Allergies and playgroup

Posted: Thu, Jul 31 2008, 3:49 pm Post subject: allergies and playgroup

I have a two year old daughter who is allergic to many foods the worst of them being nuts (e/t aside from peanuts is a no go) and fish. Today in playgroup she picked up s/o's food with fish. From just holding it from what the teachers told me was less than a minute she broke out in a rash and her breathing got very heavy. She was given Benadryl right away and was fine soon after. I'm worried about this happening again and her getting a chance to eat it. Any suggestions, comments, etc.

Posted: Thu, Jul 31 2008, 3:52 pm Post subject: re: allergies and playgroup

please pm me for a more detailed response, but in general -

the more prepared and aware the daycare is the safer your child can be (not nec, will, but can) - also, educating the parents and the other children can go a long way as far as understanding and compassion.

Do the other children bring their own food, or does the daycare provide?

Platinum Member Joined: Aug 29 2007 Posts: 12057

in my daughter's preschool the kids are not allowed to touch each other's food. I think they aren't allowed to share snacks until 2nd grade or some thing. any communal snacks are provided by the teacher (who knows about all the kids allergies). I saw a list of allergies on the wall as a quick reference.

Posted: Thu, Jul 31 2008, 4:02 pm Post subject: re: allergies and playgroup

The playgroup provides the lunch. I did let them know b4 putting him in that there was an issue with her touching or eating these foods. I told them exactly what to do if s/t happens and I showed them how to use her epipen. I wasn't nervous until this came up and I'm wondering if I should move her out of this playgroup and put her by a babysitter or in a program such as Yeled V'Yalda where they will be more aware of such issues.

Is it right of me to ask the teacher to cut out the fish food from the menu for that once a week they serve it or is that just selfish?

Posted: Thu, Jul 31 2008, 4:05 pm Post subject: re: allergies and playgroup

I feel for you. my son is also allergic to all nuts besides peanuts and fish as well as milk. who do u use for a allergist? I prepare the school with all info and reminders and still things do happen because they can forget cause they have other kids. maybe you can get a shaddow for your child from board of ed. you need letters from dr and allergist. I had someone but he also made mistakes cause he saw things were going well so he didnt put in effort to try to be more cautious but nothing serious borech hashem happened.

Platinum Member Joined: Aug 29 2007 Posts: 12057

you can't tell them what to seve other kids, only your own.

Posted: Thu, Jul 31 2008, 4:09 pm Post subject: Re: re: allergies and playgroup

Posted: Thu, Jul 31 2008, 5:26 pm Post subject: re: allergies and playgroup

Unless you are prepared to offer an appropriate meal substitute that they can serve the whole class, I dson't think any group will take kindly to being told/asked to change a menu for 1 child. What I do is I sit with who ever is responsible for making lunches/snacks and plan out alt. meals for my child or easy substitutions which I provide, either on that day, or at the beg.. of the year for the year. For example, my ds is allergic to eggs, when his class has tuna salad, he has tuna made with salsa - I gave the school a jar special for him, and they were very happy to accomodate.

I am B"H very very very fortunate to have an extremely accomodating school (at this point). I have also taken a lot of time off work to make myself available to the school and respect their rule (ex. no outside bday cakes allowed, so I came to school the day b4 ds's bday and made 2 cakes in their kitchen, then came back the morning of to ice and decorate it - I used all their equip, but my own supplies from home (all in original packaging so they could approve). I t requires a lot of extra effort and time on behalf of the mommy (in our case) but it has really made things easier with the school.

Furthermore - as I mentioned before I send, with permission of the school, a letter to all parents explaining the allergies and what could ch'v'sh occur to my child. It is not very medical or technical, more a letter from a parent with allergies. Some parents take offense and feel restricted, others, while they don't like the pressure they feel b/c of another child having allergies, are quite respectful and have even called me to ask what they could bring to school for a bday party or if we would come for a play date -

Lastly, I try to speak with all the teachers (outside of class time) and get into detail as to what will cause a reaction in my child and how they can help ensure a safe, fun environment. Doing this when there are no other children around is tough, but highly rewarding as they are able to ask questions and get a better understanding of the global picture.

If this is the 1st time it happened, I would give them another chance. They clearly chapped right away and treated promptly and properly. Maybe they just need a refresher of the allergies and extent after a few months when things begin to get routine.

Posted: Thu, Jul 31 2008, 5:47 pm Post subject: re: allergies and playgroup

as a teenaged counselor in a preschool day camp with a highly allergic camper (3 year old) the mom gave us the rundown by orientation. since the camp served lunch and snack we were told what he could not eat, and on days when they served "forbidden" food for lunch, we sat him at a separate table and he ate his own thing. all the counselors were happy to accomodate.

Posted: Thu, Jul 31 2008, 7:10 pm Post subject: re: allergies and playgroup

I did try working with the school and before putting my child into their playgroup I told them about her allergies. I was told that during lunch she'll be kept at a seperate table. I only started there at the beginning of the summer and therefore I am a bit concerned.
I guess I will still leave her there and hope nothing happens again. At the same time I would like to begin looking into other options so ideas for that would be appreciated.

Posted: Thu, Jul 31 2008, 7:14 pm Post subject:

There are playgroups that provide meals and snacks. This way they know exactly what is being served. I send ds to a playgroup once where a kid was highly allergic to peanuts. They told all the mothers to make sure their kids don't have any peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast if they are finishing to eat it at the playgroup. My dss' school has one special teacher that watches all allergic kids during mealtime and who knows when. There are also peanut free schools that have peanut free buses.
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Posted: Thu, Jul 31 2008, 7:23 pm Post subject:

My son is very allergic to dairy. The school provides lunch for the students everyday but since most lunch are made in the dairy kitchen or are dairy, I make my son his lunch most days a week. He sits at a separate table for lunch also. He is now 5 years old and he is very aware of his allergy. When they are young its harder because they don't understand. I didn't send my son to playgroup because I felt it was too much for him with his allergy. My doctor told me that I shouldn't send him to playgroup unless it was very necessary.
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Diamond Member Joined: Jan 19 2006 Posts: 4428

My son has a severe sesame allergy, along with a list of quite a few others. Another child in his playgroup has a peanut allergy, and a third has a dairy allergy, all snacks and meals are provided, and somehow, the place is dairy,peanut/nut and sesame free.

When there is a child with a severe allergy, care should be taken that the allergen is not around them. A small child cannot advocate for himself, so someone needs to do it for him. Honestly I do not think asking to remove fish is such a big deal, especially when the reaction is so instant, and so dangerous.

Posted: Thu, Jul 31 2008, 9:57 pm Post subject:

pm me for info on shaddows thru board of ed

Posted: Thu, Jul 31 2008, 10:36 pm Post subject:

It is NOT unreasonable to ask them to remove the fish from the menu, at all. DS#1 is allergic to peanuts...we don't even know how badly because he's never been given anything with peanut in it, and on the basis of my stating that it's "potentially life-threatening, the daycare removed peanuts from all 3 classes in the building. This is Israel, where kids eat Bamba for breakfast, but it's been banned. So fish, once a week, should not be a problem. My son is 2; he still doesn't understand that it's dangerous for him to eat it (although we're trying). In the meantime, separate tables are not always a good solution...some allergies are airborne.
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Posted: Tue, Aug 26 2008, 9:23 pm Post subject:

is there anyone out there in bp who has a 2 year old child with allergies? I would love to work out a rotating system with someone in this predicament since my son can't go to playgroup with his allergies to eggs, dairy, fish and nuts (though not peanuts). if someone is interested please pm me so we can work something out as I'd love for my child to have a playmate.
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