Really, No Play-Doh??!! REVISED

Ugh, it's one of those things that's so frustrating - a staple in every pre-school classroom, loved by all children, but sadly, it contains wheat - yes, I'm talking about Play-Doh!

Our Play-Doh Family

When we arrrived at Jack's summer camp this morning, the kiddos in his classroom where happily molding their Play-Doh and using their cutters to make their creations.  And I just thought to myself, "Nuts!" - what do I do - let him play with the other kids as normal and hope he doesn't eat any or tell the teacher, "I'm sorry he can't play with Play-Doh - is there something else he could do?"  Well, maybe I should of done the latter, but I chose to let him play with it.  I informed the teacher that Play-Doh has wheat in it, so washing hands thoroughly is a must.  Was this the right decision, I don't know...

I feel like we need to choose our battles.  Jack is going to feel isolated throughout his life due to his gluten-free diet, so why not a little Play-Doh once in awhile.  I've chosen to allow Jack to play with Play-Doh - he doesn't actually eat the Play-Doh, so I feel that it's okay.  Washing hands thoroughly is very important and I will make sure his teachers will understand how important that is.  I know other parents of children with celiac disease would disagree with this and by all means, I'm not saying your child should play with Play-Doh, I've just chosen to allow Jack to do so.  Now, do I want him playing with it everyday - NO, but occasional Play-Doh is okay with me.

I've decided after thinking it over and seeing that other parents of gluten-free children prefer their children not to play with it, that I too have decided not to allow it. Jack has had no problems with playing with it occasionally at school, but really with Celiac Disease, it's really hard to know if playing w/ Play Doh is a hazard - I mean it does have wheat in it, so he really shouldn't play with it. He's not eating it, but after washing his hands he may have some still under his nails...

So I've opted to provide Crayola Model Magic instead along with some of his own cutters/tools to keep seperate from others.

To be on the safe side it definitely makes sense - again, he may only play with it a handful of time throughout the year - but a handful of times adds up!