Your celiac child at school: seven strategies to stay gluten-free

Strategy 1: Celiac disease sounds familiar, but don’t assume your child’s teacher knows anything about it. Or what ‘gluten-free’ really means. Set up a meeting with your child’s teacher before the term begins to explain celiac disease and a gluten-free diet. Most teachers will appreciate such a meeting and it is better to have it face to face rather than over the phone or by letter so that you can answer any questions and also so that you can assess how much the teacher seems to understand. Take something printed with you too for them to refer to. On my blog I offer a free explanatory brochure that explains celiac disease in a very simple way and reviews the implications of a gluten-free diet. You may also want to talk to other people at school, like the school nurse or secretary (or whoever provides first aid care in case your child feels sick). When my son (eight years old at the time) was diagnosed with celiac disease, I met with his classroom teacher and principal to discuss the implications, such as cooking, gluten-containing playdough, birthday cakes that can be brought , etc. It was a very useful meeting and since then they have supported me 100%.

Strategy 2: Send a box of gluten-free snacks and treats. Now that you have the teacher on your side, you’ll probably be all too willing to keep a small supply of gluten-free cakes and treats on your desk, in case you ever need them. Vacuum packed cakes come in handy if someone brings a birthday cake to share, and my son has eaten small candies if someone brings Christmas candy. Sometimes you can plan ahead, but there are times when it’s good to have a backup plan and my son has needed his box of treats more than once in the last quarter!

Strategy 3: Educate the other children. This obviously depends a lot on age, but we felt it was very important for our son’s friends to understand why he can’t eat the same food as them, why he has a different box of treats and lunches, and why he sometimes has leisure. school for hospital visits, etc. We also wanted them to understand that there are many things he can eat in the same way, so they still invite him to tea and parties.

The teacher may have ideas on how to do this. We did a short ‘Show and Tell’ talk one day, about what celiac disease is, what you can and can’t eat on a gluten-free diet, and how you feel about it all. He also brought some gluten free cupcakes for the class to try and it was a huge hit – they loved the cakes and everyone is very supportive now that they understand more about what it is.

Strategy 4: If your child has school dinners, talk to the catering staff. Again, don’t assume they’ll understand what a gluten-free diet really means (I tend to ask people what they mean by this before I believe them). They should be especially aware of the danger of contamination from utensils used with foods that contain gluten. Review their menus carefully and discuss options with them. They have a duty of care to your child and it is certainly worth the time to befriend them and work with them on this.

Strategy 5: If your child brings home-cooked lunches to school, make them delicious. It takes a bit of effort, and I long for the days when a quick cheese spread sandwich did the job, but it’s worth it. I always worried that my son would look at the other kids’ packages and envy them their bread sandwiches and the store bought cakes and cookies that he couldn’t have anymore. So my mission is to make his packs more exciting than theirs (check out my blog for ideas on this!). I think this has worked. He just gets mad because everyone wants to share with him and he can’t share! Again, it’s classic to make your child feel special, not different.

Strategy 6: Stay ahead of the curve at parties, travel and celebrations. It’s a bit of a no-brainer, but it’s worth keeping in mind, especially if your school is a bit of a last-minute noticeer (as ours sometimes is). I’d rather know a week in advance than a day, especially if it involves more baking (and it usually does!), celebrating a birthday, and bringing in a cake. That box of goodies is fine for emergencies, but if you can be ready, all the better. Hopefully the master on the side will help with this.

Strategy 7:Teach your child to read labels They need to know which foods contain gluten, and be able to recognize the gluten-free symbol on foods (great if your child doesn’t read). Practice a lot at home until your child is confident, and then let him go. He/she will have to learn to take responsibility for his/her own feeding (obviously in an age-appropriate way) and the sooner the better. My son’s friends are used to offering him a piece of candy and then handing him the package so he can read the label. It’s great to know that he can do that too when he goes to their houses for tea.

School can be a scary prospect if you have a celiac child. Maintaining a gluten-free diet with a bunch of peers you want to be like and adults you can’t argue with can be difficult. But it can be done and it is done, by thousands of celiac children around the world. As parents, all we can do is our best to prepare both our child and her school as much as possible. So put them away in the morning and try not to spend the day worrying about them!