Illinois Test of Basic Meals

Between Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and this article about a school in Chicago Public Schools, it looks like some people are pushing a policy that we must allow the schools to feed our children. I have to say, this is one of the more bizarre governmental controls that I've seen. If we can't be trusted to provide our children with a healthy lunch, can we be trusted?

In the Chicago Public School article, the author clearly states that children with food allergies or medical issues are allowed to bring their own lunches. I wonder, though, what about children with food sensitivities, unproven in an allergist's office? What about children who's autism (or other disorder) is more easily managed when certain food groups are eliminated?

The article also states that many children choose not to eat the school lunch, leaving them with no choice but to go hungry. I am quite sure at least two of my children would make this choice on a regular basis, which would leave them starving and me furious! Do you think parents like me could bypass the rule if we have an above average score on the Illinois Test of Basic Meals?

Call me paranoid...

I just read an article about a girl who had an asthma attack at school. She went to the nurse's office, but the person in the office had no medical training and did not administer her medicine. By the time the paramedics came, she was in cardiac arrest and died a few minutes later.

This article attributed the problem to the staff member's lack of medical training, although I would go a step further and say that the staff member wasn't just lacking in medical training, but in training altogether. The child had a Health Plan which stated exactly what to do in the case of an emergency--why wasn't this simply pulled, referenced, and followed? Every staff member at a school should be capable of doing that.

So, today's To Do List includes visiting with the school nurse to find out who knows how to access the Health Plans and medicine and what happens in an emergency if she is incapacitated. Call me paranoid if you will--but paranoia about mundane things is what keeps my baby alive, after all.