OT- Need help from parents of children with nut allergies

[southernbella]

Hi all, I thought I would post over here since y'all are the experts!


My DD is in Kindergarten with a young man with a peanut allergy (no nuts & by-products). Her birthday is coming up & I can take cupcakes to lunch for her & her class. I don't want this boy to have to miss out on a treat, but I am having a hard time finding something that can accomadate him. If I can't find something everyone can eat, I'm not taking anything at all.

So, do you have any suggestions or can recomend certain brands? I running into alot of "this product was made in the same factory that manufactures nuts" even if the item doesn't list nuts in the ingredients. Do bakeries deal with this or are they out of the question?

Thanks, Sbella

 

[debbiemomto4]

Its tough with nut allergies. My ds is allergic to peanuts and milk. We usually can never find something for him at a bakery. I would go with a box mix and make them myself. I once took italian ices for a class party for my ds's class. Easy and safer. JMO.
Debbie

 

[Tosie]

As a parent of a food allergic child, first and foremost, THANK YOU for taking the time to even ask such a question.

My suggestion is to contact the child's parents and tell them what you are planning to do. They can either give you a safe suggestion, or better yet, send something special in that day themselves that they KNOW is safe.

I am lucky - in my children's school, food (other than kindergarten snack) is not allowed in the classroom so I don't have to worry. But I take care of things like that myself - I will be sending dd's snack with her even though the school does provide one. Last year in preschool, I would make safe cupcakes for dd to have when one of her classmates would celebrate a birthday (different school). Takes a little extra planning but she never felt left out.

 

[Selket]

I agree with Tosie 100% - very nice of you to be so considerate.

Most parents would not feel comfortable even if you made the cupcakes with a safe mix as there is always the possibility of cross contamination with your kitchen utensils (if they've been used to make peanut butter cookies for example). And sometimes that extra flourish (like sprinkles or candies on top) are the things that are most likely to contain peanut.

(My neighbor made a cake from scratch she insisted was peanut free in every way. Then I asked her about the chocolate chips she had sprinkled over the top of the whole thing. Sure enough - those were "may contains").

Bakery items for most peanut allergic kids are not allowed because of cross contamination. At least we avoid bakeries totally.

So that leaves prepackaged items. There are some prepackaged frozen cakes that we consider safe so those would work. Or some other prepackaged dessert item.

I would definitely talk to the parents first though - they might prefer to provide their own treat that is similiar to what you are bringing.

 

[lowie]

Its tough with nut allergies. My ds is allergic to peanuts and milk. We usually can never find something for him at a bakery. I would go with a box mix and make them myself. I once took italian ices for a class party for my ds's class. Easy and safer. JMO.
Debbie

what a great idea!

 

[southernbella]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I love the Italian ice idea. I think I am going to go the pre-packaged route (plus I will speak with the Mom). The school say cupcakes only, but I'm sure the teacher wouldn't mind something like Italian ices if I promise to clean up!

My DD told me that if anyone brings in something that the little boy can't eat, he has to sit at a table by himself for lunch. That just breaks my heart. I told my Dh we are going nut free all year & he didn't hesitate. I would die if I caused a reaction in this child. I work in the restaurant biz & has seen a reaction to a food allergy (it came close to being fatal).

Thanks again! Sbella

 

[momof2inPA]

I once took italian ices for a class party for my ds's class. Easy and safer. JMO.
Debbie

Me, too. The kids loved it.

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

I'm a preschool teacher who has had several children in my classes over the years with peanut allergies. Two things we found, but you need to check locally and with the parents,were donut holes(right now I can't remember Dunkin or Krispy Kreme) and a cookie cake from Kroger NOT from the cookie store at the mall.

 

[Pinnie]

I am a Kindergarten teacher and I suggest popsicles, pushups, etc. This year I have a mom who is making some cupcakes ahead of time and we will store them in the freezer and use them when a "not sure" snack comes in.

Best wishes!

pinnie

 

[Selket]

Most PA folks trust Krispy Kreme donuts - but NOT Dunkin Donuts as they make a peanut donut in many locations - just to clear that up

 

[afr117]

To echo the other parents who have children with peanut allergies THANK YOU for caring enough to ask the question. My daughter has a box of pre-packaged Rice Krispie Treats (plain only) that we keep at her school for substitute safe snacks in case of a party emergency. I wanted to offer that as another suggestion.
And yes - Krispy Kreme doughnuts are safe (and awesome) but only if purchased at a KK store. Once they are put on the shelf at any other store they are potentially cross contaminated.

