How does your child's school celebrate birthdays?
Back in my day, parents brought in cupcakes or cookies to school to celebrate their child's birthday. These days with allergies being an issue plus the importance placed on eating a healthy diet, many schools have had to get creative with what they allow students to do.
At my kids' school, younger children can pass out treat bags at the end of the day for kids to bring home, while the older students are allowed to bring in sweet treats to share (nut free, of course!).
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My son got a crown with his name on it and everyone in his class sang happy birthday.
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At our elementary school, every child gets a pencil and they make an annoucement that it is their birthday on the loud speaker. You can also pay the school $10 and they will buy a book for the school library. They will then add a page in the book that says donated by your child's name and through the birthday club.
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At my kids' elementary school, they mention each child's birthday in the morning announcements. For younger kids, treats can be sent in or the parent can give each child a small gift. They do offer the option of a library book to donate, but the parent has to pay the fee.
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I love the birthday morning announcement! I might have to suggest that one at our school.
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It's free and makes the child feel special to have their name read over the loudspeaker and other kids will know, and can wish them a happy birthday too!
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Our school mentions the birthdays of the day on the morning announcements as well. We are unable to send any kind of treats, balloons, etc in. Parents at our school usually choose their child's birthday to go have lunch with them in the cafeteria - they can bring their own child (there's a strict no sharing food rule because of food allergies) a meal from their favorite restaurant or they can go through the cafeteria line with them and buy a school lunch.
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Do parents of elementary school children miss the old days when we brought in treats, or do you prefer it this way? I'm kind of bummed about the trend to end all sweets in school! But my daughter isn't old enough yet for it to pertain to us.
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I agree; I love a birthday treat! Luckily, our public elementary school still allows treats - we just need to send in an ingredient list for the nurse to check beforehand and they have to be nut-free. our local grocery store always has gluten-free cupcakes available, so it's an easy option to check off another common allergen as well.
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I loved the sweet treat as a kid, but guess I understand why they don't allow it now. Way too many allergies at the schools than there were back in the day.
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My kids both have summer birthdays so usually they get lumped in with all the kids that celebrate over the summer on a specific day the teacher picks except once in a while when their birthday may fall on the first day of school When they were younger they would get a crown and maybe a sticker to wear but now I think they just sing happy birthday in the older grades of elementary school.
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My kids' school does one birthday celebration each month. The parents of the kids with a birthday that month collaborate to bring in treats, favors, and decorations for the class during the regular snack time.
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Our school does not seem to be consistent and varies by class. If there are no allergies in the class then kids are usually able to bring in a sweet treat. Some teachers allow this while others don't. It's really up to the teachers and the allergies. It's become popular in our school for the birthday child to pick a special day for the class to celebrate their birthday. PJ day, stuffed animal day, crazy hair day and favorite sports team day seem to be the popular ones. My kids seem to like that too.
