The Sleepover Dilemna.

My daughter loves a good sleepover.

Indeed, sleepovers are a part of our life.

I had sleepovers as a child, my older sons grew up with sleepovers, and now my daughter regularly enjoys having friends stay overnight with us, or spending a night at a friends house. It's a real rite of passage and one I've always encouraged, knowing full well that it's one of the best ways to get to know her friends.

The Gluten Sensitive issue is a difficult one for sleepovers though. If the sleepover is at our house, how do I ensure that we have enough 'goodies' to make the occasion fun? If it's at the other persons' house, how do I impress upon them that Darling Daughter must avoid Gluten products. Insisting seems bossy, sending her own food seems snooty, and having her starve is just not an option. I find too, that whilst many of the families she stays with do all they can to accomodate her sensitivity, there are some who either don't understand or don't believe there's an issue.

She doesn't react severely, so where's the problem?

A recent sleepover meant that upon her return home, she was sluggish, irritable and out of sorts. She confirmed that she'd had a 'normal' wrap and a choc chip muffin, which in the scheme of things, shouldn't matter too much. But where she noticed the difference was at a theatre rehearsal where she found she simply could not concentrate and yawned constantly, feeling overwhelmed and fatigued.

Now you could argue that that's a typical by-product of a good sleepover, but it's more than that. All of those symptoms are typical of gluten intake in someone who has sensitivity to the product, and she is such a creature of habit that no matter where she is, she's asleep by nine and awake at seven.

I've yet to find the ideal, diplomatic solution to this problem and would welcome any advice or comments.