It was Katelyn’s turn to bring snack to share with her class. And along with the responsibility of bringing snack, the child gets to be “soap monitor” when it is hand washing time before they eat. For those without a four-year old, this is a HUGE privilege; one that makes her feel special, like she is the center of the universe, even if only for a few hours while at school. And when everyone sits down to eat, the class says “Thank You Katelyn” all together, adding to her already exploding pride.
When she woke up, she reminded me that this was “her” day for snack. She promptly informed me that she wanted to bring heart-shaped PB&J sandwiches, carrots and dip and water. Sure, no problem…the sandwiches might take awhile to make, but since she had her heart set on bring this meal, I decided that we could do this. We were not informed that any of these items were off limits, so assumed we were a “go”.
When I picked her up from school, I asked for my serving tray. I was informed that it was in the office, along with all fifty-thousand heart-shaped sandwiches. They decided not to serve them to the children because there is one little girl who is allergic. And because she is, the entire class only had carrots and water.
OK, so here is my issue…why should the entire class have to suffer because one child cannot eat the snack? If we were informed beforehand of items we could not bring, I would have never brought all of these sandwiches, nor spent the time making them. The school has a list of allergies in each class – they have had this information for almost three weeks now – so they cannot say they didn’t have the proper information to inform the parents before the snack schedule got underway. And what would be the difference if my child had an allergy to water…should none of the children be allowed to drink water throughout the day? Please don’t take me wrong, I am not against a child who has some special needs – whether food or physical or mental - heck, I have a child of needs myself. But, my frustration comes making the entire class suffer because of one. Perhaps this child could bring her own snack so she always has something to eat. Or perhaps a list of “do not bring” food items should have been sent out weeks ago.
What I am most saddened by is how this entire incident made Katelyn feel. She felt as if she had done something wrong, and that is why they didn’t serve her entire meal. They did tell her the true reason, but does that really make sense to a young child? Can they comprehend the entire class’ suffering because of one person? It goes back to the “It’s not fair” scenario, where one sibling doesn’t get to have that extra treat because their sibling didn’t follow the rules. They feel just as punished as their sibling, even though he/she was not at fault. Katelyn told me she had a not-so-good day when I picked her up, and subsequently found out why. What a way to stomp on the parade and let out all the excitement of this four-year-old.
Next snack opportunity, we’ll be bringing water…only.
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