How do you make sure people know about your child's allergies?

2littlestorys

Hi!  My son is 18 months old and has a dairy allergy that was discovered when he was 6 months old.  The nursery at our church has a rotating schedule of helpers for 2 services each Sunday.  We have had difficulty making sure that everyone who works in the nursery knows (and remembers) that our son cannot have dairy products.  There is a sign-in sheet that we are sure to use and note his allergy every week.  We make certain to inform the workers who are in there when we drop him off that he is only allowed to have food/ beverages from his diaper bag.  His diaper bag is labeled with a (hard to miss) luggage tag (SUPER dorky, but I'm desperate for them to know it's his!) and there is a card with his information on a bulletin board (along with every other child's).

 Short of tatooing his allergy on his forehead, does anyone have other ideas of what to do to make sure my son does not receive food products containing dairy when the caregiver is frequently someone different?  He has been given someone else's bottle of milk and was fed a quesadilla for snack, so it seems that the measures we've taken to this point are too easily overlooked.  The EpiPen is kept in the diaper bag, along with some Benedryl, so we are always prepared.  Thanks for your help!

Lil Kate

We have DS wear an allergy bracelet...allerbling is very bright and usually catches people's eye.

https://www.allerbling.com/

  I leave DS at the gym but I make sure everytine that both people know how to administer the epipen since they would not have time to find me if he needed it. I know this is abit much but they also make allergy t-shirts he could wear if you are really nervous...I know some kids wear them to camp.

https://www.achooallergy.com/food-allergy-shirts.asp

magdusia

we also have a bracelet. A metal chain one b/c the other one didn't fit his small wrist. and the metal chain one you can change the links.

you can also buy stickers for his shirt.  We have ones that say "Stop, don't feed me, allergies" but we haven't used them yet.

Personally, i would not put my child in a school where there might be a chance someone doesn't know about his allergy and where the staff is so careless. I guess depends on his allergy and the severity. If he can go into anaphylaxis shock, i would take him elsewhere asap. If he gets a rash than i wouldn't care so much.

My son starts school in September and they have a full time nurse and photo with his allergies and very knowledgeable about epipens (when we visited the school, the nurse had 18 kids with epi pens)

I know, easier said than done.  Sometimes, you don't have many choices of schools and places you can place your child, but i would not put my child's life in danger if you do not feel comfortable with that school - that's just my opinion.  And if someone already gave your son someone elses bottle of milk and food , that would be a HUGE problem for me (even without allergies).  They need to get training and maybe you can talk to the owner about training the staff. 

from the sounds of it, i would move my son to a different location.

 

shotzie

This is the reason we've never put our LO's in the nursery. DD1 has contact allergies to dairy and eggs, she's also allergic to soy. If a LO drinks milk and gets some on their hands and touches DD1, she'd get hives where the milk touched her. Or if she plays with a toy that has traces of milk, etc. We are currently looking for a new church near us and are deciding between two, right now. One mentions on their website that they only give water and snacks like pretzels and graham crackers. It also says to inform them of allergies each time you drop off your kid. The other church didn't have the info on their site, so I emailed them. The lady wrote back and said they have bright stickers they put on the child's shirt, if they have allergies. They also only give water and graham crackers. Even with those helpful policies, I don't feel comfortable leaving DD1 in either nursery, for now. Parents can still drop their LO off with their own drinks/snacks (rightfully so), so there's still the chance DD1 could come in contact with her allergens. So for now, we all sit in the sanctuary for the music and then when DD1 gets antsy, we go to the cry room or one of us walks around the lobby with her. If I were you, I'd at least do the allergy stickers on her clothing, and keep informing the caregivers of her allergies. Do any of the caregivers know how to administer the EpiPen? If not, they need to be trained on when/how to use it. It won't do any good if they have to find you to administer it, or if she has a reaction and they don't know she needs it. If the service isn't too long, you could feed her right before and right after it and tell them not to give her anything or to get you if she needs to eat. Or keep her with you during the service.

shotzie

Sorry, I realized I kept saying "her", but you have a boy. My phone won't let me edit my post above. Sorry!

