Reply to Son has multiple food allergies: daycare vs in home care vs nanny

Forum Index » Preschool and Daycare Discussion

Reply to "Son has multiple food allergies: daycare vs in home care vs nanny"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]My son has peanut and treenut allergies and has been in daycare since he was 6 months old, though we didn't find out about the allergies until he was 15 months old (diagnosed via skin test- which is controversial anyway- and several ingestion and contact reactions).

His daycare is nut-free.  My  kids are also vegetarian, so I send in their entrees when that day's lunch is meaty, but I do trust the daycare to feed them snacks, which should be vetted for nut contamination.  We haven't had an issue yet.

However, I will say that I don't completely trust them to be as vigilant as I would be. Sometimes, the teachers will bring in something unannounced.  The other day, it was red velvet cupcakes that my son (who is now almost 3) was pawing at.  It did have a cross-contamination warning on it, so they didn't let him have any.  However, I was annoyed that the cupcakes were left on a table within reach of my son (like I said, he was touching the box when I walked in, so technically he could've helped himself).  Also, some kids brought in candy for Valentine's Day and someone included M&Ms, which are a big no-no for kids with nut allergies, and the school didn't catch that.  So, I keep a bag full of safe treats for times like that, so that at least my kid can be included in eating, even if it's not the same thing the other kids are eating. He's used to not eating the same thing, being a vegetarian, and is now learning that he has to ask if a food is safe before he can eat it.  Anything that a parent brings in for a party must be store-bought so the teachers can read the labels, but I wouldn't trust anyone else to keep the same level of vigilance/awareness, so I've told them that it's usually best to be safe than sorry and give him a safe treat.

At this young age, I would not send my kid to a non-nut-free daycare.  He is too young to verbalize well any signs of anaphylactic shock.  Ask what the policies are regarding storing epi-pens, etc.- wasn't clear from your post if your son will need an epi-pen, but if he does, always keep at least two at school, along with Benadryl.

Good luck!

[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics