School lunches

[Tatermom]

What am I going to do for carb counting when Taylor starts kindergarten next year? I'm sure we can get copies of lunch menus (that's what we do now), but what about portion control. Can she eat as much/whatever she wants. School lunches have changed so much since I grew up and I don't want to lose the good bg control we are working so hard to achieve.

[seacomp]

Can she eat as much/whatever she wants.
That's a question I assume, the answer is no. I hope there are some parents with experience who have some good ideas to help out here.

[Penny]

What am I going to do for carb counting when Taylor starts kindergarten next year? I'm sure we can get copies of lunch menus (that's what we do now), but what about portion control. Can she eat as much/whatever she wants. School lunches have changed so much since I grew up and I don't want to lose the good bg control we are working so hard to achieve.

This is something I wonder about. You can always pack her lunches and snacks. The thing I would worry most about are the school parties and such they have. My granddaughter comes home with cupcakes and cookies and candy, pretty often. As much as you hate for her to have to deal with all this, it might be time to start talking to her now. Maybe by the time she starts school, she will understand what she needs to do. Poor little kid, I feel so bad for her, that she has to go through all this!

[Tatermom]

Silly me..what I mean to say is do schools still regulate portions and types? Would we be better off just packing her lunch?

[Penny]

Silly me..what I mean to say is do schools still regulate portions and types? Would we be better off just packing her lunch?

Don't know how it is done in other schools, but my granddaughter has a lunch credit card. She goes through the line and is allowed to choose so many items for her lunch, to get the regular price for a meal. Usually there are two entree meals available. But she may also choose icecream, cookies, brownies, etc. A couple of years ago, she was running out of money after a couple of days each week. We finally figured out she was buying the "plate lunch", but also icecream and other treats, not only for herself, but for friends! She would eat a couple of treats and throw away most of the meal. They do have a lunch monitor, but she has a lot of kids to keep track of. Now on Monday morning, we discuss what she will order and talk about whether or not she should order a treat. It's difficult even with non diabetic children to see that they eat what they should at school. They do have measured servings, though a child might select 2 mac n' cheese servings, instead of one and a salad.

[SheriLynn]

We have an excellent school support system for this type of thing. There is a nurse who is assigned to the three younger diabetics in the school. She finds out in the morning if the kids will be buying lunch and she goes to the cafe and actually measures/weighs the food and totals the carbs at the beginning of their lunch period. The other two kids are on a sliding scale insulin dose for lunch. Tommy has always packed his lunch...but occasionally will buy some side dish from the line. As for classroom parties, this was the hardest part for us. Especially the ones the teacher did not know about in advance. Some parents have said that they take a free snack for their child to eat while all the others are indulging in cupcakes, etc. I could never do that. We have an order on file for the nurse to give Tommy 1/2 unit/carb for afternoon 'treats'. That was how the Dr. suggested we deal with it. If it is possible for the teacher to schedule the treat, she will have it at Tommy's afternoon snack time and he will just have the treat instead of his regular applesauce/pudding/etc. Since she is on the pump, perhaps she could just bolus for parties/etc. Wow this got lengthy. I guess I have had it pretty easy in dealing with the school. We have a great teacher and nursing dept. I wish you the best!!!!

[Mariel's Mom]

My daughter was diagnosed first day of Kindergarten August 2005. Sending your child to school with diabetes is scary. I don't know what level of support your school will offer - mine does not offer much. Other than the requirements on the 504 form to identify a few people to be responsible in case of an emergency (that I trained) to recognize signs of hypo or hyper - they really push that back on the parent (we don't have a full time nurse - she is only there 2 part time days). I travel to the school everyday during her lunch period - I either pack a lunch for her or she eats something from the menu that she likes. Your school will have a menu that lists the carb counts and caution - school lunches are heavy with carbs. I sit with her at her lunch table - monitor everything she eats and then give insulin based on that. Parents are always bringing in cupcakes and candy for birthdays in the class - Mariel's teachers KNOW that she cannot have any of it - they wrap it up for her to take it home where I usually dispose of it. Mariel has learned that it is CRITICAL that she not eat these party items. If I know ahead of time - I will bring something for the teacher to give her instead of the sugar stuff.

Another mother I know has an arrangement with a teacher (who is also diabetic) to test her daughter's blood sugar before lunch - she packs her lunch every day - the teacher puts the BG reading on a sticky in the child's lunch box. The mother comes in at the end of lunch to see what her daughter ate and gives the insulin.

I am at the school everyday at lunch - and twice a day when she has gym. It has become my full time job - I had to give up on full time employment when she was diagnosed - I sincerely do not know how people do it that are single moms/dads or have to work. It was a huge adjustment for my husband and I losing my income - but really I had to! Unless your school is special - don't expect much support.

[claysmum]

I am not sure this is an option, but my son goes to school in the mornings for days a week for kindergarten..we are in Canada so that may make a difference. Another option would be to pack a lunch for them and have an adult just confirm that they have eaten everything.

