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Allergies and intolerances

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Original poster

playgroup - allergies

26 replies

hayleyhew · 01/11/2006 13:23

Just been to my older son - 3year playgroup (he has no allergies) and asked how they would treat a child with serious allergies (younger son being tested tomorrow) and they told me that they would do a one-to-one with the child so that they could watch what they ate. All the children sit around at break and have milk and biscuits. I didnt like this idea but was told that it was best if he got used to it. I couldnt cope - I really wanted my son to go somewhere where he wouldnt feel isolated and where I knew it was peanut etc(if that is sons allergies) free. Am I asking too much?

OP posts:

flack · 01/11/2006 13:35

I think you'd be asking a lot to expect a playgroup to go entirely milk or wheat free (hence the biscuits/milk at break), but peanut-free shouldn't be too much to ask.

brimfull · 01/11/2006 13:45

my son has severe tree nut allergy,he attends a normal playgroup with no problem at all.He sits at the table with the others .They sit at tables of 4 children and each table has a superviser.He still has a biscuit because they buy safe ones for him and I check them.
All the staff had to be epipen trained by the local school nurse (all arranged by my hv).They were also trained for asthma inhalers aswell for ds.

Honestly there has been no problem at all.If they do any cooking or anything with food ,they go over all the ingredients with me and they have avoided nuts and eggs(he's allergic ot raw eggs aswell).
He attended the xmas party last year and was flanked by two staff which I thought was a bit much but ds didn't notice and it made the staff feel better so I didn't say anything.They are more relaxed about him now he's in his second year there,but they are very careful and caring.

He's lucky he isn't milk allergic aswell but I think it would be feasible to keep a child safe as quite a few kids don't drink milk so theoretically you could group them together.

Miriam2 · 01/11/2006 13:47

The main point is that they deal with it properly when they know what the allergy is. He could take his own snack and/or drink and be monitored to make sure he doesn't taste other things. Many playgroups are nut-free cos children of this age may not yet have had any exposure to nuts and you never know when it might start.

Once you know if he is allergic and to what, you should speak to the manager.

Chandra · 01/11/2006 19:32

Oh well, that's one of those things isn't it? we would like them to be able to join the other children so they didn't feel the odd one out but... sadly, they are and it is not safe to make them think otherwise

I think that the responsability for caring for an allergic child it's split in two: You take care to vet all products consumed/send lunchbox/bring your own. They take care that other children's food doesn't end in your child's mouth.

Staff have offered to cook for DS but he has a variety of allergies which makes cooking balanced meals for him quite difficult, it took me weeks to learn the "hidden names" of the foods he can't eat so I think it would be unfair of me to hope they could cook always especially for him and do it safely, they tried but I noticed most of the food were make-dos rather than a nutritious diet so.... now I provide everything.

DS has taken it fine, no tantrums or anything, he knows that foods make him feel bad and asks always before trying something. Now, that doesn't mean it doesn't break my heart when he ask me if that fruit has milk on it or if he would be able to eat this or that if he had not those allergies

MumRum · 01/11/2006 20:56

My son went to playgroup and I supplied his drink and dairy free biscuit...

All the staff were epi-pen trained before he started, and he used to sit with the children who drank water...

I think that the playgroup could go peanut free.. but asking them to go dairy and eggs is a bit much.. I mean where do you draw the line..

My son was aware from an early age that he was special and could only have food that I gave him

If DS's son did any cooking I would always supply his ingredients...

Posey · 01/11/2006 21:04

We had a child with severe and wide ranging allergies at our pre-school for a year. We had training on her specific condition, what she could and couldn't have, and had no problems. We had to be more careful with cooking activities and would always check with mum first. If someone wanted to bring a birthday cake or suchlike, mum would always bring one suitable for her daughter.
Now we have 3 children with allergies. We never have nuts in the place, so thats okay for one child. Another can't eat kiwi fruit so for the time being we don't have it. Another can't do dairy which is okay unless we do certain baking which we'll avoid when he's in.
We keep a list inside our store cupboard as a reminder.
Not a problem IMO as long as staff are well informed.

Original poster

hayleyhew · 01/11/2006 21:18

Thanks loads for all you input. Mumsnet is proving to be a great help for me. Thanks

OP posts:

MumRum · 01/11/2006 21:24

where are you having the allergy testing done? which method are they going to use?

gigwig · 01/11/2006 21:35

If your son does have serious allergies then he does have to get used to eating different things when out at playgroups, school and so on so it is good for him to experience playgroup etc.

I think a lot of the time the children with allergies seem to get on with this alright, accepting they will get so ill if they do eat anything they are allergic to.

