There is a mom that wrote to me actually, saying that she had to quit her job to stay home with her baby due to food allergies. She is just an example of what many families are going through when dealing with kids with extreme food allergies. If your child is getting many exposures at daycare you may have to make some adjustments, or major decisions like to work or not to , for your child’s safety comes first.
Julian was at Spectrum Station daycare ( Kansas City) .. What i liked about this daycare is that their facility was peanut free . They provided weekly menus of what they would be serving kids for breakfast, morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack. If there was a change during the week, they would tell us the day before, so we can plan ahead.
They served foods and snacks containing milk and eggs at times, but there were some meals that did not contain that which Julian could eat. This is what we did to survive daycare…
1. I would leave 1/2 gallon of silk soy vanilla milk for him in his class refrigerator, marked his name on the box, every week.
2. I left a box of his cereal there as well
3. I left a box of fruit snacks there, then everyday i would check what snack was to be served , and i would bring in substitutes. Like when they had animal crackers, i would take his animal crackers that are milk free, same thing with pretzells etc
4. Lunch – I knew what he could have, so when they had things that he couldn’t i would just bring in his own lunch. When they had sandwiches i would bring in the bread, and they would just use the lunch meat.
5. Talked to his teachers . We discussed what he could or could not have and sometimes they would call me if they had questions, they knew what to do if he was to get exposure.
This is what the Daycare did
1. The class had a list of all the kids and their allergies hanging by their door, so everyone coming in and going out of that class could see.
2. They always had reminders in their monthly newsletters that their facility was peanut free, and reminded parents not to bring that in to school.
3. Most of the meals they provided came with a side dish either fruits or vegetables and it was things that Julian could have, so i only had to bring the main dish.
4. The teachers would provide daily progress cards, and they would put a note for us to bring in anything that Julian was running out of.
5. As a courtesy, they would let me know when someone would bring a birthday cake, so i could make something for Julian. ***** If you are a parent reading this, please let the teacher know if you plan on bringing a cake for your child to school, and have the teacher tell all the parents in your child’s class… there is NOTHING as horrible as when all the 7 kids in class are sitting , eating, and enjoying that piece of chocolate cake and a little Julian or Mary is just sitting at the end of that table , just sit there watching and getting told he/she can’t have a piece! It is heartbreaking. All the child is thinking about at that point is, i am not getting this as i may be in trouble, that you all do not like them and that is why you won’t share. They are too young to understand they can get sick from eating foods ***** When this does happen, your child getting left out from the party, every mom that goes through this cries! It sucks! So please let people know ahead.
6. Provide a First aid kit to store any antihistamines and agree to administer them when needed.
All in all, How a daycare handles your child’s food allergies determines whether you would continue leaving your child there or not. You may still be able to work full time and have your child cared for by someone else, you just have to work very closely with them. Find out ahead of time what they will be serving, if you have questions ask.. If your child goes to an inhome daycare, same thing applies. I would rather provide all my child’s meals rather than having to worry sick of what may happen to them when i leave.
Know who else will be taking care of your child in an inhome daycare. There are times the primary sitter may have to run an errand in the middle of the day and leaves the children with someone else. What you want to make sure is this person is not a minor and if it is an adult, they are also aware of your child’s allergies.
Depending with your situatioin, you may have to switch daycares before you can find one that works for both you and your child, or you may choose to just stay at home with your child. You do whatever it takes to protect your child.
Food Allergies are real and can be deadly, so take care of yourself and your family!
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