Life threatening allergies

I got an inquiry from a parent with a child who will be 1 in December. She is looking for full time care but her child has anaphylactic allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, etc. Also he is allergic ( but not life threatening) to eggs, dairy, soy.
Do any other providers have children with such allergies. Would you take a child with life threatening allergies. How do you work that in with your own family environment or other kids. I do not have the space for this child anyway, but would like to have some resources or info to pass along to this parent. Would you recommend a centre based program in this case ( of course they don't accept 12 mth olds..but if she has the option to wait till 18mths)
thanks for any input!

I won't touch life threatening allergies and indicate that right on my profile. It's also in my contract. I will, however, take on the others. Sensitivities to eggs, dairy, wheat are fine.....a pain in the arse, but fine. There are some providers out there who take on life threatening allergies. I suspect, it's often because one of their own children has the allergy as well. I'm not sure how to go about finding them other than just asking in the initial email.

I don't take those kinds of allergies and explain to the parent that I am only one adult and as such even though their child might be having a severe life threatening reaction I still have a responsibility to the other children which could include bringing everybody in with us or putting the baby in a playpen before dealing with the ill child which takes time.

I recommend a nanny in their home where the adult's sole responsibility is to deal with the child or a daycare centre where there are multiple adults and one can deal directly with the child while the others continue to care for the other children.

It isn't that I am afraid of the allergy but based on realistic scenerios of just me and 5 needy children. What if you are at the park and so what if you have the epi- pen as you deal with child and another starts to run off or gets stuck at the top of the ladder. There isn't time to round up all of your charges and get them seated on the bench or strapped back in the stroller while you deal with the child.

I have cared for children with life threatening allergies but they have developed these allergies once in my daycare and so I have worked with the child and their family to accommodate them. However, through those experiences, I no longer knowingly take on a child with life threatening allergies as its not so much whether I can accommodate them and more about not having ultimate control over what is brought into my house by other parents. There are so many parents who feed their kids peanut butter for breakfast and we all know how difficult it is to clean up. my dck's come most days with some remnants of breakfast on their face or in their hair.

As for intolerances although not life threatening should still be taken as seriously because cross contamination can cause illness. Eggs and dairy are easy to eliminate. I had a child with a life threatening allergy to dairy and it was never a problem to accommodate. If you serve processed foods then egg is commonly used as a glaze or binding agent so I would read ingredients for that but if you cook from scratch then their shouldn't be an issue. Soy would be my concern. It is used as a filler in meat products already so you would have to be sure the meat you were buying was abf and hormone free to ensure that their were no fillers. Soy is hidden in baked goods, crackers and dairy so be super careful to research additional terminology used in ingredient lists for Soy.

For myself I won't take a child with any sort of major allergy. I won't do peanut free as this is my home and we love peanut butter and nuts. I also had someone interested in my spot that had a gluten allergy and I also said no. I don't have time to be reading ingredients on food, to be making special foods or separate meals for 1 child (and we like our gluten around here lol). not something I would do especially life threatening.

I will do a peanut/tree nut allergy as my son is allergic as well so I already have a peanut free home.

If the products that the child to are in my kitchen there's always a chance for cross contamination. I won't take the risk with a life threatening allergy.

At the same time, I won't put my son in a daycare that has peanuts in the house either. I look for a peanut free environment.

I'm like much of the others. I state in my contract that I am not peanut free as I am not willing to take the risk for the same reasons already mentioned above.

I have had children with other food issues, such as milk intolerance and sensitivities. I have cared for a child in a centre with gluten allergy and his mom provided all the food. To my knowledge, these are allergies that do not require epi pens so therefore I would be fine taking them into my home. In my experience, if these children did have milk or gluten, it resulted in sore stomach's and lots of poops!

I have a five year old dcb with severe allergies to nuts and tree nuts. He was my very first dck, so I really wasn't in the position to say no, because there are alot more providers than clients here, it seems. So far, however, it's been fine. My roommate in university had the same allergy and so does my husband's cousin, so we knew the basics. This boy has to actually ingest it, whereas my husband's cousin can have a reaction just smelling it on someone's breath. The mother said we can have nuts in the house, just not out when he is around.

