As someone once said to me, they are happy with the no homemade goodies because they said they always has a fear of having something they had made making someone sick. They couldn't imagine the guilt they would experience if, for some reason, they made a class of kids sick.
I for one support the no home baked goods rule. Unless I know the home those goods are baked in. Is it clean, did they wash their hands first, pets... etc. I think its safer and smarter to go with store bought treats for schoola and save the home bakeing for family. I am sure it won't be a popular one but thats my opinion!
Our school has adopted this policy two years ago. We have an approved list of treats that we can take into classroom parties. We are allowed to make things for PTO Bake Sales and Cake Walk. The PTO only has to follow the approved list during school hours. At any PTO function after school we can provide any kind of treat we would like. The school system figures they are only reliable during school hours and after it is up to the parents of the students. We do have to advertise what kind of snacks we will have at after school activities.
It's sad to see our lives so regulated. My children don't want to bring store bought items to share with their friends, they want me to make the special cupcakes and cookies that they get at home. My son brags about Mom's special frosting she puts on the cupcakes( I make it with butter, milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar-no artificial flavorings or colorings there!). Granted there are some families that I look at and wonder about the cleanliness of their home, but I'm in the classroom a lot and I've never seen anyone bring anything that looked unappetizing. People who take the time to make something for their child's class want it to be special and want the kids to love it so their child can feel proud. However,
I'm not sure we should blame the schools for the situation. The blame falls with the people who tamper with the food and the people who sue because they want to make a million. Who do you think they'll file that lawsuit against-the stay-at-home, living on a tight budget mom or the big school district with the big insurance policy?
End of speech.
Tip for whatchadoin:
If you are forced to give up the home made cakes for the cake walk, you could try our method. We go to a local grocery store with a bakery and they make all the cakes for us at a great price. They are 6" single layer cakes and they decorate them with all their leftover decorating kits. They are really cute! We just send home forms and families donate the cakes.
Our school district is in the midst of adopting this policy also. It is mainly because when home baked goods are made and sent in, people do not know under what conditions they were made in. there are health code regulations etc, and it all gets very technical. But who knows if the person donating items has a "clean" kitchen. Or if the kids stuck their dirty fingers in the batter or icing for example. or licked the spoon and put it back into the mix.
I or my children have never gotten a case of salomanila (spelling?) from cupcakes, what a shame to take so much simple fun out of the school experience.
Granted at our festival every year, the cake walk could not even take place if this goes thru. It would have to be all store bought items.
However, from years past, some of those items donated for the cake walk, looks alittle scary to eat.
Either way, we will just have to deal with it. Many things in life could be worse.
It's time for moms across the country to UNITE and take back our God-given right to send cupcakes in to our children!!!!I'm relieved to see that other parents are tired of the constant regulations on EVERYTHING! Do children have allergies? ABSOLUTELY, yes they do. When a child does have allergies to nuts or chocolate, by the time that child is 6 or 7, they pretty much are aware of what they can and cannot eat. How is it that the over-processed, preservative-laden brownies that are purchased at the store are safer than the brownies that I make at home? I know that in my kitchen, there are no mice, roaches, or other disgusting critters running around, unlike EVERY factory across the U.S. (Not to mention, that when goodies such as Little Debbie cupcakes and Brownies are made, it's on the same machinery that processes the peanut bars, etc. therefore any child with a peanut allergy CANNOT have the Little Debbie brownies either.) It's all about accountability, folks, and unfortunately for our children and ourselves, the public schools are NOT willing to be held accountable in the event that a homemade cookie made someone's child ill. They'd rather be able to blame the corporation.
Okay, now I'm off my soapbox.
Rock on, cupcake Mamas...
