Do you allow your LO to 'cheat' when it's not a true allergy?

[marensmama]

Hayden and our little family are trialling gluten free and hoping it helps her severe reflux.  Obviously when Maren is at birthday parties, she'll be able to have non-gluten free cake etc. as she has no known issues with gluten.  Hayden on the other hand has health issues but I'd hate to have her be 'that kid' at the party.  I guess it remains to be seen how much of an impact gluten has on her diet, but do you let your child cheat at a party or special occasion when you're not dealing with an actual allergy?  Just thinking ahead and overanalyzing as per normal. 

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Nope!  But then she is gluten, dairy and egg free...but even if it was just one or two of those I still wouldn't because she pays for it in the end.  We keep a stash of safe cupcakes in the freezer and icing/sprinkles on hand for her in a pinch.  Right now I mostly attend parties with her, so I can keep an eye on her (she doesn't realize the difference between say, a safe and non-safe hotdog). 

Way back when we first went GF we let her have a chicken nugget happy meal while we were travelling and I learned my lesson then.  Gut aches, crabby, cranky, diarrhea...yeah, not fun for her or us!

[marensmama]

Well I'm presuming of course that the GF diet won't make a huge impact on Hayden's immediate comfort level.  I know it'll be better for her, but I don't know how much of a difference it will make to her daily life.  So I guess it's a silly question to ask until I have more experience with it.  Now do you feed Masyn the same as Spencer at home but allow her different things while you're out?

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

No, the only things we feed the same of are snack foods that would be eaten anywhere other than the table (pretzels, cheerios, rice krispie squares) and maybe get left laying around for Spencer to pick up (if a dog doesn't get to it first!).  Oh, and when I make homemade chicken nuggets I use gf flour to bread them as we don't notice the taste difference at all and it is just easier.  Spencer just has too many restrictions for me to bother to make Masyn follow it too.

If they were anaphylactic allergies I might change my tune on that-Spencer has never eaten nuts or any product that says "may contain" and we don't have any of that in the house.  I have 2 nephews and a niece that have nut allergies and they are here often enough that I don't feel comfortable with stuff in the house.

[Buntybear]

Hi, as you say it is too early to say for you I guess. It will depend on the severity - if any - of any reaction she has to gluten. If mild, then maybe let her have cake every once in a while. If not, she may well not want it anyway.

[Katet]

Having decided on the weekend to indulge in a bread roll (I do eat trace wheat & Gluten) & have come down with a nasty cold & every time I do I always seem to be going "it could be because I ate bread" or the like... I won't be cheating again. So I know that if I removed something from the diet of the boys because they were better off without it (like  when we needed to be limiting DS1's dairy) I know I wouldn't let them cheat