My son wears a pack around his waste and we keep his snacks in there. With a little support from the teacher, she will remind him to have his snack prior to recess and then at snacktime. Most of the time he is really good and if he does not eat..( for some unknown reason) the teacher will call me and then I will make arrangements.
Good luck, I know it has taken us a while to figure out what works and when he starts grade 1 he will be there all day. Yikes..so we will have to see
Take care

[nantomsuethom]

Contact the school cafe. manager. They have the nutritional value of everything that is served in the cafeteria. I am sure most school districts are the same, they have to follow the recipes exactly as they are written.
I give all of my diabetic families a copy of the nutritional values and a monthly lunch/breakfast menu.
When Thomas was in elementary school I would make a list of what he was to eat everyday and give it to the cafe. manager. This was if for some reason they were not serving that entre they would let me know or if it looked like they may run out of what was on his list they would put a lunch aside for him.
Thomas had the same list in his classroom so that he would know what he was to buy and how many carbs he needed to bolus for.

[Erin]

If the lunches are anything like they are in NY, just pack her lunch. Not for diabetes reasons, but because school lunch is gross. And sometimes the carb count is inconsistent. Some days they have fruit for desert, other days there are cookies, some days it's pizza, other days it is chicken with a moldy roll (yes, I did catch them giving kids moldy rolls... I took the rolls away and alerted the kitchen staff... but I wonder how many kids ate the rolls before I noticed? Kids, particularly kindegarteners, will eat literally ANYTHING.)

The point is, the extras (the desert or whatever) usually aren't on the menu. Unexpected things like discovering a batch of moldy bread, and replacing it with a salad, can drastically change the carb content of a meal.

Hopefully where you are Lunch isn't that much of an adventure... but I'm just telling you what I've seen. I hate lunch duty!

[Belinda]

My daughter was diagnosed first day of Kindergarten August 2005. Sending your child to school with diabetes is scary. I don't know what level of support your school will offer - mine does not offer much. Other than the requirements on the 504 form to identify a few people to be responsible in case of an emergency (that I trained) to recognize signs of hypo or hyper - they really push that back on the parent (we don't have a full time nurse - she is only there 2 part time days). I travel to the school everyday during her lunch period - I either pack a lunch for her or she eats something from the menu that she likes. Your school will have a menu that lists the carb counts and caution - school lunches are heavy with carbs. I sit with her at her lunch table - monitor everything she eats and then give insulin based on that. Parents are always bringing in cupcakes and candy for birthdays in the class - Mariel's teachers KNOW that she cannot have any of it - they wrap it up for her to take it home where I usually dispose of it. Mariel has learned that it is CRITICAL that she not eat these party items. If I know ahead of time - I will bring something for the teacher to give her instead of the sugar stuff.

Another mother I know has an arrangement with a teacher (who is also diabetic) to test her daughter's blood sugar before lunch - she packs her lunch every day - the teacher puts the BG reading on a sticky in the child's lunch box. The mother comes in at the end of lunch to see what her daughter ate and gives the insulin.

I am at the school everyday at lunch - and twice a day when she has gym. It has become my full time job - I had to give up on full time employment when she was diagnosed - I sincerely do not know how people do it that are single moms/dads or have to work. It was a huge adjustment for my husband and I losing my income - but really I had to! Unless your school is special - don't expect much support.



YOU NEED to have another meeting with a 504. You MUST request the NURSE, CAFETERIA MANAGER, TEACHERS that deal with your child, PRINCIPAL, GYM TEACHER.....They must adhere by the 504. Since your new at this I am sure it is difficult but if you put your foot down, then you will also have people the school district has trained to dispense insulin if needed (after lunch, before parties and even the glucagon pen...which if not trained they will just call the EMT's). As your child gets older....when standardized testing comes into play...you will need to ask for checking BS before testing...if it is a ? you will ask for adjusted test schedule (this is a BS number that you determine that your child does not focus well. As we all know stress causes a rise in BS and this may happen). You can also do this for regular testing as well. You need to also ask for extended make up time if school is missed..for example if the child misses 1 day then they have an extra day to make up the work you may ask for double or triple time. The first time the 504 is not followed you need to notify the principal, the person who disregarded the 504 and call another meeting. At this point if nothing is resolved you take it to the higher level which is usually a central office. Don't back down on this because it is important.

[Belinda]

As for school lunches....I have a very broad view of how this works...as a diabetic that was in school I could eat anything I wanted at lunch. As a grownup that teaches in school.....well let's just say they can eat as much as they want, or as little as they want and buy extra..juice drinks, gatorade, ice cream etc.....sometimes I look at what the kids are eating and it is so loaded in carbs and fat. I at one point spoke to my endo about this new job in the public school and he daid..." DON"T eat the lunches there, they are loaded with sodium , carbs and fat. Eat only there if you have forgotten your lunch.". I have abided by this and keep crackers, fruit cups and other handy lunch items in my classroom. You may also want to pack an ER lunch to stay in the teachers desk in case you and your child decides to pack on an on one of those days it is forgotten....it happens. I would put in a pack of PNB crackers, fruit cup, milk money or one of those heated cups of soup etc..... This is something that you premeasured and know the carbs. Since your child will be starting kindergarten in the fall it would be a wonderful idea to meet with the school staff in the spring. It is nothing like normal routine during the first week or two of school ....IT is CHAOS!!!!!! Please PM me if you have more specific questions I would be glad to help anyone with a child in the school system. If I don't know the answer I will call my special ed supervisor to get it for you.