My daughter worked in a doctor's office and said she overheard a conversation about one theory is that it's because we are "too clean". When I was a kid, we played in the dirt, (ate dirt!), slept 3 kids to a bed, ate apples straight from the tree and grapes straight from the vine without washing the bug poop off of them, played behind the barn, in an old chicken coop, waded barefoot in a creek in the woods .... and were never sick.

Now everything is sanitized, we live in closed houses with central air and no FRESH air, kids are not exposed to germs so their immune system doesn't develop a defense against the things that cause allergies.

Just a theory .... put forth by someone in the medical field.

My son, now in high school (EEEK!), went to an elementary school that restricted home made goodies for class parties. You could send in a tray of bakery cupcakes, but not ones you had made yourself. When I did a cupcake decorating activity with the kids, I asked the local grocery bakery if they could sell me trays of uniced cupcakes and deli containers of icing. They could, and the kids had a blast.

I was able to make fun cupcakes for teacher appreciation days. (I guess it's OK to risk poisoning teachers, just not kids!) Likewise, a GREAT fund-raiser they did was a bake sale on election days. There was a polling place in the school multi-purpose room, so they would set up the bake sale between the parking lot and the MPR entrance. Several times, I had to run home and make more goodies in the afternoon, because the polls stay open until 8, and we had run out of baked goods by 4. Individual rice crispy treats, cupcakes, and RI decorated cookies were huge favorites.

My DD is in the 3rd grade now and we aren't able to bring treats in either. Not even store bought. Last year they told us that the birthday kids get a cupcake at lunchtime so we shouldn't bring anything in. This year they changed it to a popsicle. Oooohh...yum. I understand that they want to get kids to eat healthier but instead of attacking party snacks they need to attack the school lunches. They still serve cheeseburgers and pizza. So why not stop that and let them have an occasional treat. I refuse to let my DD eat lunch at school everyday. What she eats there is the equlivalent to eating fast food everyday. I let her eat school lunch once a week and that's it. I just don't understand that logic of these schools.

I have a son in 1st grade and I'm allowed to take in treats. I also have a son in Pre-K, and I can send in baked treats, just not cupcakes. They say they are too messy. I can understand they want kids to eat healthy, but really...isn't that something they should learn at home and know that a treat every now and the nis ok? Don't even get me started on school lunches....foot long hot dogs, pizza AT LEAST once a week, corn dogs, soft pretzels as a main dish. A bunch of junk, and they only get gym once a week!

I totally agree with Indydebi - we are too clean a world now-a-days and it is ruining us! Dirt is our friend! (that's my excuse when I've been baking too much and my home is not so clean.) My kitchen is always clean though!

BTW - alanahodgson - you made me laugh!

I'm actually glad the schools don't let parents bring in homemade treats...you have no idea what the conditions of the house or kitchen is when someone else makes the food. Seriously though...what if it was one of those people who doesn't wash their hands after the bathroom...or thinks "oh well, the (cat or dog) licked the cake, but its only for school so I don't have to rebake...and there are at least 20-28 kids per class. Thats over 20 bdays and over 20 different parents you don't know.

And as for allergies and the restrictions...no big deal. I'm fortunate that a snack of peanut butter for my kids is not a matter of life and death. So if i have to stick to an allergy list or not let my kid eat a peanut butter sandwich , I consider it a very very small concession.

Indydebi's post reminded me of a poem someone sent me a while back. It was part of a chain letter, actually, but it is so true!! I found it online:

http://www.supernannyrules.com/born-before-1980-you-are-a-survivor/

Granted, I do think some changes were necessary, like car seats...

BTW, I've just received a letter listing what my son can or cannot take in a sack lunch. No PB&J!!

Lori D.

Lori, if your son isn't allergic to PB, how come he can't have PB?

When I was a kid my mother would send a wrapped book for the library now while I was embarassed because no one else did that it made an impression on me... she would write inside the front cover given to hawthorne school ( date) on Meg_____ _ birthday.... we moved away but when I was a teen I was visiting a friend and her little brother said WOW I just read a book at school and it had your name in it it was a really cool book about rocks!!!


we could bring treats but times change... the fancy pencils, erasers, are neat.. how about pencils that say happy birthday and the childs name.


now you have time to make a fancy birthday cake for home.

sorry to hear about all the schools that won't allow treats i guess i should count myself very very lucky. when my son went from kindergarten to first grade the teachers were fighting over who would get my son so their class would get all the cakes and cupcakes!!!!!! i take at least one cake a month to his class and the teachers and students love it!!!! some teachers have asked me to give them a heads up so they can be sure to stop by the class on cake day! so i have a great time trying out new cakes and then taking them to the school.

