My own eating habits? ummmmm....

In my post from yesterday I did a little ranting about food issues, specifically about parents who dislike the fact that our gradeschool has a new policy about providing healthy snacks/treats for birthdays and holiday parties.

But, can I just say, that my own eating habits have gone down the toilet since I've had kids??  And that they've probably gotten worse since the entrance of Prader-Willi Syndrome into our lives?

So really, I probably shouldn't be very judgemental of these other parents who are upset that they can't provide junkfood for their child's classroom, because God knows I make poor eating choices for myself all day long.  Especially after my kids are in bed, because then I can eat whatever I choose without feeling guilty, or having to 'hide' it from S.    That has been a consequence of the PWS diagnosis:  it has definitely influenced what foods I feel I am entitled to eat, since I feel I sort of  'deprive myself' all day long for S's sake.  It's complicated, and of course I may very well have gotten to this point even without having to adjust to PWS. 

I guess when it comes to this subject of what kinds of snacks or treats our kids eat at school, in the context of school parties especially, I am perfectly okay with a school district saying "enough already" and placing some guidelines about what parents can provide.  I've been in K's classroom enough times, and seen what kinds of food they are given to eat (quickly) before getting ready to go home, to dread these scenarios for S.
 
Because what am I supposed to suggest as alternatives for her, when these situations come up next year?  Keep her out of school that day?  Find some way for her to not be in the classroom for the eating part of the day?  Pick her up early, and make it obvious to her and everyone else that she's missing part of the activities? This is the very, very fine line that PWS parents have to walk:  to what extent do you allow the syndrome to influence the mainstreaming of your child's education?  I want S to have an educational experience that puts her with the other students as much as possible - but not if that puts her in an unsafe situation, where she eats foods that cause her to gain two pounds in one day.  And not if being around that kind of junkfood causes her so much anxiety that the day isn't fun for her anyway.  Last Friday in her classroom, they did do some Halloween-type things, and she wore her costume to school (I have to try and convince her to pick a non-dress costume next year - I was having waves of anxiety, thinking about her going up and down the stairs with that thing on!).  But just the change in the regular routine was enough to unsettle her, and I could tell she was out of sorts when I met up with her after the little costume parade they had.  I'm glad she is able to participate in these kinds of situations...but that's now, when the "Extreme Junkfood" school parties haven't even started yet.

As for me and my poor eating habits...tonight I've had ice cream, and now I will have to exert some extreme self-control to keep out of the Halloween candy.  S. does still go trick-or-treating, only because a)she's cognitively able to want to participate in the whole thing, and b) she generally forgets about all the candy once I've put it out of sight.  I, however, need to stay out of the candy...eating this late in the day is especially bad!

JB