More and more children are found to be contracting severe allergies, asthma and eczema every year. Theories abound that this is due to the lessening time that children spend outside and in the presence of other children. Recent studies have also found that children who are in daycare have less risk of these severe allergies.
However, once a child is found to be allergic, there are several things that childcare providers need to be aware of: planning snacks, environmental factors and the psychological issue.
- There are several strategies that daycare centers can turn to in order to provide snacks when children have allergies.One common issue is with certain dyes found in food, especially red dye. Many parents of children with this issue simply elect to provide snacks for their child even if the daycare usually provides snacks for all other children. Some families also request monthly snack calendars and indicate which days their children need alternate food or days that they have provided alternatives.
- For the most severe of allergies, even environmental factors can be an issue. Daycare workers should check product labels to see if products were manufactured in factories that have common allergens such as nuts or latex. For some children, latex allergies can be so severe that no latex gloves should be used in the center and everyone should be informed that balloons cannot be brought into the classroom.
- One further, more subtle issue is the psychological factor of having select children with different dietary needs and how they interact with other children. Many times children whose parents have provided alternate snacks are envious when they see everyone else eating what they would have preferred. To alleviate these envious or inferior emotions daycare providers need to be sure that they are not over-emphasizing the differences between the children’s food. Another strategy is to suggest to parents to occasionally provide a special snack that all of the kids can eat—including their own. This makes the special eating arrangements a special thing, instead of an inconvenience.
Visit my blog post on this topic: Allergy Accomodations in Daycare
Other articles on the topic of health in the daycare:
Should My Child Go to Daycare?
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