We've pretty much eliminated peanut butter in our house, because I can't trust my 4 and 5 year olds to not wipe their hands everywhere. I might have some on the weekend, and I only use one knife that is kept separately, I wash it with dishsoap and my fingers so it doesn't get on a cloth or dish scrub brush, I use a paper towel or paper plate that can get thrown out after, etc. It's in my contract that other daycare kids are not to eat peanuts/nuts etc before coming to my house, and not to pack it in their lunches. The whole school is nut-free anyway, so no one has had an issue with that.

I still make sure that they don't share food, just in case another child HAS had nuts recently, and I read the ingredients for everything, and when in doubt, I don't give it to him and ask his mother.

A note to anyone doing this - I've had to call Walmart customer service a couple times about their ingredient lists, and they are not always correct. For example, Walmart brand pancake mix: the original says "may contain nuts," the buttermilk says nothing. I called and asked if the 2 mixes are made in the same facility, was told yes, they are. So both could contain nuts. After that near miss, I essentially don't give him Walmart brand food (cereal, oatmeal, pancake mix, ect). There's enough brands that say nut-free, it's easy enough to find other options.

It's definately work, but we've found it to be an easier transition than we thought. I was also used to it though, and the thought of having to administer his epi-pen, while scary, isn't an unknown to me, so maybe that helped.

2/4 of my own kids are peanut-allergic, so I am well versed in EpiPen and Benadryl scenarios. *touch wood* I have not had to administer the EpiPen or the like. Benadryl will take care of what we have dealt with up to this point.
However, I always ensure that we have one around. Non-life threatening can, unfortunately, turn into life-threatening in one reaction. Scary stuff. I would recommend looking into the Allerject over the EpiPen. It has voice prompts, and a countdown for administration. I believe it even reminds you to call 911 after the injection.
Do your research, think about your own capabilities and make a judgment based on that.
Personally, I would not be able to do a long list of allergies. I can ensure that our home is nut-aware, but dairy/wheat/soy/etc would be difficult for me.

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Originally Posted by mickyc

I also had someone interested in my spot that had a gluten allergy and I also said no. I don't have time to be reading ingredients on food, to be making special foods or separate meals for 1 child.

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I do not serve processed foods so do not have to be concerned with reading pre-packaged foods. Gluten free is super easy to implement as long as you eliminate processed foods which I do not serve in my daycare. I understand that if it is not a change made as a whole for the family or all the dck's then yes there is additional prep involved to make white rice for the majority and brown rice for one but IMO it's a worthy cause to switch it up for everyone as gluten is becoming a much more common intolerance, even for those who do not think they are intolerant, they probably are. With a little time to acquaint ones self with gluten free food, it could actually be of a great incentive for parents who do have children with the intolerance which will ultimately keep increasing the way things are going, and be of a greater demand and need by parents. That being said allergy and intolerance are very different.

I have a boy whose mother is allergic to peanuts so she is unsure if her son is or not. I've had him since he was a year old and he's almost 3 now. When he was 1, he was in a high chair so I allowed other children to have peanut products which his mother was aware of. I was very anal about making sure the table and children were cleaned before this boy could come down from the high chair. Since he started eating at the table with the other children, I have become a nut free daycare. If a parent informed me that her child has a life threatening nut allergy, then I would have to tell them that I couldn't accept them into the daycare.

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Originally Posted by 5 Little Monkeys

I'm like much of the others. I state in my contract that I am not peanut free as I am not willing to take the risk for the same reasons already mentioned above.

I have had children with other food issues, such as milk intolerance and sensitivities. I have cared for a child in a centre with gluten allergy and his mom provided all the food. To my knowledge, these are allergies that do not require epi pens so therefore I would be fine taking them into my home. In my experience, if these children did have milk or gluten, it resulted in sore stomach's and lots of poops!

