I dropped my son off this morning for a morning camp at his preschool. This is his first time going since school let out. One of the teachers told the kids they would get gummy treats if they are listening. Immediately I cringed (for obvious reasons). DS is only 2.5 years old and he was diagnosed with T1 a year ago. He eats a snack there (usually 3-4 carbs) so he can only afford about 1 or maybe 2 more carbs so that his sugar doesn’t rise. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
how about finding carb free treats you can give the teacher just for your son? I am sure there are some gummy bears without any carb somewhere
An M&M! It has about 1 carb in it, nice fat for slightly slower absorption. It would be cool if all the kids could get the same treat. But, some other kid in the group is probably allergic to chocolate or the color red or who knows what.
And some parent would say-- but that’s candy!!! Yes, and so is every gummy treat/ fruit snack in the freaking breakfast aisle.
Mine’s not at any preschool yet or daycare (outside of an hour at the YMCA a few days a week) so I’m all ears when listening to what works for you.
Bulk Barn in Canada has sugar free Gummy Butterflies. 0 carbs. I’m sure somewhere in the states would carry them?
I agree with you wholeheartedly. When he started at this school in September I sat down with his 2 teachers to train them on his Diabetes. One of my questions was about class parties and treats. They actually discourage parents from bringing food in for birthdays because it is not healthy and with 12 kids birthdays come quite often.
Today he was with a new teacher who apparently doesn’t have the same restrictions. I am going to sit don with her but rather than asking her to change her policy, I am going to offer a solution.
That’s a good suggestion. Thank you!
My son’s (not T1) teacher gives the kids 2 jelly beans, 2 M&Ms OR 2 small gummy worms (their choice which) at the end of the day if they didn’t get in trouble all day. They’re 6 & 7 year olds and think this amount it great. For 2.5 year-olds maybe the same sort of thing but ONE? One of each of those would be pretty low in carbs and be plenty of ‘treat’ for a young kid. No need to teach them at a young age that they need more junk than that.
My two cents: This seems to be such a common practice in daycare and preschool today. And we are wondering why childhood obesity is at an all time high. (No, not from one gummy bear - but it is the trend, candy and food Everywhere!) You would be doing all the children a favor by asking for a different type of instant positive reinforcement. I don’t think your child should be singled out and given a different treat, nor do I think that is always possible in the dynamic world of children/substitute caregivers, etc.
Some suggestions - a high five, fist bump, sticker, stamp on the hand, reward chart to earn extra time (book, center, ???)
Your child already has a life ahead of him dealing with being different. Yes, he will get used to it, but when you can stand up and even the playing field to reduce the number of times he is “that kid”, the better. He is not a grown up, and shouldn’t have to be ok with the fact that other kids are getting treats he can’t have. It is the job of caregivers to provide a safe environment, not only physically safe, but emotionally safe as well. A “no treat” reinforcement plan would work well for the peanut + allergies, gluten intolerances, etc.
I’ve worked at an art school where we would give kids stamps or stickers and these often get more excitement from kids than candy does! When I was younger, I had a sticker album which was one of my favourite possessions (granted this was at a bit of an older age, about 4-8, so it might not be age appropriate), but maybe if you coordinated with the teacher to have him get stickers as treats and buy him a sticker album to collect his stickers he would get to feel extra special about his treat.