Oh I am so glad I found this post. I have about had it with our school district. Last year they started a wellness team. This group of people (who in my opinion have NOTHING to do but sit around and dream up dumb rules) decided that celebrations at the school should not be centered around food. Of course we have never been able to bring in home-baked goods but now we can have ZERO food brought in for any type of celebrations. Ok, um yeah lets celebrate Christmas without treats, and Halloween without candy, what next? No turkey on Thanksgiving? I so agree with many of you, I'm sorry if I offend one person by celebrating Christmas, but where the heck are my rights?

But here is the REAL kicker..the fundraiser this fall? Selling frozen cookie dough. Yep, can you believe how hypocritacal that is? I mean we cant send a cookie in their lunch box, but they want us to send our kids out to neighbors and family selling cookie dough? Then there is the school carnival, they sell cookies the size of frisbee, and king size candy bars. I guess it's ok when it benefits them, yes I'm steaming at this point....

My husband and I are petitioning the PTO this month to dismiss either the wellness policy or the fundraiser. Our daughter has been the top seller of cookie dough for the past three years because my hubby buys it for the restaurant, not this year. We arent selling one cookie!

So sad that we are taking so many traditions out of the school.
I do like the idea of a kids cookbook as the donation to the library, we sent in pencils this week for my daughter to give away for her birthday, which I guess was fine, but made me sad I couldnt send in treats..

Hi Guys,

Just wanted to speak up for the public schools and their employees a bit. Please understand that for the most part they are really good and caring people just trying to educate our kids. They have so much legislation to conform to and have to be so sensitive to avoid law suits that they have to come up with some crazy rules.

I wasn't allergic to anything until I was 32 years old and almost died from an out-of-the-blue allergy to eggs. So, it isn't just the kids who are getting allergies like this. I'm extremely fortunate in that I am not super-sensitive to trace amounts. Some people are so allergic to a specific food that they should not even smell it cooking.

My daughter, a few years before me, developed a life-threatening allergy to green peas and lentils. Go figure! She's now 21 and we think she may have outgrown the allergy, but don't really want to find out. We were fortunate in that our pediatrician knew the top child food allergist in the country, and our daughter was able to get a full work up and evaluation with him. He said that in her case, it was very likely she would completely outgrow her allergy (from her bloodwork and history), and to bring her back in 5 years. He moved and we didn't.

But, these allergies are not the figment of the imagination of overly protective moms, although I'm sure there are some out there. Let me tell you, I went through six scares before we figured out my allergy (I don't react in a "normal" allergy pathway for study), and it is not something you fool around with at all, any more than you would give someone a pool of water to stand it and tell them to stick a metal coathanger in an electrical socket. I absolutely positively HATE being any trouble to anyone because of my allergy, but I cannot under any circumstances take a chance that I'll have a reaction. That would be a horrible thing to do to the person offering me food. Likewise, my daughter has just learned to say, "No thank you" without making a big deal of her allergy.

She had forgotten how awful a reaction could be until this summer. She spent some time in China and on her flight home, someone came and got her and asked if she had an Epipen. Someone else was having a reaction and had packed hers in her checked luggage. When she saw the girl having the reaction, she was scared to death and SO thankful she had her epipen to share and that it worked!

It is sad that we can't just serve what we want, send to school what we grew up with, etc. But it is much, much, MUCH harder on the child and their family than it is on us. I remember one year in my daughter's class was a boy with wheat allergy. His mom was always SOO glad that I got it and that I would call her when I was doing anything for the class (even including a piece of candy in a Valentine) to find out EXACTLY what he could have.

Our school has three allowable treat days, Halloween, the last day of school before Christmas, and Valentine's Day. And you can bring in cupcakes for your child's birthday. No mention of no homemade goods though.

I too agree with indydebi; all this sterilization seems to be making things worse for children. Good thing my house is far from sterile! My kiddos rarely get sick, and thus far no allergies of any kind!

For those who can still bring in homemade snacks (or anyone really), and need to adhere to the healthy guidlines, I recommend The Sneaky Chef by Missy Lapine. It has lots of recipes that use fruit/veggie purees. I've made several things in there, and have yet to have a kiddo pull a face. I made the brownies that had a spinach and blueberry puree, as well as wheat germ in them, and my kiddos couldn't get enough! DH couldn't even tell they'd been doctored!