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One of my first daycare children had a severe life threatening allergy to dairy and had two epi-pens with him at all time. Peanut allergy seems to be spotlighted as being the most severe reaction in the headlines and at schools but it isn't always the case. My daughter over the past few consecutive years has had a child in her class with life threatening allergies to strawberries and kiwi's...to the point that it was banned from the entire school. Seems extreme to some but not to the family of this child or the child who would likely have a fatal reaction before the paramedics even arrived on scene. Now these types of allergies are a no brainer to me. Of course the answer is no without a shadow of a doubt but I do not automatically turn one down and not the other, its on an individual basis and also so many misuse the word allergy in place of intolerance. I do a little investigating prior to making a decision and I never jump to conclusions.

I have a little girl with me with a peanut allergy. She's only ever broken out in a rash once but still has an epipen at my house. She's only here 2 ams a week and honestly I'm just super careful. I disinfect her eating space and make sure that she always washes before eating. There are some brands that eliminate oils including peanut oils off of skin and surfaces. But... there are very few items with nuts in them in the house as my daughter is sensitive. Any member of the family who opens a nut product does so in a designated spot and washes afterwards. Now, normally I wouldn't accept a nut allergy because of the liability but this was a special circumstance. I always tell parents that I will not serve peanut products but that I will also never claim to be peanut free. If anyone feels the need to bring in outside food ie, at halloween, it will NOT be used without my being able to see a guaranteed list of ingredients.

Bright sparks....thanks for that info!! None of the children I know with milk and gluten allergies had epi pens so I was unaware

5 little monkeys - I'm sure it's different for every child depending on each individuals reaction.

How do they know this at ten months old?

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Originally Posted by daycarewhisperer

How do they know this at ten months old?

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I am going to assume that as the parent said her child has anaphylactic allergies to peanuts then he must have had that kind of reaction. As for the others, I would hazard a guess that she is misusing the term allergy and they are intolerances but that's not to say it is so. Child could have swelling of lips etc when ingesting them, or if it was an intolerance then loose bowel movements amongst other things would be a good indicator, even at this age. That being said, she would really have had to go through a period of elimination and introduce each thing back without the others for a period of two weeks to truly identify an intolerance and I find it highly unlikely that she would have done this at age 10 months.

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Originally Posted by bright sparks

I am going to assume that as the parent said her child has anaphylactic allergies to peanuts then he must have had that kind of reaction. As for the others, I would hazard a guess that she is misusing the term allergy and they are intolerances but that's not to say it is so. Child could have swelling of lips etc when ingesting them, or if it was an intolerance then loose bowel movements amongst other things would be a good indicator, even at this age. That being said, she would really have had to go through a period of elimination and introduce each thing back without the others for a period of two weeks to truly identify an intolerance and I find it highly unlikely that she would have done this at age 10 months.

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Why would they give a baby nuts?

I would be suspicious that a ten month old would have these allergies.

If the parent ate a peanut butter sandwich and then kissed the child near the mouth the child could have reacted. I know of a nine month old that was allergic to almonds - found out because mom mixed the last of the honey nut cheerios in with the plain ones and served them to the child for snacking. Child was then referred by doctor for allergy testing and came back positive for almonds, negative for other nuts but given epi pen and told to keep him from all nuts until he could be retested at age 2 when tests were more accurate.

If the reaction is gut as in loose stools, excessive gas, cramps it is considered an intolerance. If the child swells around the mouth it is considered an allergy and potentially anaphalactic because the swelling could block breathing.

I have food allergies. So I have a peanut, tree nut, strawberry, and shellfish free home. I also keep kosher so milk is not a huge issue (milk and meat can't be mixed), but I would be wary of taking on a kid who had a life threatening allergy with which I was not extremely well versed. Liability is a scary thing.

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Originally Posted by daycarewhisperer

Why would they give a baby nuts?

I would be suspicious that a ten month old would have these allergies.

