As Marie Antoinette famously said – Let them eat cake! Personally, I send along plain ol’ milk chocolate Freddo Frogs. I just think they’re more kid friendly and easier for me of course! . Some kids don’t like extra bits in their chocolate (my child is one of them – no caramellos etc for him). But for those that want to, let the eat cake! You’re only a kid once.

Let the kids eat them outside.
Buy mini cupcakes or bite sized treats.
Kids are going to get excited about any treat they aren’t usually allowed to have at school.
I’m just going to assume this teacher can’t be bothered to help the kids clean up or has a personal issue with cupcakes

Part of the problem is that since COVID, you can’t take home made things in, they all have to be packaged. And so many packaged cupcakes have those ridiculous globs of icing on them. But there are such easy solutions – give them out at the end of the day, for example.

Why is this random American teacher getting attention for this? It is one person’s opinion, not a professional one, and it is the opinion of someone in a completely different school system and climate. Aussie classrooms just eat the cupcakes on the deck on the grass so there is no clean up!

I don’t see a problem with cupcakes, but I think they should be mini-sized for Kinder children.

So use less icing. Then there’s less mess. Always someone gotta be a Karen about life’s joys

Only in the USA another teacher that did not have a childhood but will probably be in need of a punch in the nose.Can we get rid of the American trash talk and do Aussie only. If we did we would not have these type of stupid stories and have life as we do here

I can understand not bringing them if there’s a child who is allergic to some of these ingredients but because they make a mess? That’s what makes the birthday child’s day isn’t it

I am so pleased that my children are passed the age of getting and giving presents at school for their birthdays. The whole situation is a minefield these days with all the allergies and problems various children have that we all have to avoid so as not to upset them one way or another.

Parents at my school send a wide variety of things anyway.

They can just hand them out at the end of day just before pickup and they can be eaten at home. Kids are happy and so are teachers.

I can understand the mess but some of the alternatives seem way messier! She could opt to celebrate at the end ofvthevday or before recess/lunch so the kids can eat them outside if she’s worried about mess in the classroom

I can understand where she is coming from and she has offered other alternatives instead, but ice-cream would be very hard to transport and serve as she is expecting it to all be ready to go. I mean the other treats like brownies are great and less messy, but they still aren’t the same as something resembling cake – it’s a tradition. I can also understand the kids wanting to choose. I do think the parents need to work with the teacher on this one though as she has given reasonable alternatives.

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  • • mom93821 replied
    • 25 Sep 2024 , 5:25 am

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  I am somewhat surprised by one of the other options of ice cream as it can melt and drip on floors and clothes and become quite sticky. I imagine it would be quite labour intensive too with scooping ice cream into cones and preparing and serving the ice cream to a class full of young children.

I guess it makes sense what she is saying. After all, the parents aren’t there to clean up the mess are they?

My grandkids school canteen actually do this Birthday thing for the kids a iceblock for each child in that class instead of cakes.

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  • • mom475759 replied
    • 24 Sep 2024 , 10:23 am

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  My kids school also hands out ice blocks to the class for a child’s birthday.

After Covid the rules about what you can bring have become more strict. At my kids school home baked goods can’t be brought in anymore. Personally I don’t think cupcakes are not as suitable as there are always kids with dietary requirements like gluten free and diary free, egg free etc

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  • • Ellen replied
    • 24 Sep 2024 , 8:06 am

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  My daughter has a diary and gluten intolerance and has often missed out so I always had her bringing in other things. The individual wrapped popcorn bags have always been popular and the gluten free vegan chips have been a big hit too. I’ve also made small party bags with a small fidget toy, hand ball, pen and little things like that. K- mart has a good assortment

My kids LOVE getting cupcakes at school. When I ask them about their day this is the first thing they’ll mention; whose birthday it was and what sort of cupcake they got lol. The teachers usually give them to the kids either at recess or the end of the day so they aren’t eating them inside anyway.

Celebrating a birthday is such a wonderful event and celebration at school and to be able to share a sweet treat with classmates is very special. The clever strategy of giving a cupcake to each child at the end of the school day makes good sense for the children and the teacher.

My kids teacher always give the cupcakes at home time which they can eat on their way home

I agree that cupcakes are not the best idea, as kids only seem to eat the icing never the cake. As someone who suffers very badly from food allergies. That also makes it not only dangerous for some children with the ingredients, but also cross contamination from diffrent peoples kitchens.