We just moved to Florida to Missouri. In Florida we could bring in anything we wanted to school. The kids and teachers always looked forward to my cakes. Now in Missouri everything has to be pre packaged. Although I didn't know that and make cupcakes for my daughter's birthday on the second day of school. I iced them like the grocery stores do and sent them in a box. None came home and everyone really enjoyed them. Teacher even commented on them.

My mistake, but I didn't know better. Don't know what I'll do next time.

I absolutely agree with indydebi and emf7701. My daughters are in 1st Grade and Preschool. The public elementary school doesn't seem to have any issues, but the private preschool is crazy!! I am from South Africa and came here 5 years ago, when oldest daughter was a toddler. One of my first impressions of Americans was that they are over the top about germs etc. Sure, wash your hands etc, but a little dirt never hurt anyone. We have 3 dogs - my kids play barefoot on the grass they poop on. The dogs lick the kids. We eat snacks outside and only wash hands first if they are really disgusting. And you know what - if food falls on the floor, you can still eat it!!!! The only illnesses we've had are the common cold - not even the 'flu.

At my kids' schools they have a rule about parents sending in baked goods from home, however teachers and teachers' aids are allowed to bake cakes/cookies and bring them in... makes no sense to me! I hate not being able to send in cupcakes for my daughters' birthdays!

Oh - and are the health police not concerned about the preservatives in the bought goods? Some children are allergic to them, and autistic children are often sensitive to them.

I have a kindergartener and a second grader. Healthy snacks are requested, but you are allowed to send in homemade treats on birthdays. My son attended a summer camp a couple of years ago and no peanut butter was allowed. I thought that was really extreme. I had no idea until I saw a news report that some kids can die from being exposed to peanut butter. Funny thing is, when we were kids it seemed like no one had food allergies.

I have never heard of this rule. We bring snacks all the time. In fact, when you register for school, the PTA has a sign up sheet for school year volunteers. One of the options is to be a baker for various events throughout the year. I love doing that. What a bummer for those of you that can't.

I guess I can see both view points on this. My son has a friend in his class that has a gluten allergy. Most of the parents are aware of this and just bring something different for him, or make something he can have.

Just thought I'd add:

The Today Show had a segment this morning about a recent study that all those additives (colors, preservatives, etc,) in those pre-packaged foods may be contributing to childrens hyperactivity.

Just found it interesting.

I just got back from the pediatrician with my little boys....coincidental to all the reports on preservatives....I talked to the nurse and she agreed that alot of the preservatives and dyes are making some kids sick. I have to think with a huge increase in ADD and ADHD in children and adults this could be part of it. I have a little boy in my pre-k class that is remarkably different after lunch depending on what color yogurt he has....

Anyhow, to peanut butter..... one of the other teachers I worked with last year did have a little boy that was severely allergic to peanuts. She brushed her teeth when she got to school, washed hands constantly. They did not want to "take away" from the other students so they let them bring their peanut butter and such. The little allergic boy ended up in the hospital and almost died because of something in the class room. They said that even if a kid kissed him after a peanut snack he could go into anaphalactic shock...and he did. These were 4 year olds.

I think it seems extreme, but if there is a kid in my class that allergic, I WILL ask my parents to not bring that. It is what they would want if it were there child.....

Someone addressed that there weren't as many allergies long ago.... no there weren't (or at least they didn't recognize them yet). It may be something more recent to blame.... maybe the preservatives like the Today show said....who knows. But we have to deal with them.

This leads me to a thread I am going to post.... I am wondering if there is a way to color icings and cakes and such without using food dyes.... strawberry puree, blueberry, etc... but not making it gross or watery?

Anyhow.... I may not agree with all the postings....but I LOVE reading and respect all of your opionions!

*Okay..... soap box is now open to someone else!!!**

well, I'll jump in on the defense of the schools. While no, one kid brining in cup cakes or cake, candy whatever isn't a big deal, if you celebrate 29-30 some birthdays in school, plus moms being nice for thanksgiving, christmas and valentines day, easter, etc. That's an aweful lot of cup cakes. Add to that the growing population of overweight to obese children, and I can see where they're coming from. And of course, I'd hate for my child to eat food from a house with a bunch of cats, or a bunch of dogs, or smokers. no offense to people who own those animals or smoke (I have dogs) but I'm anal about hair, whether it's horse, dog, cat, human, whatever. It's NASTY. And if you've ever eaten PS that has been stored in a smoker's house, you know that's nasty too.

