Post by cricketwife on Sept 16, 2014 18:29:44 GMT -5
So I'm wondering how allergy issues are handled in daycare. I work in a school so I'm aware of peanut-free tables and peanut-free snacks when shared with the group.
I just received an email from the director of our daycare that says: Parents,
We have a child in your child's classroom that has an allergy to eggs. Please do not send any type of eggs in for lunch (hard boiled, scrambled etc.).
Thank you for your understanding in this matter. If you have any questions please let me know.
I confess to being a bit bent out of shape by it b/c I feel like it's directed towards me. The infant room is ages 0-12. There are at least 4 infants that aren't on solids yet that I know of so there are only 6, at most, eating solids. I didn't send solids for a while because we're doing BLW and it' just seemed hard and he wasn't eating what I was sending anyway (he wasn't really swallowing much solids at that point, even at home.) Then, two weeks ago, the teacher told me he's a big boy and he needs more in his bottles and he needs solids. So we discussed BLW again (it was the third time and every time they said they were totally fine with it) and I have send scambled eggs in at least twice, and I've also sent quiche -- twice, I think. TBH, I find it very hard to find foods that I know he can/will eat and swallow and that lend themselves to not being too messy (ie. peaches). Eggs are my go-to. They are fast and easy. But the email above doesn't say to avoid all egg products, just straight up eggs. So would a muffin be okay? I'm guessing quiche is "too much egg" I'm frustrated b/c I feel like it's unreasonable for me to never send in any food that another kid has an allergy to. I mean, I have to label everything with this full name, the date, and whether it's lunch or snack, so I feel like they can be reasonably sure that they won't give it to the wrong child.
So how are allergies handled at your DCP? And any ideas for non-puree lunches for an 8 month old without a pincer grasp?
Post by rugbywife on Sept 16, 2014 18:33:21 GMT -5
My issue with this is that egg allergies require ingestion. My BIL and nephew are allergic and just touching a surface that has come into contact with egg, especially cooked egg, wouldn't be enough to illicit a reaction. If they are making sure the kids don't share food , it should be fine.
You have no idea how severe this child's allergy is. You have to avoid one known allergen. It sounds like you can send in items with eggs as a component, like a muffin or pancake, but not an egg-based dish.
There are plenty of things you can send. Steamed cold veggies, cut up pieces of soft chicken, whole grain waffles, etc.
ETA: My kid IS the allergy kid at her preschool (though based on today's blood results, this will hopefully change). I'm sure the teachers watch the kids while they are eating but it only takes a missed smear of PB, a hand that didn't get wiped, a piece of egg that got dropped, etc., to pose a danger to a food allergic kid, so nut products (where nuts are a listed ingredient, foods processed in a facility with nuts are okay for her classroom bc the risk is pretty low, she can't eat them but can be around them) and nut milks are banned.
I don't support the banning of foods that cause minor reactions. DD's friend can't have berries, he gets a mild diaper rash and some bumps around his mouth. I'd give his mom the side-eye if she asked to ban berries from the room since the risk of ingestion is relatively low and his reaction is mildy uncomfortable.
Post by rugbywife on Sept 16, 2014 18:40:12 GMT -5
Ok. Upon reading the instructions more carefully...it is true that straight up eggs are the allergen, not items with egg cooked in them. But still, eggs don't leave an oil residue like nuts. I don't know, I get it, but at the same time I think it is extreme. I guess in this case the kids are really little, so I could see the justification.
You have no idea how severe this child's allergy is. You have to avoid one known allergen. It sounds like you can send in items with eggs as a component, like a muffin or pancake, but not an egg-based dish.
There are plenty of things you can send. Steamed cold veggies, cut up pieces of soft chicken, whole grain waffles, etc.
Actually, I do know b/c I was in the room when the mother was discussing it with the director. He is not to eat straight up eggs, but he can eat products with eggs in it. So IMHO, not that severe.
You have no idea how severe this child's allergy is. You have to avoid one known allergen. It sounds like you can send in items with eggs as a component, like a muffin or pancake, but not an egg-based dish.
