Can My Son Play With DRY gluten Pasta

[bennutley]

The nursery where my son goes to plays with pasta shapes and was just wondering is this the same with the playdoh.. the nursery has changed the playdoh to gluten free so there is no traces and washed all the tools to play with it but can he still play with the pasta

[tug_6]

the first thing children do when playing is to put whatever they [play with into their mouths. so i would say that playing with dry pasta is not a good idea.

[Hidden]

Why not donate a bag of gf pasta shapes to the nursery? it would eliminate the issue and you can buy all sorts of coloured and shaped gf pasta from Orgran.

It might be worth investing in a few bags so that all the toddlers play with the same pasta as when you consider your sons health and the cost of a nursery place it'd be a bargain.

[bennutley]

Thanks Tug and Jerry The nursery was unsure and i thought i would ask on here. Hes only just been diagnosed so im all new to the process. The nursery have already changed their playdoh and ill take some pasta in for them

[carona]

Hiya bennutley, think the only safe answer to your question, would be no.

As the chances of a gluten ingestion would be high.

I used to work in nurseries, schools & colleges supporting students with additional needs in & out of the classroom.

One thing that all young children have in common, is that they will not only suck their own fingers. They will also chew, suck & mouth the things they are playing with.

Even the things they aren't supposed to be playing with.

That's where eyes in the back of your head too, would come in very handy eh.

If the staff have been clued up enough to provide GF playdough- we as a staff used to make up our own anyway. As so much cheaper to replace. Especially if any of the little ones have come into school with contagious bugs etc.

Just a case of substituting the flour for the GF kind. So will be easy enough for the class teacher to get some GF pasta out of their classroom allowance.

They have a duty to provide a safe environment for all their pupils.

Also, to have made the effort of cleaning all the classroom equipment to avoid any risks for your son. That would all be undone the moment just one child went from the playdough to the pasta, without washing their hands in between.

Good luck & I am sure any issues will be dealt with by class staff if you mention your concerns.

You not only want your son to be happy & well at nursery.

You need the reassurance as a parent, that all classroom staff are aware of his dietary requirements

[sassyl]

Carona, a great reply.

As a teacher, I have had coeliac children in KS1 before and made sure that the classroom is always GF.

Other things to watch out for is frequent cookery events if your son's nursery is anything like our school. Ask his teacher for a meeting and go through all the cans and can'ts with her/him. I'm sure they will go out of their way to make things appropriate for your son.

Some of the activities we've been up to this year (with our coeliac child now in Y3 and not my class) is cake making for Maths, an afternoon tea for parents (with GF soup, fruit crumble, some cakes, bread) and tomorrow is Greek Day, so I have the car loaded with houmous and pitta bread! (Yes, his is GF). We always make sure our child can join in with everything.

Remind your son's teacher that when they are having a shared food event your son will need to select first. Make sure that they know to always say to the whole class 'ask your parent's before you eat this ---- little Johnny brought in for his birthday'. Make sure that when they are cooking or decorating biscuits etc that the sprinkles, silver balls, ..., need to be checked to see if they are GF too.

Don't be afraid to question and approach the teacher either! We all have children's well being and best interest at heart. And repeat the teacher meeting every year as your son progresses through school. You would be amazed how often gluten turns up in lessons!