Forgive me for not having read through this entire thread, but I'm running short on time and wanted top get this in. Here is an excerpt from the State of NJ Dept. of Agriculture Model School Nutrition Policy which my childrens' school adopted last year. (You're gonna love this!):

The following items may not be served, sold or given out as free promotion anywhere on school property at anytime before the end of the school day

Foods of minimal nutritional value (FMNV) as defined by U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations;
All food and beverage items listing sugar, in any form, as the first ingredient;
All forms of candy.
Schools shall reduce the purchase of any products containing trans fats. Federal labeling of trans fats on all food products is required by January 1, 2006.
All snack and beverage items sold or served anywhere on school property during the school day, including items sold in a la carte lines, vending machines, snack bars, school stores and fundraisers or served in the reimbursable After School Snack Program, shall meet the following standards:

Based on manufacturers nutritional data or nutrient facts labels:
No more than 8 grams of total fat per serving, with the exception of nuts and seeds.
No more than 2 grams of saturated fat per serving.
All beverages shall not exceed 12 ounces, with the following exceptions:
Water
Milk containing 2% or less fat
Whole milk shall not exceed 8 ounces.
In elementary schools:

100% of all beverages offered shall be milk, water or 100% fruit or vegetable juices.
In middle and high schools:

At least 60% of all beverages offered, other than milk and water, shall be 100% fruit or vegetable juices.
No more than 40% of all ice cream/frozen desserts shall be allowed to exceed the above standards for sugar, fat, and saturated fat.
Food and beverages served during special school celebrations or during curriculum related activities shall be exempt from this policy, with the exception of foods of minimal nutritional value as defined by USDA regulations.

I was lucky enough to have one of my children have an "easy-going" teacher last year and he asked the new principal if I could bring in cupcakes (carrot cake) for my son's birthday and she said yes. Unfortunately, my daughter's teacher was a stickler and had this policy on his web page!! Adhered to it like Crazy Glue!! Luckily this year my daughter has the "easy-going" teacher my son had last year, so I'm hoping we can "bend" the rules again.

In the past the only problem was all the allergies that were cropping up and some classrooms were peanut-free, or milk-free, etc. Which I can understand. My problem is that (I don't know if they've changed it yet this year) the cafeteria offers chocolate chip cookies and ice cream as options on the menu if the children want to buy it and I found out my daughter and her friends were taking turns two years ago, buying the cookies and splitting them everyday!!! I would much rather a cupcake or piece of cake once in a while than a cookie every day!

Anyway, gotta finish cleaning my son's room before he gets home on the bus!

I also think about it this way....What do you think would happen if a kid got sick off of a treat that a parent brought in...what if it was food poisoning or HepA? That parent is going to more than likely sue. The school is liable and of course they are going to protect themselves...I don't blame them.
Really in the great scheme of things, there are alot of other events the kids can have the treats...taking them out of the schools is not a big deal. At least not to me.

[quote]As to allergies, you just need to realize that food allergies can kill! If it were your child, you'd be terrified when they started school and you couldn't control their food intake anymore. Those parents have no choice be ask for what they do as far as restrictions. They're just trying to make sure their kids come home! I'm sure all of you would do the same if it were your child with the allergies. [quote]

Thank you!! I'm glad you brought this up...I'm getting quite upset with the attitude of some people..."why should MY child go without because another's child has an allergy?" Let me see...because if your child goes without peanut butter for 7 hours he'll still alive at the end of the day. However, if your child eats that pb and then comes into contact with another child who has a peanut allergy, that child could DIE!! See the difference?!

As a mother of three kids who are all allergic to dairy, eggs, and peanuts I can't stress enough how serious food allergies are. If you have ever had to rush your infant to the ER because he was broken out in hives, struggling to breath, and turning blue maybe you would have a better understanding. I've been there and don't ever want to again...nor do I want to ever see another parent go through that. Food allergies are VERY serious and that's why schools are asking that peanuts be kept out of the building. That's the way our school is and I'm thankful.

There are people who are SO allergic to peanuts that if someone were to eat peanuts and then breath on that person, they could have a reaction. It's not something that can be taken lightly.

I only hope that those people who have not had to deal with food allergies can at least get some insight as to how serious food allergies are and do what you can to keep ALL kids safe. As a mother, I'm grateful to all parents who make the effort to learn and help me keep my kids safe when I can't be with them.

Thanks for listening. Jodie