Sending your child to daycare. How?

Im posting here as Im after a parents of allergy kids point of view rather than a child care point of view.

Recently DS was exposed to one of his allergens again while in day care. It has been handled rather... clumsily by the centre and as a result of many attributing factors we are now without care. The issue is, eventually we will need to find care again as I need to work. And while my family and friends are absolute gems and picking up the pieces for me, it is not a permanent solution to our problem. So back to care we will go once we can find a place.

Previously we have found that because FDC can chose whom they take on, as soon as they discover DS has a rather large list of allergies/intolerances (it could just be a coincidence...a lot... :rolleyes: ) They can no longer take him. Plus none of the carers we talk to are very experienced with dealing with allergies in this amount. The severity is not the issue (I dont believe) just the amount of them. Exposure is not a fatal event (we havent tested all of them in real life though so I guess that is still on the cards =/ ) but exposure to the wrong thing, will cause significant pain and distress, plus set us weeks if not months back with our toileting progress (exposure causes DS to have chronic constipation to the point he is still medicated as it took many unfortunate years to discover this was our issue).

So that really leads us back to centre based care. Now my issue being that after our experience leading to termination of enrollment this time, I feel absolutely scared silly at sending DS back into a centre environment again. He was meant to be protected last time - and wasnt. And while I am happy to provide his own food each day I feel like I am setting him up to be further the odd kid. If that makes sense? Not to mention a lot of centres will not allow us to bring in food from the outside even though DS is a low risk of bringing in cross contamination (though I do understand why they have this policy). How do you do it? How do you trust someone with your child when someone else has already made such a huge error before them? Honestly if I could, he wouldnt go back. But that isnt an option.

Would it be possible to have someone care for him in your own home? That sounds like a more fesible and safer option.

Yeah, I'd be looking at getting a nanny.

:hug: hun, it must have been so upsetting to have to go through that. :(

Talk to the centres, visit them and ask to see their plans, who is qualified. My kids all have allergies but not too serious, but finding a center that took it seriously was hard. One even said that they only cook with a little bit of dairy!

Where my kids are now they have a couple of kids with epi pens. All the staff in his room are trained to use it and one is kept in his room and another in the office. The centre is now entirely nut free as even hand contact can cause a reaction.

Hope you can find somewhere.

Unfortunately a Nanny isnt a financially viable option for us. :(

There is one centre I have spoken to who has been horrified at what has happened with our previous centre. She even said herself, that it doesnt matter that it isnt life threatening, it matters that it makes him uncomfortable and in pain and thats not okay. Which right now seems like worlds apart to what the previous centre has actually shown to us.

Dd1 has an epi-pen and a few allergies. I made sure the centre was across all policies, had experience dealing with allergies and had trained staff.

In 4 years we had one incident but nobody could pinpoint the cause and could have been a plant she handled, not food. But the way it was dealt with was swift and proactive. I think you need to be comfortable that they know what they are dong and take it seriously.

Abigail what are your work hours like? Could you get away with a really good sitter which would be a little cheaper than a nanny?

Our childcare centre has a policy that we are not aloud to bring food to the centre. All the food is dealt with in their own kitchens.
They have a list of names in the kitchens with all the allergies the children have and what they are aloud to have.

Some parents may even choose that their child can only have brown bread not white and no yoghurt for instance.

I think you could to talk to the director who will then intern talk to all the staff and make sure there is always an eye on your child during meal times and that every child washes their hands after meals.

It is so tough though as even with the strictest centres there is always a chance something could get past. They just need to make sure they know how to act swiftly and calmly in an event.

Are you eligible for childcare rebate and/or child care benefit? I'm pretty sure you can claim it with a nanny. No idea how much, but might be worth looking into?

Otherwise I'm certain there are centres that will be safe for your boy. Every centre I've worked in, despite all their other failings :rolleyes:, have been very strict on allergy management.

Good luck I hope you can find a solution you are comfortable with.,

I'm suprised that there are centres out there that don't take it seriously! Surely the risk of legal ramifications would make them sit up and take notice, if nothing else.

Our centre has quite a few children who are anathelatic (Sp?) including one of DS's little buddies. He is allergic to nuts and eggs and doesn't tolerate dairy well. The centre is completely nut and egg free, and I think also free of some of the other big ones like strawberries. He's been there for 2 years and according to his mum they've never had a problem. In fact the centre even went through a process a year or so ago of sending home nappy creams and specifying which ones were appropriate because many actually contain traces of nut oils - to me that is taking it seriously.

They have strict rules about not letting any outside food be brought on the premises and IMO do a great job of protecting the children with allergies. I think if you look around enough and talk to enough centre directors you will find one that you can trust.

On a side note, it makes me furious how other parents don't take allergies seriously. I can't tell you how many times we've been at play centres and the like that have a 'no outside food' rule and I've seen parents give their little ones crackers/snacks from home that get taken into the play area and innevitably left lying around for the next child to pick up.

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Are you eligible for childcare rebate and/or child care benefit? I'm pretty sure you can claim it with a nanny. No idea how much, but might be worth looking into?

Otherwise I'm certain there are centres that will be safe for your boy. Every centre I've worked in, despite all their other failings :rolleyes:, have been very strict on allergy management.

Good luck I hope you can find a solution you are comfortable with.,

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You can only claim CCB, CCR through a registered provider - such as LDC, FDC - most nannies aren't registered providers.

Oh ok, I was sure I read something on the centrelink website about nannies, but it's not what I was looking for so didn't pay much attention.