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Living in Canada which is a cultural mosaic not everyone is raising their children the same, this includes the practice of weaning. Different cultures do different things. For example, myself being from the UK. We do not have restrictive guidelines like over here for weaning. Personally without meaning offence to anyone, I can't get over how anal the whole ordeal is here. By age 7 months my son was off milk and ate EVERYTHING. He started to be weaned onto food at 11 weeks. My daughter was 7 weeks when she started having plain brown rice pureed and was on full table food without it being chopped up by 6 months. She also ate everything. A staple meal for lunch was eggs from as young as 6 months and she was on cows milk at 10 months even though the guideline was 12mths. There were no restrictions on nuts for fear of allergy, the biggest risk was choking but that's not to say they couldn't be crushed up or cooked in something. I hear over and over that breast fed babies do not need any solid food till 12 months old and that a child should not be weaned onto food to early before 6-9 mths because it increases the risk of allergies, but honestly I have never known so many people to have food allergies over here so while I have read info that backs up these claims, it doesn't seem to be working out so well. Also seriously do you realize the family dr has little to no training in nutrition?!? They are the last people I would take advice from with regards to nutrition.

All I am saying is that there is more than one right way of doing something and just because some of us may not introduce nuts till after 12 months, doesn't mean that others don't or shouldn't.

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Originally Posted by bright sparks

Living in Canada which is a cultural mosaic not everyone is raising their children the same, this includes the practice of weaning. Different cultures do different things. For example, myself being from the UK. We do not have restrictive guidelines like over here for weaning. Personally without meaning offence to anyone, I can't get over how anal the whole ordeal is here. By age 7 months my son was off milk and ate EVERYTHING. He started to be weaned onto food at 11 weeks. My daughter was 7 weeks when she started having plain brown rice pureed and was on full table food without it being chopped up by 6 months. She also ate everything. A staple meal for lunch was eggs from as young as 6 months and she was on cows milk at 10 months even though the guideline was 12mths. There were no restrictions on nuts for fear of allergy, the biggest risk was choking but that's not to say they couldn't be crushed up or cooked in something. I hear over and over that breast fed babies do not need any solid food till 12 months old and that a child should not be weaned onto food to early before 6-9 mths because it increases the risk of allergies, but honestly I have never known so many people to have food allergies over here so while I have read info that backs up these claims, it doesn't seem to be working out so well. Also seriously do you realize the family dr has little to no training in nutrition?!? They are the last people I would take advice from with regards to nutrition.

All I am saying is that there is more than one right way of doing something and just because some of us may not introduce nuts till after 12 months, doesn't mean that others don't or shouldn't.

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I think you are right about doctors having only an idea about nutrition. My hubby was referred from the cardiologist to the chief of research in diabetics and none of them venture to give him any nutrition advice. They referred him to a nutritionist.

I also agree that in Toronto there are people from almost every part of the world and there are countries where currently allergies are technically unheard of.

I had a 9 months dcb old whose parents gave him peanut butter sandwich and then realized he had a life threatening allergy. Mom said she had been giving him peanut cookies and nothing had happened until they gave him the peanut butter sandwich.

I also grew in another country and did not know anything about allergies until I came to north America.

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Originally Posted by bright sparks

Living in Canada which is a cultural mosaic not everyone is raising their children the same, this includes the practice of weaning. Different cultures do different things. For example, myself being from the UK. We do not have restrictive guidelines like over here for weaning. Personally without meaning offence to anyone, I can't get over how anal the whole ordeal is here. By age 7 months my son was off milk and ate EVERYTHING. He started to be weaned onto food at 11 weeks. My daughter was 7 weeks when she started having plain brown rice pureed and was on full table food without it being chopped up by 6 months. She also ate everything. A staple meal for lunch was eggs from as young as 6 months and she was on cows milk at 10 months even though the guideline was 12mths. There were no restrictions on nuts for fear of allergy, the biggest risk was choking but that's not to say they couldn't be crushed up or cooked in something. I hear over and over that breast fed babies do not need any solid food till 12 months old and that a child should not be weaned onto food to early before 6-9 mths because it increases the risk of allergies, but honestly I have never known so many people to have food allergies over here so while I have read info that backs up these claims, it doesn't seem to be working out so well. Also seriously do you realize the family dr has little to no training in nutrition?!? They are the last people I would take advice from with regards to nutrition.