There are plenty of things you can send. Steamed cold veggies, cut up pieces of soft chicken, whole grain waffles, etc.
Actually, I do know b/c I was in the room when the mother was discussing it with the director. He is not to eat straight up eggs, but he can eat products with eggs in it. So IMHO, not that severe.
Oh okay, I didn't see that info in the OP. I don't support banning foods that don't cause a serious reaction because I think it wearies non-allergy parents in situations that truly warrant the banning of foods from the classroom.
Did mom ask to ban eggs or did the director? If the director did, it may be a liability thing.
Edited: I agree that it's annoying but I would cut mom a little slack. It can be overwhelming and scary to deal with a child's food allergy, especially when you are putting them in the care of someone else.
You have no idea how severe this child's allergy is. You have to avoid one known allergen. It sounds like you can send in items with eggs as a component, like a muffin or pancake, but not an egg-based dish.
There are plenty of things you can send. Steamed cold veggies, cut up pieces of soft chicken, whole grain waffles, etc.
Actually, I do know b/c I was in the room when the mother was discussing it with the director. He is not to eat straight up eggs, but he can eat products with eggs in it. So IMHO, not that severe.
That doesn't mean it isn't as severe, it means it is limited to only some egg forms.
This is where my issues come, when people decide on the severity of kids' allergies. I recognize that not sending your kid with quiche is a PITA. I would suggest that her kid potentially dying is a bigger PITA.
Post by water*drop on Sept 16, 2014 18:48:13 GMT -5
Our center is peanut and tree nut free. When DD was MSPI, I sent her food or approved the ingredients in the food the center was having, and she had a floater assigned to shadow her during meals to make sure she didn't grab stuff from another kid while still allowing her to sit with everybody else. You have to have documentation from a pediatrician to send in food at my center. I don't really mind having to work around anaphylaxis-causing allergies, especially in small kids where they haven't yet learned about washing hands or not licking each other or not eating crumbs off the floor, but I get why it's frustrating when you're trying to figure out what is safe to send.
As for food suggestions, black beans were a hit with DD at that age. He should be getting most of his nutrition from bottles at that age anyway, so I'd look at it as more pincer grip practice and not worry if he doesn't get too much of it.
Actually, I do know b/c I was in the room when the mother was discussing it with the director. He is not to eat straight up eggs, but he can eat products with eggs in it. So IMHO, not that severe.
That doesn't mean it isn't as severe, it means it is limited to only some egg forms.
This is where my issues come, when people decide on the severity of kids' allergies. I recognize that not sending your kid with quiche is a PITA. I would suggest that her kid potentially dying is a bigger PITA.
I hear you and of course this child's life is more important. And I thank you for agreeing that it IS a PITA to avoid my go-to, easy protein. And, I truly am curious how this is handled elsewhere; I await those answers. By the time he's in the two year old class (I think? maybe 3's?) there will be 20 kids in the class. If I'm requested to avoid every child's allergy, that seems like an undue burden when there are other ways to keep the child with the allergy safe, which is the goal.
Post by beefjerky on Sept 16, 2014 18:52:59 GMT -5
Our day care center is completely peanut and tree nut free. If parents send in a snack/food that contains either the child will not be allowed to eat it and it will be sent home.
Post by ilikedonuts on Sept 16, 2014 18:56:06 GMT -5
My kids egg allergy was from contact with direct eggs along With ingestion of straight eggs and things dipped in egg and fried. She would get a horrible rash from wherever the egg touched. Baked stuff was okay. Follow what they say. It's not your place to decide how severe a kids allergy is.
My kids egg allergy was from contact with direct eggs along With ingestion of straight eggs and things dipped in egg and fried. She would get a horrible rash from wherever the egg touched. Baked stuff was okay. Follow what they say. It's not your place to decide how severe a kids allergy is.
There is a girl in my daughter's preschool like this. They can't color Easter eggs because the child can't touch eggs.
