When my kids got their school forms and fees package in the mail each summer, I just wanted to crawl in a hole and ignore the whole thing! Getting ready for a new school year, and new teachers is not fun!

For a child who requires extra attention because of being gluten-free and/or casein free can cause more stress! Here I’m going to try to make this Back to School process a little bit easier!

The key to making your child’s needs work is COMMUNICATION!

Start with writing a letter to the teacher. I will give you a sample form letter you may use, or to give you and idea of what to write to the teacher.

Dear Teacher,

My child has some dietary restrictions and special needs. Please share this information with anyone who will be working with my child in your classroom.

[Child] has a gluten-free, casein-free diet, which means no foods or snacks that include grains, including wheat, barley, rye and oats, as well as milk-based (cows or goats) dairy products. For more information, the best resource for this diet is http://www.gfcfdiet.com/. They have a good list of acceptable items.

We will provide all snacks for [child], as well as any birthday or holiday treats. We will also provide substitutes for Play Doh and any food that is needed for art and craft projects. We request at least two day’s notice so we can prepare what is needed.

If you would like to keep something on hand that [child] can have, here are some suggestions:

• Any fresh fruits except strawberries
• Skittles or Gummies
• 100% juice bars or popsicles
• Envirokids Berry cereal bars
• Marshmallows
• Corn or Rice pasta for crafts

For drinks we prefer water, but also use 100% fruit juice. Rice and almond milk are also good substitutes.

We would appreciate you making our child’s dietary restrictions known to the other students in the classroom, and emphasize the importance of not sharing their food with [child]. For any questions or concerns please contact us. [Insert personal contact information here.] We are looking forward to working with you this school year.

Labels: You can make or buy labels, stickers and patches that say “gluten-free,” “casein-free,” and other things such as “egg-free.” A good place to look is at Jeeto!. . . Put labels on lunchboxes, backpacks, and even coats and jackets. You can laminate them and use a ring to attatch them.

Your Child and Awareness: Make sure your children understand their diet restrictions. My granddaughter asks everyone who offers her food or candy, “Is it gluten-free?” Since not everyone knows what that means, she is also trained to explain that it’s wheat, or anything with flour. As she learns more, she adds to her conversations about the food that she is offered. It’s amazing how fast other kids catch on too. There have been times when she is offered something, and her friends say “No! She can’t eat that!”

That’s it – for my Back to School posts! Wishing you all a very happy and safe school year

It’s THAT time of year again! For parents of kids who eat a gluten-free, casein-free diet – it can be worrisome!

DON’T TRUST THE SCHOOL TO ACCOMMODATE YOUR CHILD. PROVIDE ALL MEALS AND SNACKS!

Public and private schools offer lunch programs, and some have breakfast programs. As part of the National School Lunch Program, the schools can receive reimbursements from the USDA for providing nutritious meals, but the guidelines say they have to offer four components – meats/meat alternatives, grains/breads, fruits/vegetables and milk.

This is not good for GF/CF children, as the grains will most likely have gluten, and milk presents a big problem for casein-free diets.

This is why it is very important that you provide your own child’s lunches every day! Doing this will give you control of your child’s diet and allow you peace of mind.

A typical lunch could include:

• Some form of meat or GF/CF cheese
• GF/CF chips or pretzels
• A fruit cup or veggies in a baggie
• A snack, such as a GF/CF “trail mix,” which could include raisins, GF/CF cereal and chocolate chips
• A water bottle or 100% juice pouch

If you are going to have a child in kindergarten, or your child will regularly have snacks in class, it is important to provide GF/CF snacks to your child’s teacher every day. These can include GF/CF pretzels, fruit leather or fruit snacks, fresh fruit, and Envirokidz Cereal bars. You can also offer to take your turn bringing the snack, and share a GF/CF snack for everyone to enjoy!

For special occasions you can request a 24-hour advanced notice so you can prepare your child a special treat instead of having the class treat.