Friday, February 13, 2009

No, There is Too Much. Let Me Sum Up.

You are the parent in charge of the first grade Valentine party. Teacher gives you a list of the parents who signed up to help, as well as the names and numbers of the two allergic children's parents, so that you can, presumably, coordinate safe food for the party.

You :

A. Call the allergic children's mothers and ask them for some safe food suggestions.

B. Call the allergic children's mothers, tell them the foods the other parents are providing and ask if these items are safe.

C. Call the allergic children's mothers, tell them the foods the other parents are providing and ask them to provide comparable allergen-free treats.

D. Some combination of A and/or B and/or C.

E. Call the allergic children's mothers and leave messages saying you have NO IDEA what the parents will be bringing to the party you are coordinating, but Teacher mentioned that the allergic children have treats in the freezer that they use for birthdays, so they can just eat those.


You are a mother of one of the allergic children. You hear this message and:

A. Mentally compose a return phone call that you then decide not to place, deciding no good can come of it.

B. Explain the situation to your child, who is quite confused, as all of the holiday school parties so far have had at least one safe treat she can eat.

C. Come up with a plan with your child. You will send an extra treat (fruit snacks) for your child to eat in addition to a cupcake or cookie from the freezer. (Hey, it's Valentine's Day.) You will also write a note to teacher explaining this. If your child knows that one or more of the party foods are safe, she will tell Teacher, and/or ask Teacher to call you and confirm.

D. Wonder if this is the right way to handle things and/or if you are overly sensitive.

E. All of the above.

13 comments:

  1. My goodness. It's like it's such an inconvenience to someone else. If it was her child, she'd sure try a lot harder. Grr.

    You're a great mom taking care of everything for Katherine. I know she must appreciate you (if not now, she'll definitely see it when she's older).

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  2. Wow, those other parents can't be helpful at all? I hope Katherine has a fun time anyway.

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  3. Very frustrating! Funny thing is, it gets no easier as an adult. I wrestle with some of these very same questions for parties!

    I hope Katherine has a good V-day party regardless!

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  4. I wish you would have called me. I would have been happy to concoct a safe treat for Katherine.

    Of course, our kids do not go to school together. And are not in the same grade. And I have no idea where you live.

    But, By George! I would have done it.

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  5. Poor Katherine! I always get so angered when I read these little "quizzes" you post b/c I just KNOW the correct answer is going to be the worst option up there.

    People are so unbelievable! It would literally take 5 minutes of her time and effort to find a safe food and make sure it's prepared. Why is that too much for some people?

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  6. Oh, I feel for you! I am just beginning the room-parent-of-the-allergic-child-phase-of-life. And frankly, it's stressful. And nerve-wracking--even as room parent, there's only so much you can do. Plus, people are just plain difficult!

    Read Jenny's post over at the Nut-Free Mom Blog--you are a great Mom and your kids know it and appreciate it. I am sure you've handled it well! Now, give yourself the pat on the back I know you deserve! :)

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  7. Seriously, how hard is it for people to understand food allergies? Makes me crazy. At our preschool one (and only one at least) mom handed out yogurt covered raisins. I explained that my girls can't have those (we won't even go into why she's giving them to babies too). "But they're healthy!" she replied. Yeah. Anaphylaxis is not healthy. Feeling your pain.

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  8. People are just so ignorant (like yogurt-covered raisins are healthy for anyone!!!) Sorry its such a pain. By this point in the year they should definitly know better.

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  9. Yes, I had an experience JUST LIKE THAT this week. Thanks for "trying", other parents!

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  10. That's just lazy of them, seriously. I mean I still go through that at parties often people forget and there's nothing dairy free anywhere... It doesn't get any easier.
    I always try to have a variety of foods whenever I have a party so that there's something for everyone really.

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  11. I am so glad I've been doing my Wii Fit Yoga, because I needed the breathing exercises just now.

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  12. Especially for children, you'd think other parents would at least *attempt* to be considerate and inclusive. :(

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  13. Oh man - I'm so sorry. It's SO frustrating!!! She deserves the first message you composed. :) I hope Katherine had fun despite this parent!

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