Because of my son's multiple severe food allergies we also send in cases of hand sanitizer for his classroom and cases of Clorox wipes for his desk in the cafeteria. The kids in his class are required to use hand sanitizer after lunch and recess and also after any in-class food. The cafeteria crew uses Clorox wipes on his desk so there is no cross contamination from milk spills at the lunch tables (his desk sits up against the end of his class's lunch table). So yeah, we spend a TON of money on supplies for school ... and that's in addition to the requested list from the teacher. :)

We are fortunate to provide for my son's school supplies this school year but many Baltimore City students will be lucky to get some new pencils and a few notebooks. I work for an organization collecting donations of school supplies and would be thrilled to accept anything that your readers were willing to contribute for our drive. Camp Fire USA Baltimore: www.discovercfusa.org

I heard a blurb on the news this week about "outrageous" school supply lists and it made me laugh. My child has been in school for 5 years in Alaska, and the school supply lists have always included things like Kleenex and Hand Sanitizer. Didn't realize this was unusual!

I went to, and now teach at, a small catholic school. I was always required to bring these things and my students are now. Doesn't seem strange to me. It really takes these things to make our school run. As a teacher i know i am constantly using my own money for thse things when they run out too. My husband went to public school and he thinks this is totally weird.

Hate to say this Heather, but maybe your kid should stay home? Sounds like his allergies are infringing on the rights of his classmates for a normal school experience. I would not allow my child to be in that situtation. Hand sanitizer is
(a) bad for the environment (encourages the development of super-germs)
(b) potentially poisonous
(c) probably subconciously sending the message to other kids that they are somehow dirty. No kid needs that emotional burden

I'm with CMD. Haven't things like paper towels and sanitizer been on the lists for years now?

Several friends had to buy their elementary age kids flash drives. The most complicated thing my kindergartner needed was folders in specific colors.

I shop a season ahead for clothes too and rarely pay full price for them, and that saves a ton of money. Last week, during tax free week, I bought enough skirts, tanks, shorts and shirts for my daughter for next summer, what would have been well over q100 dollars full price, for around 30.

CMD - Well, 20 yrs ago all you had to provide was your own personal supplies (i.e., paper, pens, pencils, folders). Now the lists are supplies for the classroom. I know my parents didn't have to buy kleenex, hand soap, etc.

Our list includes ziploc bags, dry erase markers, crayons, hand soap, baby wipes, kleenex and hand sanitizer.

In response to parent to three:

I don’t take offense at your comment since I assume you mean it in the spirit of discussion. Just to clarify a few things …

If the students were able to wash their hands with soap after lunch, the use of hand sanitizer wouldn’t be necessary. But I think we all know that isn’t going to happen. :) My son is allergic to (among other things) the touch of milk (and any foods that include milk) and most kids get milk on their hands during lunch. If another child were to touch Kiddo with milk on their hands he’d need an immediate dose of Benadryl and potentially an injection from his EpiPen, followed by a trip to the hospital.

Since the classroom teacher already asks parents to bring in hand sanitizer for general classroom use, he/she simply asks us to bring in additional bottles so the class can be a bit extra careful. In Kiddo’s school every classroom has hand sanitizer, so though I agree that it isn’t the BEST solution, it is one that the school is on board with.

As for keeping Kiddo home, my husband and I have discussed it. In addition to his allergies Kiddo also has a feeding tube and that requires a bit of extra care from the school nurse each day (only to help him mix the formula – he can hook up the tube and disconnect it on his own). However, in all other ways he is a completely normal 8-year-old boy. He plays ice hockey, is a Cub Scout, and does all the things kids his age do. We feel that Kiddo needs to be in school so he can learn to be independent and deal with his allergies and feeding tube on his own. So far there has been absolutely no negative response from other students or their parents (I’ve asked about it several times).

In the end, all of us need to learn how to deal with and relate to people who are different than us in some way. In Kiddo’s case, his classmates now understand a great deal about food allergies and cross-contamination. That knowledge will surely help them build empathy for others with special needs, and that is never a bad thing.

Heather,

I wasn't commenting for the sake of disucssion, I meant what I said. Your son's condition is much too severe for school children to feel that they have to deal with it. Also, alcohol gels will not wipe out all peanut oil/residue so relying on that is not good.

