas; watermelon; fruit cups; yogurt cups; frozen fruit bars; some kind of health(ier) bread made into cupcake or mini-muffin form [banana bread, carrot cake, choco chip zucchini bread, blueberry muffins); hummus and vegetable sticks (believe it or not!); pita chips with dip; string cheese. You can get many of the pre-prepared iitems in bulk at Costco or Sam's.

[Miss Tequila]

"Sneak some of the banned items into the snack just to see if the parents are telling the truth about their kids being allergic. "

LMAO! Just have an epi pen on hand "just in case"...lol

[Deleted]

May 23, 2012 12:45:59 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

I do know that we as americans cater to our kids and our kids are picky because of it (at least that is my uninformed opinion). My kids learned early on that they were eating what I served and that was that. My bff's dd will only eat chicken fingers or hot dogs...she actually brings her food to my house when I am cooking dinner. That blows my mind. Don't get me wrong, I would never make somethign I know my child hates (I still remember gagging down liver and onions and that blasted f'n tuna casserole my mom would make!) but other than that, there is no "I want this or that"....you eat what I serve or you starve. end.of.story

that's the stance I'm trying to take. Thank goodness DS isn't picky right now. I get having to cater to your kid's needs when they are very small (they have to eat), but once they understand that this is dinner and there will be no substitutions, you should stick to that.

[Deleted]

I have a difficult time believing that yogurt is really any better for you than ice cream.

[hoops902]

::I have no problem with reasonable restrictions like peanut allergy.::

Even if you have a peanut allergy, it's YOUR allergy, not mine. It's your responsibility to live your life with it. My only responsibility is not to hold you down and shove my peanuts down your throat.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Dark I saw the same thing on Extra. The nutrionist they had on basically said nicely that peopel who think gluten makes them "fat" and aren't eating it are morons.

It's probably far more likely they are eating less processed foods and that is due to the weight loss, but like you said "gluten allergy" is the new diet trend.

She said if you are truly allergic to gluten, you know it.

I'd be tempted to tell those moms my kid has an allergy too: she is allergic to obnoxious people.

[Deleted]

May 23, 2012 12:49:47 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

So far I've been banned from bringing anything at ALL related to nuts, dairy, sugar, gluten. No saltines, pretzels, no "fruity" snacks, no strawberries, no juice boxes.

I am down to carrots and celery sticks

Lena

it's called "if you are allergic to X, then don't freakin' eat X"!!!!! I am so glad I was out of grade school before they started going all Nazi with peanut products.

[Deleted]

That's terrible. If you know a child can collapse and DIE, then you wouldn't make some accomodations? A child with this type of allergy could easily pick up a cookie or something from another kid. Sheesh.

[Deleted]

May 23, 2012 12:58:39 GMT -5 @moneyjenny82 said:

May 23, 2012 12:45:59 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

I do know that we as americans cater to our kids and our kids are picky because of it (at least that is my uninformed opinion). My kids learned early on that they were eating what I served and that was that. My bff's dd will only eat chicken fingers or hot dogs...she actually brings her food to my house when I am cooking dinner. That blows my mind. Don't get me wrong, I would never make somethign I know my child hates (I still remember gagging down liver and onions and that blasted f'n tuna casserole my mom would make!) but other than that, there is no "I want this or that"....you eat what I serve or you starve. end.of.story

that's the stance I'm trying to take. Thank goodness DS isn't picky right now. I get having to cater to your kid's needs when they are very small (they have to eat), but once they understand that this is dinner and there will be no substitutions, you should stick to that.

My daughter used to eat anything that we put in front of her. Now if there is a speck of green on her food she picks it off or refuses to eat it. I blame the kids at day care corrupting her.