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| |    Food Allergies: Coping in School by Mary Silva, M.S., R.D. reviewed by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. Parents of children with food allergies are often are concerned about sending their little one to daycare or preschool. Preparation is the key to a successful transition. It's sensible to talk to the staff ahead of time to discuss your child's needs and to gauge the staff's previous experience in dealing with food allergic children. More likely than not, they would have experienced a child in the group with a food allergy. But even if they haven't had the experience, don't worry. With your help they'll be able to manage most situations. Make a List of Foods to Avoid You can start by making a list of the food(s) your child is sensitive to, including prepared foods that may contain this food as an ingredient. For example, if your child is sensitive to eggs, you would list pancakes, muffins, cakes, cookies, meatloaf, etc. as foods containing eggs. Put this list onto file cards to give to the teacher. To help the teacher be able to read food labels effectively, make a list of terms that indicate the presence of specific food proteins as ingredients. For example, foods containing milk may list "casein" or "whey" as ingredients. You can obtain a list like this from the Food Allergy Network www.foodallergy.org. Check the Menu Looking at a couple of week's menus for the program will give you and the staff an idea how often a food has to be eliminated. A substitute from the same food group will have to be offered to assure that your child gets adequate calories and other nutrients. A discussion with the staff will clarify who will provide the substitute, you or them. Most parents ask whether their child would be better off if they send their child's food and instruct the staff not to give their child any other food. This certainly would be easier for the program and may give you a feeling of better control of the situation. However, your child would lose the opportunity to eat some of the same foods as other children and would lose sharing some of the fun experiences with food with other children. In the case of children who are allergic to many foods or have severe reactions, they may be safest when parents provide all foods. For more on food allergies, including precautions for handling severe reactions, see Food Allergies: How Can You Tell?.
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