Kids can be empathetic without having to be responsible for another's health. However, your son's condition infringes on the rights of other children in the class. I for one will not let my son use alcohol gels - did you know that they're considered by the FDA to be over-the counter drugs?

We have a disabled child in our family who goes to a special program. People have to stop thinking that everyone is 'equal' in every way - they're not.

A public school is a very risky place for someone like your son. Despite all the precautions it would be very easy for him to have a reaction. Then there is the conflict with the needs of others - my son needs protein and HAS to eat peanuts to get enough.

To mother of three -

There are no restrictions on what the other students in school can eat, so your comment about your child needing to eat peanuts doesn't relate here.

Regarding the hand sanitizer gels, the school requires all classrooms to have bottles on hand. This rule was in place before my son began attending the school, so again, your comment doesn't relate here; it is a school regulation and not of my doing. If your child is not allowed to use gels, that is your decision; it doesn't mean that it won't be made available to others in the class as requested by the teacher/staff. If our children went to the same school, the solution would be to either have them in separate classrooms so your child wouldn't need to use the gel or to simply have more handwashing done.

My son's mental and physical abilities are not impaired in any way. He is also extremely independent and able to handle his allergies in (almost) any environment - after all, he lives with them every day, and the rest of the world isn't exactly allergen free. He is completely able to attend public school and he has every right to do so.

I fail to see how his condition infringes on the other students. Not only that, but if it did, I'm sure parents would be complaining - and they are not, nor have there been any complaints over the past three years.

In addition, he's been at his current school for three years without any severe incidents. That doesn't mean nothing could happen, but things go could go wrong anywhere - keeping him out of school won't solve the problem.

Wow, I'm kind of blown away by "mother of three's" position. The public school system exists to serve the public, and makes hundreds of accommodations for thousands of students each day. Shall we make public school only available to healthy children of normal IQ while we're at it? Then we won't have to bother with any of those pesky differences among children.

How ridiculous.

Children with severe food allergies are pretty common these days. Expecting all food allergic children to be homeschooled in ridiculous and completely unreasonable. A food allergy is not a disability. It also doesn't sound like Heather is being unreasonable with the school (such as demanding that all milk products be banned from the entire school). Children have to learn empathy and tolerance from somewhere and school is a great place for that.

Apparently mother of 3 has complete access to Heather's child's medical records in order to make such a statement.

One of my kids has a peanut allergic child in her class. None of the other parents have a problem with taking some extra precautions to make sure that child stays safe. We look out for her kid and that parents looks out for ours. Whatever happened to working as a team?

And, for the record, the Mayo Clinic reports that alcohol based hand sanitizers are NOT a risk for creating resistent bacteria.

Sometimes I just wonder how we survived our childhood. There were no hand sanitizers but plain soap. Classic soap (not the liquid one) is better that hand sanitizers and wipes but I guess there are more pratical for children and teachers as well. Still it would be better and more cheaper to get back to the old habit of washing our hands with plain soap (at our home we use it).
As far as the growing school supply list I just wonder how some parents with low income manage to buy all this stuff for their kids! Especially because it's something you have to buy all year long.

April, there was a time when some babies died and some toddlers were always sickly until they succumbed to a "normal" childhood disease and no one knew exactly why. It was written off as "God's Will". For a long time, now, I've suspect food allergies. Both my grandmothers lost babies or small children.

When I was a kid, we had "classic soap" in the school restrooms. I didn't wash my hands. Too busy. Better things to do than stand in line waiting while some dippy girl played with the water and the sink. I survived although, upon reflection it seems that I had a cold just all of the time.

Mother of three-
As the mom of one of Kiddo's (Heather J's son) best friends, I can assure you, her son is NOT infringing upon the rights of my son. In fact, we have had Kiddo over to our house a few times, and he interacts well with my 11 year old daughter, as well as my 5 year old nephew (whom I babysit), and after a few questions about what they can't eat around him, and some curiosity about his port, they all played together like they were old friends. I'm quite certain that the disabled child you mention is not your own child, or you would be way more understanding of the situation.