I leave a bag of sweets with DS's pre school and he chooses something from that when another child has a birthday and brings in chocolates/cakes etc. we've never had a bad accident when the children sit around and drink milk.

I used to feel bad about it for DS having to be different but he doesnt seem that bothered by it and I just accept it's his way of life now.

Original poster

hayleyhew · 01/11/2006 21:43

Got an appointment first thing in morning with Bupa at Leeds - an allergist. We have sent him a few emails and he has told me would be possible to do the RAST test tomorrow. I know I wont sleep tonight. I am dreading it!

OP posts:

Original poster

hayleyhew · 01/11/2006 21:48

Eldest has woke up - got to go - will let you know how I get on tomorrow - what do you do (new to Mumsnet - post again on this thread?

OP posts:

brimfull · 01/11/2006 22:36

good luck tomorrow hayleyhew,hope he's not allegic ,but if he is you'll get a lot of support and info here.POst back on this thread and let us know how you got on.

Original poster

hayleyhew · 02/11/2006 13:45

Hi all
Just had his RAST test. Results will be ready in 2-3 weeks. Allergist was really nice and caring so just the waiting game now.
Really proud of my little boy the only time he cried was when they took the needle out!

OP posts:

brimfull · 02/11/2006 21:48

glad it went well,fingers crossed for the results.Did they not do any skin prick tests?

threebob · 03/11/2006 09:02

My ds is allergic to banana. No way could I ask anywhere to ban those - they are a super food. He doesn't know any different remember and at this age they don't think so much about whether it's bad to be different - if they even notice the difference.

Now school age on the other hand...

gigwig · 03/11/2006 16:17

Nice to know it went well, all the best waiting for the results...

NotQuiteCockney · 03/11/2006 16:22

Hmm, I'm involved in a parent-run playgroup/nursery, and if we have children allergic to anything, we leave that out of our food. We're vegetarian to begin with (lots of reasons why), and we've got a part-timer who is dairy and egg allergic. And his mum is (understandably) nervous about nuts, both ground and tree. So we're going vegan with no nuts on his days.

I can't imagine doing it any other way. Granted, these kids can be as young as 20 months, but there's no way we could keep a child free from allergens otherwise.

MumRum · 03/11/2006 20:23

Hi NotQuiteCockney.... is it a day nursery supplying food or a term time only 2 and a half hour playschool

NotQuiteCockney · 04/11/2006 15:04

MumRum, it's neither, I guess. It's somewhat term-time only (we close for August, and some half terms) and it's a nearly-four-hour session, including a snack and lunch. The lunch is prepared by parents, so it takes a bit of coordination and pointing things out to people to make sure everything is compliant. (Someone before the summer break gave them ham! )

Parents do shifts, and do a lot of the grunt work. Great place.

NotQuiteCockney · 04/11/2006 15:05

When we've had kids who didn't eat particular things because of excema-type reactions, or because of lifestyle issues (veganish parents) we have sometimes given separate meals, although I prefer to avoid that, as it's not nice for the kids ...

threebob · 04/11/2006 17:49

But excellent preparation for school...

NotQuiteCockney · 04/11/2006 19:34

Well, yes. But to expect a 20-month-old to understand that "this is for everyone else, but not for you" is hoping for a bit much. We used to have a severely dairy-allergic child, and we were dairy-free. He did understand he had to be careful (he still is, although he's only slightly allergic now, at 5), but it was nice to have somewhere he didn't have to be careful.

Anyway, this way we can avoid having to worry about epipens etc. I think providing allergy-safe food is actually less work than policing that closely at mealtime.

MumRum · 04/11/2006 19:37

Do you have many children at the moment with allergies NotQuiteCockney? What do they all have for lunch...

NotQuiteCockney · 04/11/2006 20:16

We've only just got our first allergic kid that we've had since I started with DS2. Actually, the first since it reopened in January. He's strongly allergic to dairy, somewhat allergic to egg, and his mum is anxious about nuts (can't say I blame her!).

As to what they have, well, it's a different parent cooking every day, so it varies. Based on what we used to do, when we had a dairy-allergic child before, I suspect there will be quite a bit of humous involved.

In theory, the main carb is meant to change from day to day (bread, pasta, couscous, rice, potato/pastry - waaaay too much wheat I know, and I will change that!), but at the moment, we have no gas, so people just do whatever.

It's always vegetarian, it's not ready meals etc, and it's meant to be organic where possible.

NotQuiteCockney · 04/11/2006 20:17

(We have already got a child who doesn't eat egg or yogurt, for lifestyle sorts of reasons.)

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