P & M Clark wrote:
  I threw out
> the idea that maybe instead of kids
> bringing in treats on their birthday they could buy a gift or book for the
> classroom.  She loved the idea and sent a note home asking parents to donate
> a gift so that it can be enjoyed long term.
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Kindergarten started Sept 1 for my daughter with dairy, nut and peanut
allergies.  The school district already had in place "regulations" for
Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade birthday parties that are going to make
things easier for my daughter. They suggest that teachers discourage
birthday treats and instead ask the birthday child to bring in a
favorite book from home to be read to the class.  The birthday child
also prepares a poster about themselves (favorite color, hobbies, pets,
etc.) that they present to the class and then it gets hung in a place of
honor for the week. This keeps school birthday celebrations affordable
for each family and shifts the emphasis away from food and onto the
birthday child. It also helps not to have pink cupcake icing ground into
the new classroom carpets!  With 4 "formal" classroom parties a year
that involve food (Halloween, Winter Holidays, valentine's day and End
of the Year), 25 additional food celebrations during the course of the
year are too much (especially considering that each child brings a snack
from home each day).  The school also likes to use snack time each day
as a teaching unit on nutrition; consequently, the children are
encouraged to bring a "healthy" snack each day. The school is also
cognizant that parents are increasingly concerned with what their
children eat each day--not only do they have to consider food allergies,
but there are many parents who do not want their children to eat refined
sugar or who want their children to follow a macrobiotic diet, etc.  In
addition, in the early grades, there are so many picky eaters that it is
very difficult to come up with a "universal" birthday treat. I encourage
others to talk to their schools about this issue.