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Natural, Holistic and RAW Lifestyle>Gluten Free
jojosmommy 09:57 AM 02-07-2011
Hi, one of my parents just got temporary custody of a relative who will be attending my daycare starting next week only on snow days, non school days and during the summer. She said she is gluten and caesin free and gets a gluten free lunch at school. I am familiar with gluten and casein allergies but mom said it would be alright if she ate what the other kids ate because "its not that bad. She doesnt get like sick or anything we just discovered it through some other genetic testing we had."

I am not comfortable feeding her gluten and casein products. The guilt alone would eat me alive.... What should I do? Make her bring breakfast, lunch and snack?

If you arent familiar gluetin and casein free products can be expensive and dont store very long so I don't really want to go out and buy a bunch in case we have a snow day or non school day. Especially because this is just temporary. Also, gluetin is in art products like playdough so it can be a lot of work to completely rid your house of gluten.

Any ideas?
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pinkbunny85 10:08 AM 02-07-2011
1. the playdough should be fine. as long as she washes her hands after.

2. if she isn't going to be there often. i'd say make simple gf meals. rice noodles and sauce. or do a veggie/meat meal.

3. if you take her and make them bring her food. they will probably give you foods she can't have. I need to be gf. and I say "its not bad" I pick and choose. if I crave something for more than 24 hours I eat a 1/4 of a portion. and that satisfies me but I am also sick after it. this child may not realize why she's getting sick if she eats it.
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SilverSabre25 11:34 AM 02-07-2011
basically, what pinkbunny said. It's not that hard to make a simple gfcf meal--gf noodles with pasta sauce, give water instead of milk to her or ask her family to provide her favorite df milk. Meat and veggies, eggs, frozen gf waffles with syrup (no butter), etc. When you start looking at it really closely, you'll find that there are more gfcf foods out there than you might think. I'll be back later with a bigger list of "naturally" gfcf things.

I have NEVER heard of someone who has a gluten intolerance having a contact issue with playdough or anything else--the allergen warning on playdough is more geared at severely wheat allergic kids who DO have a contact issue. Trust me, I'm on several forums that have a large food allergic community, and a contact gluten issue has NEVER been mentioned. As for other art supplies, I've never heard of gfcf contact issues with those either.

I'm gluten free myself, and lactose intolerant up to a point. I'm well-versed in food allergies and intolerances.
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Unregistered 06:33 AM 09-04-2012
I realize this is an old post, but I thought I'd add to the conversation for anyone stumbling onto the page, like me.

The problem with play dough depends on whether the child is old enough to know not to put the play dough in her mouth, and if she is capable of washing her hands thoroughly before touching her food or sticking her fingers in her mouth. I would suggest if you only have one gf kid in your care and only occasionally, just put the play dough away for the day and provide alternative activities for everyone.
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Tags:diet, gluten free, playdough
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