Can I ask a caregiver not to bring a specific nut to the playground?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve told the caregiver (made the mistake of suggesting my daughter share a snack - the container had that nut in it prior to a new type of snack being poured in — lesson learned!!). The caregiver brought some again. I think my daughter also has a reaction when she touches surfaces that have the slightest amount of residue though. We are going to do a skin test in addition to the bloodwork we’ve already done.

Watch your kids at all times and DON'T SHARE SNACKS. This is allergy parenting 101, by the way.

[Anonymous]

OP, if the issue is that your kid can’t be around playground equipment that has nut oil, then I don’t see how you can approach the other caregiver unless you police all the snacks that are on the playground before and during your child’s. Otherwise, the argument doesn’t hold much water.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know but I just wanted to say I’m sorry you have to deal with this. I have horrible allergies but luckily nuts are not one of them. That sounds awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nut allergy parent here:
That would be inappropriate.

At this age, you need to keep eyes on your kid at ALL TIMES.

When the snack comes out, you can casually mention, "I'm going to take Larlo to the swings as he has a really severe pistachio allergy." Maybe the caregiver will keep that in mind, maybe not.

You need to start teaching your kid now:
1) We don't accept snacks from other kids, ever
2) We always check for nuts when an adult offers a snack

Nuts will always be a part of the world, OP.

+1

Mom of a PN-allergic kid

[Anonymous]

Do not ask or expect other people to take care of your kid in this way. They can be expected to F it up because it is not their kid. Even the parents of kids who've already been in the emergency room and have had to use the epi pen F it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do not ask or expect other people to take care of your kid in this way. They can be expected to F it up because it is not their kid. Even the parents of kids who've already been in the emergency room and have had to use the epi pen F it up.

+1

It's so stressful and people forget stuff all the time. In this case, even if the nanny was really on it and never brought that nut to the playground again, what if one day the kid is with one of his parents and they have no idea and bring it? And by then your kid is used to sharing snacks and thinks it's safe?

Just teach your child to never share snacks. It's really not a big deal. They can share toys or learn to take turns on the equipment. Your child has a food sensitivity and needs to get used to it, and that means they have a special rule that they don't share. Just keep reinforcing and watching your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nut allergy parent here:
That would be inappropriate.

At this age, you need to keep eyes on your kid at ALL TIMES.

When the snack comes out, you can casually mention, "I'm going to take Larlo to the swings as he has a really severe pistachio allergy." Maybe the caregiver will keep that in mind, maybe not.

You need to start teaching your kid now:
1) We don't accept snacks from other kids, ever
2) We always check for nuts when an adult offers a snack

Nuts will always be a part of the world, OP.

+1 from another nut allergy parent. This is actually a great chance to teach your child what to do.

[Anonymous]

You could ask them not to bring that snack to the playground and it will probably mean the caregiver will avoid you and your child for the foreseeable future. The type of mom to demand a stranger at a park change their child’s dietary habits is not likely to make many friends. But the upshot is that the child won’t have to worry about nut-eaters I guess.

[Anonymous]

As a parent of a now-grown child with severe nut allergies, you all can stop lecturing OP that the world has nuts in it. She knows. Please. She said clearly that she’s specifically worried about the residue on the equipment.

OP, my advice would be to definitely check with your child’s doctor. I was worried about kids eating nuts around mine when my kid was little but the doctor reassured us that skin contact in that scenario (playgrounds, doorknobs, handrails, displays in museum etc) was unlikely to cause an anaphylactic reaction based on my child’s testing. If you find that surface trace amounts cause your child to react, then you can plan accordingly. It definitely helped us feel more comfortable in these types of scenarios.

Most people are kind and understanding but some can be judgmental and combative (like some of the people on this thread) which is annoying.

[Anonymous]

My kids don’t have but alllergies. If another parent said something like “I’m sorry but my kid is really allergic to almonds. Could I ask you to have larlo wipe his hands after snack? I have wipes if you need them.” Unless my kid had restructured eating, I wouldn’t bring that snack any more after that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent of a now-grown child with severe nut allergies, you all can stop lecturing OP that the world has nuts in it. She knows. Please. She said clearly that she’s specifically worried about the residue on the equipment.

OP, my advice would be to definitely check with your child’s doctor. I was worried about kids eating nuts around mine when my kid was little but the doctor reassured us that skin contact in that scenario (playgrounds, doorknobs, handrails, displays in museum etc) was unlikely to cause an anaphylactic reaction based on my child’s testing. If you find that surface trace amounts cause your child to react, then you can plan accordingly. It definitely helped us feel more comfortable in these types of scenarios.

Most people are kind and understanding but some can be judgmental and combative (like some of the people on this thread) which is annoying.

Oh please. Just the fact that OP’s kid and this kid have shared a snack before shows that OP doesn’t take this diagnosis seriously in the most directly harmful way, which is ingestion. If your alarm bell wasn’t dinging at that, I don’t know what to tell you.

[Anonymous]

I would really want to know so please do find a way to say something. I wouldn’t ask them not to, I would just mention the allergy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, if the issue is that your kid can’t be around playground equipment that has nut oil, then I don’t see how you can approach the other caregiver unless you police all the snacks that are on the playground before and during your child’s. Otherwise, the argument doesn’t hold much water.

+1
Assume that someone on the playground that day had nuts. Otherwise, you just teach your kid not to share snacks, watch him to make sure he doesn't share snacks, and, if the other person offers, explain that your kid has an allergy to that kind of nut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do not ask or expect other people to take care of your kid in this way. They can be expected to F it up because it is not their kid. Even the parents of kids who've already been in the emergency room and have had to use the epi pen F it up.

+1

It's so stressful and people forget stuff all the time. In this case, even if the nanny was really on it and never brought that nut to the playground again, what if one day the kid is with one of his parents and they have no idea and bring it? And by then your kid is used to sharing snacks and thinks it's safe?

Just teach your child to never share snacks. It's really not a big deal. They can share toys or learn to take turns on the equipment. Your child has a food sensitivity and needs to get used to it, and that means they have a special rule that they don't share. Just keep reinforcing and watching your kid.

+1
You can't expect other parents and caregivers to remember the allergies of all the kids they encounter on the playground, not to mention all the other places kids hang out. That's unreasonable. And anytime there could be a new kid, or a different parent, or someone could just forget or have a snack left from an earlier outing or whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent of a now-grown child with severe nut allergies, you all can stop lecturing OP that the world has nuts in it. She knows. Please. She said clearly that she’s specifically worried about the residue on the equipment.

OP, my advice would be to definitely check with your child’s doctor. I was worried about kids eating nuts around mine when my kid was little but the doctor reassured us that skin contact in that scenario (playgrounds, doorknobs, handrails, displays in museum etc) was unlikely to cause an anaphylactic reaction based on my child’s testing. If you find that surface trace amounts cause your child to react, then you can plan accordingly. It definitely helped us feel more comfortable in these types of scenarios.

Most people are kind and understanding but some can be judgmental and combative (like some of the people on this thread) which is annoying.

If the child is truly that allergic they need to be kept home.