 

[southernbella]

Hi, Sorry it took me a while to get back. Thanks for the info on Kirspy Kreme. I grew up on KK, so I know the kids would love them. Plus, a store that makes them hot is close by.

I spoke with the teacher today & she is cool with whatever I come up with. She was kind of shocked that I couldn't find a cake mix that would work. I explained that I spoke with Moms of children with nut allergies that wouldn't trust a homemade cupcake & she understood.

What is eye-opening to me (please don't take any offense), is the thanks I have received, from Moms on this board, to the childs Mother, to the teacher. I mean, why wouldn't I take this much care? It's a child. We are supposed to protect them. Do parents really give not care your child has a life threatening allergy? When I was told about this young man, I thought "no worries, it has to be done".

I was blown away by a grandmother that picks up her GD. Her GD is having Bday in a month. When I brought up issue I was having finding a good treat, she told me "well, he HAS another table to sit at", like that's a treat for him.

Like MY grandmother said, I swear, the more I'm around some people, the more I prefer my dog. Sbella

 

[macrosswife]

I am a Kindergarten teacher who had a student last year who had multiple severe allergies. Her Mom discovered a brand of cake, cookie, and icing mixes at Target (and I've seen them, too, at Kroger) called Cherrybrook Farms. They are nut and dairy free and some of them are gluten free, too. She substitutes the wet ingredients (for example, olive oil instead of butter) to make them completely allergy free for her child.

I thought I'd pass this information along in case any of you were not familiar with it!!


~Kimber

 

[ilovejack02]

LOL i was reading quickly and my brain processed the title of this thread as
NEED HELP FROM PARENTS WHOSE CHILDREN ARE NUTS!

I was like what the heck?? Guess it must be me whose nuts LOL.
Thanks for the italian ice idea i will file that away for when it is time for me to bring snacks for my little guy's class.

 

[Hedy]

My guess is that chocolate chips have peanut something in them, but when I was making treats for work with a co-worker with a gluten allergy, I made chocolate covered strawberries.

 

[monorailsilver]

My input:

My 3 yr old is allergic to dairy, peanut, treenut, partially egg & partially beef.

He just had his 3 yr visit today with the allergist and his dairy allergy got worse.

Fortuanately I am still able to give him things that say processed or made on equipment that also processes milk/dairy/peanut/nuts.

I can tell you the Walmart cake mixes are OK & the Pillsbury frosting but just double check that one, I just bought Vanilla tonight & it was safe.

Dunkin Hines browinie mixes are safe too (not the one with Walnut).

And rice krispie treats are safe too but we also have to use safe butter (non-dairy).

Definetaly check with the mom on what she wants to do. I might be hesitent depending on how well I know the mom to let her cook for my kid.

Oh & those are safe for my son but they may not be safe for every child.

Next week my son has a party in pre-school & I am going to make him a brownie cupcake (he won't eat cake).

 

[KATHINOWA]

I just want to say thanks for caring. You'd be surprised how many people just don't get it or just don't care to get it. We've had some unpleasant experiences within our own family, so it's so nice to hear about someone on the outside trying to do the right thing. My son keeps cupcakes and jello in our school nurse's office for times such as these.

 

[debbiemomto4]

When my ds was little he's 13 now. I also kept safe cupcakes in the preschool freezer/ Once at elementary school he kept packages rice krispies treats. I think we gave the kids in his class an education with his allergies. Now at 13 he doesn't keep anything at school- no parties and he handles his allergies himself. He checks ingredients and is willing to go without if not safe. They grow and learn so it does get easier. His allergies have not been outgrown as they first said 12 years ago though. It is amazing that I found the people who were more resistant in dealing with it was his grandmother. She will still offer him bakery cookies? HUH
Recently 2 girls were bringing something into school for a project and brought in a safe version for him. They remembered!! (I think one of the girls had a crush on him)

 

[MSSANDRA]

There are lots of safe choices you just have to be so careful. Our preschool is peanut free and we send reminders out often. We know we have a child that is severly allergic, but with small children, it really is not a good idea to serve peanut butter at all. Our child reacted with no past history when his grandmother made him a cheese sandwhich after making his cousin a peanut butter sandwich. We have learned a great deal through this child. You really have to read EVERYTHING. Peanut oil shows up in really unexpected places. Did you know that the animal feed at many petting zoo's is not condsidered peanut free? What I did with this little boy was to leave him in the class with as many children as possible from last year as their parents already understood the situation. They have all been WONDERFUL. No chocolate in the class was accepted with out a second thought. There is one national name brand cake mix that is safe but I can not remember which one. Another reminder I give parents to remember to wash thier children's hands before school if they have had any peanut items to eat.

Thanks for caring.

SAndra