Good Healthcare Requires Treatment of Your Mind, Body, and Soul

What Child Care Options Are Available If Your Child Has A Life-Threatening Allergy?

4 November 2014 by Hugh Larson

Choosing the perfect child care provider can be difficult, even under ideal circumstances. The thought of leaving your child with someone else -- even a trusted friend or relative -- for hours at a time can make any parent uneasy. This decision and the associated emotions become even more complicated if your child has a potentially life-threatening allergy that could be triggered while under the care and supervision of someone else. Read on for some tips and guidance on choosing an experienced and safe child care provider for your special child.

What type of allergy?

If your child has a food allergy -- tree nuts, shellfish, eggs, corn, or gluten -- you should seek out a care provider that not only has experience in dealing with these allergies, but who only accepts and cares for children from nut/fish/egg-free homes. Ideally, this care provider is able not only to identify obvious hazards (peanut butter) but also any foods or other products that have additives which could trigger an allergic reaction in your child.

If your child is allergic to bee stings, pet dander, pollen, or other environmental hazards, you'll want to ensure that the care provider has a pet-free home as well as a safe, large indoor recreational area so that your child can get adequate physical activity without having to go outside.

In either case, you'll also want to ensure that the care provider has access to any emergency medications or other medical devices that may be needed, such as an epi-pen or rescue inhaler. The care provider should also have the phone number of your child's doctor, and of course those of you and your spouse.

Depending upon the severity of your child's allergy and any previous reactions to triggering allergens, you may also want to seek out child care providers located within a certain distance from the nearest hospital or emergency room. (Some hospitals even offer on-site daycare -- this could be an option).

How can you seek out child care providers who are equipped to deal with your child's allergy?

Even after you've determined what type of environment to seek for your child, finding a provider who fits the bill can be challenging. Often, the best environment for children with food allergies is the home of an in-home daycare provider whose child also suffers from the same allergy or allergies. Because these allergies can be so severe that the safest thing for a child is to remain under the primary care of one parent, rather than an outside child care provider, many parents of children with allergies opt to stay at home until their child is old enough to responsibly manage his or her allergy.

If you seek out an in-home provider, this type of arrangement can benefit the child care provider (who is able to earn income while staying home with his or her child), the children (who can socialize while learning how to manage their allergies), and certainly bring you the peace of mind that comes from knowing that your child is safe.

To find this type of provider in your area, you might first look at any online support groups, especially local groups, for parents of children with severe allergies. Often, those who post on these sites or forums have information about local resources and can help guide you in the right direction.

What if you can't find an allergen-free facility?

Even if your chosen child care provider is not currently safeguarding against your child's specific allergies, this doesn't mean that you need to keep looking. Ask questions of the facility staff and evaluate their willingness to learn how to handle your child's allergy. Because of the rising number of children suffering from some type of food or environmental allergy (with the number of children allergic to peanuts now at one in 13), many facilities are beginning the transition to be allergen-free. By educating staff on your child's specific allergy, you can help make this facility safer for all children.

For more information about the policies of child care facilities in your area, you can call them or visit their websites, like http://www.akarrasel.com/.

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