Let Them Eat (Purchased) Cake

In New Zealand there is a debate about baked goods in preschools. One major preschool company has mandated that baked goods have to be store bought. Another local preschool company indicated they allowed home baked goods and instead manage allergies by keeping a list of the food allergies for the children under its care.

Either policy could work well as long as there is discipline to following the guidelines. It might be argued that the list method is preferable in some ways due to the fact that it promotes awareness of the individual kid's allergies while not outlawing home baking.

The bottom line is that it comes down to trust and logistics. Does a school feel it can manage the list of allergies effectively and does it trust parents of non-allergic kids to be cognizant of these allergies when preparing baked goods for the class. I see both sides of the coin.

A great quote in the article comes from 'nutritionalist' Bronwen King. She said that "it was a shame that home baking was not allowed. Ms King feels 'the demise of home cooking means that people lose cooking skills and those are really important when it comes to nutrition. I know centres have to err on the side of caution but I do wonder if we are going too far when it comes to allergies.' Ms King said parents should also consider other ways of celebrating their children's birthdays".

This is thought provoking. Many people find baking to be the most enjoyable form of cooking. Is the removal of baked goods from schools going to result in a culinary and cultural erosion? It is a fair question. When I was a kid food allergy was not an issue, at least not visibly. We had bake sales every week for one thing or another and I never remember a classmate having an allergic reaction.

Alas, the times have changed. Ms King wondered if we have gone too far. Given the rapid acceleration in the prevalence of food allergy and the increasing number of kids with anaphylaxis we cannot be too safe when working with the youngest, and most vulnerable kids. So, no, we have not gone too far but we could perhaps do a better job of getting to the end result.

I challenge dietitians to come up with healthy alternatives to the birthday cake. Kids love fruit, for example, and a there would be a multitude of fun things to do with fruit to celebrate the birthdays in a given week or month. If the cake theme is preferred, what if once a month a local baker came in with ingredients to show the kids how she makes an (allergy free) cake? Parents could participate in both of these events. Either of these would be fun, safe and ultimately shows parents how to make healthier food.

Outright bans often generate animosity and kids would likely prefer 'funner' ways to manage food allergy. 2007 will be the first year our daughter goes to preschool so this is an imminent issue for us.