All I am saying is that there is more than one right way of doing something and just because some of us may not introduce nuts till after 12 months, doesn't mean that others don't or shouldn't.

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I can't imagine giving a newborn solids. A seven and eleven week old are newborns. I can't imagine how many babies have had solids so young and aspirated. Having a survival story at my disposal would never convince me that it would be safe.

I will steadfastly say you should never give a newborn solids.

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Originally Posted by daycarewhisperer

I can't imagine giving a newborn solids. A seven and eleven week old are newborns. I can't imagine how many babies have had solids so young and aspirated. Having a survival story at my disposal would never convince me that it would be safe.

I will steadfastly say you should never give a newborn solids.

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And that is your rightful opinion based on your experiences which is okay.

Cereals were started between 2-4 months and by 7-9 months kids ate from the table with the family and finger fed soft foods. They were on a cup and off bottles by a year.

But we also left them in playpens where they could roll around safely and exercise their muscles and mature instead of confining them to some apparatus they way kids are now.

This was the norm not the exception. What we have now for children does them a disservice. It is propaganda by the formula companies that pay doctors to promote their products that is partly to blame. Nutritionally maybe kids don't need solids before a year but developmentally they do - that is how gums are exercised for teething, that is how the tongue and mouth develop for speech - which most children developed between 10-12 months not 18 months like now.

Parents do not give children credit for what they can do and as a result they are held back. Unfortunately some of them just give up as we see on these boards of providers wondering what to do with 2 year olds that can't chew and 3 year olds that won't give up soothers and bedtime bottles.

Could not agree more. Kids are kept on a liquid diet until the magical age of one, at which point they are supposed to just "know" how to chew food? Seems silly to me.
Some time ago, we were looking through my step-dad-in-law's baby book, for kicks. We found it hilarious that it was recorded that his first food was steak and green beans at -wait for it- 8 weeks old!! I am starting to wonder if the previous generation actually knew what they were doing in some areas.
;)

At the same time formula didn't have vitamins and iron added. So once your natural stores you were born with were gone - between 2-4 months old it was time to add iron fortified pablum to the diet. Now just like adults make a smoothy or drink a carnation breakfast we do the same to kids - it is faster just to toss them a bottle while still in the crib in the morning than to actually get them up and feed them. It is also about the me generation that made the switch cause it was easier on them - so what if it did the child a disservice it was all about what was important for the parent.

And yes things like a hunk of steak or a cold celery rib were great teething "toys" because they couldn't be bit till child actually had some teeth. There weren't a lot of plastic stuff for them to chew on. Remember at that time bottles would all have been glass and soothers more or less unheard of.

Thanks for all the feedback on this post everyone! I've been MIA with halloween and birthdays, but have taken in all the info here. Thanks Again!

My first son was eating rice pablum at 10 weeks and table food by 5 months . He was a very big boy and we were very young lol !! I didn't know ! He ate what we ate !! I remember talking to a nurse and she was horrified to find out he was eating eggs as well !! I remember laying him in a big square playpen and letting him squirm all over !! Then 20 years later I had my daughter and wow !! Felt like I didn't know a thing !! I nursed her until she was two and introduced solids as instructed ! She is a lot fussier eater !! Seafood and meat were introduced so late that she is still not really into them !!
And yes lol so much equipment !!!!

Not to wade into the age for solids debate, I just want to say that lots of people have allergy testing done on their baby around that age if they react to something such as eggs. I have met a couple of families whose children reacted to eggs and so they did allergy tests for everything. It could be as simple as that. If not and they did give the child nuts, who are we to judge? Guidelines swing back and forth wildly fom decade to decade and I think it is a parent's right to serve their child what they see fit when they see fit. Too much judgement of parents is not a good thing!