Once your celiac or gluten sensitive child learns to recognize gluten and understands she can't share snacks with other children, you might think you're home free.
However, the upper elementary school grades and middle school (junior high school in some places) carry unique challenges of their own for children with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
Food — in the form of snacks and birthday treats — still plays a role in the classroom up until middle school. In addition, social pressures to conform start to run high — and unfortunately, kids with different diets can stick out.
It's up to your child to cope with these pressures — she's increasingly on her own when it comes to school issues. But you should help as much as possible.
1. Social Pressure
Starting around fourth or fifth grade, kids like to conform ... and a child who can't eat like the other kids will stick out.
There's little you can do about this fact — you can't make your child not be celiac or gluten-sensitive — but you can help by sending lunches to school that look as much as possible like the other kids' lunches.
That means finding — or baking — acceptable gluten-free bread, identifying snacks your child likes that are gluten-free, and generally packing the best-looking lunch you can manage.
This almost certainly will take some extra work on your part, and it probably will cost extra, too, since eating gluten-free substitute foods can get expensive. But it will pay off in a happier child who fits in better at school.
2. Cafeteria Lunches
In order to fit in, it's possible — or even likely — that your child may want to try ordering lunch from the cafeteria.
Just as with young gluten-free kids, I don't recommend this — the school district dietitian likely will know the basics on celiac disease, but the workers preparing the lunches almost certainly haven't been trained in avoiding cross contamination.
In addition, most school lunch menus feature gluten foods daily and prominently; it can be tough to find something naturally gluten-free on the regular menu.
However, you may be able to identify gluten-free snacks that the school sells á la carte, and allow your child to purchase those to supplement the gluten-free lunch you send. You may even be able to encourage the school to sell gluten-free snacks (perhaps something your child really likes) so that your child can experience buying something in the cafeteria line, just like the other kids.
3. Gluten Crumbs
Many of your child's classmates will get a little less messy as they get a bit older, so they'll hopefully be spreading fewer gluten crumbs around. In addition, your older celiac/gluten-sensitive child probably understands better how to keep herself safe from inadvertent cross contamination with those crumbs.
But this issue never really goes away, even for adults. You'll need to remind your child to use a paper napkin to brush off her spot in the cafeteria, and to keep her food a safe distance away from her friends' lunches.
In addition, remind your child to wash her hands well before eating, every time, and make sure the school staff understands she needs to do that and accommodates her need. Some schools seem to substitute hand sanitizer for hand-washing, but hand sanitizer does not remove gluten from your hands.
4. Classroom Treats
Birthday treats, so common in early elementary school, continue through at least fifth grade in most schools. In almost every case, these treats are off-limits for children with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
As with younger children, it helps to work with your child's teacher to stock up on frozen gluten-free cupcakes or another gluten-free snack, so that something's always available on short notice for your child to enjoy. I've found the teachers rarely get much notice when a parent brings in snacks, so you can't count on the teacher emailing you in advance. In addition, there are plenty of gluten-free candies that can work as snacks.
Also, you should try once or twice during the school year to provide a snack for the class that everyone — including your child — can eat. Doing so will help your child feel like she fits in better, food-wise. I've brought brand-name individual-sized ice cream cups (gluten-free, of course), which were a hit with everyone, including the teachers.
5. Flour in Classrooms
School science experiments sometimes involve flour — for example, the classic baking soda volcano recipe includes six cups of flour along with the baking soda and salt. In addition, home economics classes taught in middle school likely will include plenty of baking.
Celiac or gluten-sensitive children shouldn't be present in classrooms where wheat flour is in use — the airborne gluten will make them sick, even if they don't get involved in the experiments or baking. You'll need to make sure your child's teachers understand this, and provide your child with prior warning. You may find you need a 504 plan in place to ensure your child's safety.
In the case of science experiments, you may be able to substitute gluten-free flour or some other ingredient for the flour — have your child talk to the teacher in question, or contact him yourself. When it comes to home economics, you may need to substitute baking projects at home for flour-based school projects so that your child gets full credit for the class.
6. Sleepovers
Although sleepovers obviously aren't technically part of school, they crop up as part of the school experience starting in late elementary school and into middle school/junior high school. It's unusual for a month to go by without my daughter either hosting or attending a sleepover with some of her school friends.
In this case (unless your child has a gluten-free friend), you really have no choice except to make food for your child to take along. Even if the other parent professes an understanding of gluten-free cooking and gluten cross contamination, that parent's understanding likely won't be good enough to keep your child safe (see: Should You Eat Gluten-Free Food Prepared By Relatives or Friends?).
Your child can eat safe food that's considered mainstream — for example, gluten-free potato chips or gluten-free tortilla chips> from a previously unopened bag, or a safe brand and flavor of ice cream — and you should consider sending enough of something safe to share, just so she doesn't feel left out.