2littlestorys

Thank you for the replies and ideas!  I will definitely look into the stickers and bracelets.  We have kept him with us for the service and our class at times, but he likes to move and talk, so it often means either my husband or I have to leave and defeats the purpose of going to church.  Hopefully this will help.

luvmagoldn

kes722:

Thank you for the replies and ideas!  I will definitely look into the stickers and bracelets.  We have kept him with us for the service and our class at times, but he likes to move and talk, so it often means either my husband or I have to leave and defeats the purpose of going to church.  Hopefully this will help.

Do the people in the nursery know when and how to use the Epi?

It seems to me that there are too many places for this to break down.  Not knowing about the allergy, not being able to keep unsafe food away from him and not knowing what to do if he does react would be deal breakers for me.

Can you get someone else to watch your LO for you?  Maybe a friend, family member or an older (upper teens at least) youth member at your church?  One-on-one care would make me feel a lot better, if it were me.

2littlestorys

luvmagoldn:

kes722:

Thank you for the replies and ideas!  I will definitely look into the stickers and bracelets.  We have kept him with us for the service and our class at times, but he likes to move and talk, so it often means either my husband or I have to leave and defeats the purpose of going to church.  Hopefully this will help.

Do the people in the nursery know when and how to use the Epi?

It seems to me that there are too many places for this to break down.  Not knowing about the allergy, not being able to keep unsafe food away from him and not knowing what to do if he does react would be deal breakers for me.

Can you get someone else to watch your LO for you?  Maybe a friend, family member or an older (upper teens at least) youth member at your church?  One-on-one care would make me feel a lot better, if it were me.

My husband and I just had this conversation.  Beyond the first few weeks, we have not been diligent about showing people how to use the Epi.  I now realize that we have been naively thinking that we would have enough time to be found and personally administer the Epi.  I have also felt that it should be my responsibility to assess the situation and make the decision about the Epi if I'm so close by.  I do realize now that that plan is seriously flawed.  The children do not get snacks in the nursery, so it hasn't been a huge concern for me (the day he was served the quesadilla was an atypical situation).  It has become more of a concern because I know that he will soon be moving out of the nursery and into a toddler class where snacks are served.  I have since also talked to some people from the church and we are currently working on developing a better plan for making nursery and classroom workers aware of medical needs (allergies, medications, etc).  Until something better is in place, we will be finding alternate means of care for our son to ensure that he is safe.

tketterm

We attend two churches in our area.  The larger one puts an allergy sticker on the childs t-shirt to alert the volunteers.  They also do not allow outside food to be brought into the nursery.  The children only have water.

At the small church - I go with DD if  she goes to the childrens area; as there is no control and the people volunteering are different each week. 

We have a gluten issue and she also can not break lactose down.

luvmagoldn

kes722:

luvmagoldn:

kes722:

Thank you for the replies and ideas!  I will definitely look into the stickers and bracelets.  We have kept him with us for the service and our class at times, but he likes to move and talk, so it often means either my husband or I have to leave and defeats the purpose of going to church.  Hopefully this will help.

Do the people in the nursery know when and how to use the Epi?

It seems to me that there are too many places for this to break down.  Not knowing about the allergy, not being able to keep unsafe food away from him and not knowing what to do if he does react would be deal breakers for me.

Can you get someone else to watch your LO for you?  Maybe a friend, family member or an older (upper teens at least) youth member at your church?  One-on-one care would make me feel a lot better, if it were me.

My husband and I just had this conversation.  Beyond the first few weeks, we have not been diligent about showing people how to use the Epi.  I now realize that we have been naively thinking that we would have enough time to be found and personally administer the Epi.  I have also felt that it should be my responsibility to assess the situation and make the decision about the Epi if I'm so close by.  I do realize now that that plan is seriously flawed.  The children do not get snacks in the nursery, so it hasn't been a huge concern for me (the day he was served the quesadilla was an atypical situation).  It has become more of a concern because I know that he will soon be moving out of the nursery and into a toddler class where snacks are served.  I have since also talked to some people from the church and we are currently working on developing a better plan for making nursery and classroom workers aware of medical needs (allergies, medications, etc).  Until something better is in place, we will be finding alternate means of care for our son to ensure that he is safe.

It sounds like you and your H are taking the right steps.  It's great you've engaged the church about putting procedures in place to keep LO's safe.  I hope it all works out.