The daycare isn't doing this to hurt YOU they are doing it to protect the child. Kids this age put everything in their mouth and touch everything. Clarify what you can send and work from there.
My kids egg allergy was from contact with direct eggs along With ingestion of straight eggs and things dipped in egg and fried. She would get a horrible rash from wherever the egg touched. Baked stuff was okay. Follow what they say. It's not your place to decide how severe a kids allergy is.
DD2's egg allergy is similar. Straight up eggs cause a bad reaction, but she is fine with baked goods. It might not make sense, but that's what it is. She outgrew her milk allergy, thank goodness, but still sometimes gets bad sneezing and runny nose from things with milk. I've only asked her preschool to limit straight eggs.
We are not in daycare but in preschool and they cater to every food allergy in the class - so in our class we have no dairy, no soy, no peanuts/tree nuts (this is the whole school), gluten free, vegetarian, and something I am forgetting off the top of my head. I have zero issue with it.
When DD was 18ish months old she went to a Childtime center. No nuts/peanuts or straight eggs was their rule. I used to send DD with an egg sandwich, so I had to give it to her at home or find another breakfast alternative.
We are not in daycare but in preschool and they cater to every food allergy in the class - so in our class we have no dairy, no soy, no peanuts/tree nuts (this is the whole school), gluten free, vegetarian, and something I am forgetting off the top of my head. I have zero issue with it.
This is intense! If this was for the whole day I would have a problem with this, but I'm assuming this is a 3 hour or so preschool? I would have a hard time putting together a lunch with those restrictions!
I'd be kind of annoyed too so I hear you but at the same time I try to put myself in the other parents' shoes in these cases. Usually they're just looking out for best interests and I'd want that done as well if it were me.
Are you opposed to purees entirely? I am a BLW Queen with both my kids but I send purees to DC because I don't have the time to make it more complicated than necessary or make requests that are going to make it harder for me to execute. Feeding your kids doesn't have to be an all or nothing philosophy. They get 12 other meals with me a week where I can do whatever I want/enforce my influence...so still a majority of the time.
Other BLW foods my kids like: black beans, green beans, peas, zuchinni sticks, mashed so they're not round blueberries, raspberries, toast, noodles (Rotini or corkscrew was easiest), pineapple sticks, cheese. There is a ton of possibilities.
We are not in daycare but in preschool and they cater to every food allergy in the class - so in our class we have no dairy, no soy, no peanuts/tree nuts (this is the whole school), gluten free, vegetarian, and something I am forgetting off the top of my head. I have zero issue with it.
This is intense! If this was for the whole day I would have a problem with this, but I'm assuming this is a 3 hour or so preschool? I would have a hard time putting together a lunch with those restrictions!
I should have clarified - yes, it is 3 hours, and this is for snack, so one family brings in the snack each day for the whole class, and those are the rules we have to abide by.
We haven't gotten the details yet but if we are notified that another child has an allergy then we will comply with food restrictions, no questions asked. I'd hope that the other parents would be just as accommodating if the shoe was on the other foot.
I watched DS's cousin touch a green bean which had been on his mom's plate, next to her breaded chicken. He then touched his face and broke out in hives, cheeks swelling until they got Benadryl in him.
Severe egg allergy. Consumption sends him to the ER.
This wouldn't bother me. Egg protein is no joke with some kids, and cross contamination can be a big deal amongst babies/toddlers.
We are not in daycare but in preschool and they cater to every food allergy in the class - so in our class we have no dairy, no soy, no peanuts/tree nuts (this is the whole school), gluten free, vegetarian, and something I am forgetting off the top of my head. I have zero issue with it.
OMG, this is EXACTLY my fear - that's this is where this is headed!!! But yes, everybody, I can just relax about the eggs. Of course this kid's parents just want to keep him safe and it helps that's he's the cutest little boy in the class (Besides DS, lol)
@justdairy, I kind of am against purees now. There were several weeks in the BLW process that I doubted my decision about BLW (but at that time, I wasn't sending lunches to daycare) and wondered if I should do purees b/c it seemed like he was eating less as we went along, rather than more. But then, about 2-3 weeks ago, it's like he totally figured out eating, so at this point, I feel like doing purees would be a backwards step. Thanks for your suggestions - this doesn't have to be as hard as I'm making it--- I'm just feeling overwhelmed b/c I literally went from just doing dinner every day to doing 3 meals and a snack within a week's time (for a variety of reasons that I won't get into.) I'm trying to keep his diet diverse, but with 3.5 meals a day, it just seems really hard.
But yes, I will make it work without eggs, and only throw a fit if I get an email in a few weeks that I can't send gluten!
I edited my above post to include how DDs preschool handles it.
It sucks when your kid has a food allergy. Know that the parent probably feels a little bad for the inconvenience. On DDs first day, one of the moms forgot and sent a pb sandwich. She realized during drop off, took the sandwich with her and brought something else for lunch. I felt terrible about it but she was so gracious and I really, really appreciated that, more than I can say.
Post by barefootcontessa on Sept 16, 2014 19:47:52 GMT -5
The part-time program my daughter attends (she is 18 months) is both nut and dairy free. My daughter is extremely picky and also quite skinny so it is rough that she cannot have milk, yogurt or cheese (high calorie foods she will eat) but this is part of communal child are.
How about a simple pasta salad? You can make a few days worth at a time with whatever is in the fridge. Go light on the dressing and it will just absorb into the pasta or just leave it off.
Dd gets a Hawaiian roll, a cheese stick, boars head ham or shredded rotisserie chicken, cold steamed peas or grean beans and a fruit when I pack her lunch. All things that are not terribly messy, even for a young eater.
But yes, I will make it work without eggs, and only throw a fit if I get an email in a few weeks that I can't send gluten!
I know this was totally tongue in cheek but man, it made my heart sink a little bit. My two older DS's have Celiac and I'm sure the baby is heading down the same path. My older ones were 6 and 8 when they were diagnosed and I'll be honest, my biggest fear right now is the baby being little when he is diagnosed. It would mean no playdoh, no paint, no stickers, etc. because all of that has gluten in it. So, not only dealing with food cross contamination but all the other shit too. Ugh.
You have no idea how severe this child's allergy is. You have to avoid one known allergen. It sounds like you can send in items with eggs as a component, like a muffin or pancake, but not an egg-based dish.
There are plenty of things you can send. Steamed cold veggies, cut up pieces of soft chicken, whole grain waffles, etc.
Actually, I do know b/c I was in the room when the mother was discussing it with the director. He is not to eat straight up eggs, but he can eat products with eggs in it. So IMHO, not that severe.
Can you talk directly to the other mom? I have friends who have kids who end up in an ambulance, and friends whose kids just get a little rash when they ingest the food they react to. It may be at the ages of the children, they don't know how they will react, thus the extra caution. No need to overly limit others, if there is no reason, since I think this makes it more likely that people won't take the deadly allergies seriously as their kids get older.
This is a sensitive topic for me, too, because I had two major food allergies as a kid in the '80s and '90s when food allergies weren't as common. Accommodations were not made for me, and picking foods at school and parties was like dodging landmines. I knew which foods were the common carriers of my allergens, but I was lucky. I absolutely will accommodate other kids' allergens without worrying about my own inconvenience.
Post by Velar Fricative on Sept 16, 2014 20:10:24 GMT -5
I was surprised peanuts are allowed when I asked about whether I could send DD with PB&J (not Uncrustables for those who are curious). The center is both a daycare and a preschool so there are kids of all ages 0-4 in the building. But I guess they would only ban peanuts in various forms if a child with an allergy began attending the daycare, and I assume a notice would go out. I love PB&J and I'm glad DD does too but I wouldn't complain if someone had a peanut allergy and we'd have to pack other foods.
The only food we're not allowed to bring in is straight up strawberries (strawberry jelly is fine for her PB&J) because the director is allergic. But I was told this verbally since it's been a longstanding policy.