Food Preferences and Allergies

[Unregistered]

How do most of you deal with children who are intolerant to wheat, milk, cheese, eggs, etc. Also, do you have any clients who have religious preferences , ie no meat or fish, no dairy ?
( I am a member, but cannot for the life of me get my password correct. )

[Michael]

To retrieve your account password: https://www.daycare.com/forum/login.php?do=lostpw

What was your username?

[Rachel]

I have not dealt with life threatening allergies, but I've dealt with kids who didn't eat a variety or parents who wanted to avoid dairy (but the child wasn't allergic so if he got it by accident they weren't upset).

I serve what I serve. My menu is posted and they know what it is in advance. Every meal and snack there are at least 2 choices (as in bread w/ spread plus fruit), so a child who doesn't want to eat one will often eat the other. If the child is very fussy and still young, I will tell the parent they have to keep sending a bottle. I have a 13 month old like this now. He doesn't eat all that well, but I offer the meal first and if he doesn't eat and is hungry after I just give him a bottle.

[Evansmom]

We have life threatening food allergies. Personally we pack food for ourselves wherever we go because I can't imagine holding another person responsible for knowing how to feed us. When I did daycare the kids packed lunches from home and we never shared food. And for parties we did non-food activities and treats.

[Blackcat31]

How do most of you deal with children who are intolerant to wheat, milk, cheese, eggs, etc. Also, do you have any clients who have religious preferences , ie no meat or fish, no dairy ?
( I am a member, but cannot for the life of me get my password correct. )

If a child has an allergy to a certain food then I require a doctors statement.

This statement must state what foods and in what forms the child cannot have. It must also list alternatives when certain things are removed from a diet.

If a family has a preference based on religious beliefs, then I suppose I would try to find a way to work around it and meet those needs but ONLY IF it did not require MORE of me than I am able to provide...kwim?

[therov]

One of my clients is allergic to dairy so the family supplies the milk alternative product for their kid. During fall/winter most of my menu excludes dairy in the meals, or it can be easily excluded. When I have a dairy product, I offer an alternative--usually leftovers from another non-dairy meal.

I once had a family try to bully me into an organic menu and then resorted to bringing all their own food. That family did not last long with me. It's too hard to have separate meals for all the kids and keep the food bickering to a minimum.

[Evansmom]

One of my clients is allergic to dairy so the family supplies the milk alternative product for their kid. During fall/winter most of my menu excludes dairy in the meals, or it can be easily excluded. When I have a dairy product, I offer an alternative--usually leftovers from another non-dairy meal.

I once had a family try to bully me into an organic menu and then resorted to bringing all their own food. That family did not last long with me. It's too hard to have separate meals for all the kids and keep the food bickering to a minimum.

I have heard from many providers that kids eating different meals causes problems with other kids wanting what they have. But I thought I'd chime in and say I've never had that happen. The kids bring their food from home, we each have our own food that is safe for us. The other foods are not safe. The kids know that so no one has ever asked to share.
I know it doesn't work for everyone but it's just my 2 cents.

[Leanna]

I've had kids with life-threatening allergies (peanut, egg), non-life-threatening allergies (pineapple, shellfish), gluten intolerance, and vegetarians.

I provide all meals for all of the kids. I do not serve eggs or peanut products so I don't have to worry about those ones. Everyone gets the same meal but modified. For example, if the meal is spaghetti with meat sauce, broccoli, and oranges, my gluten-free child gets the same meal but his spaghetti is rice spaghetti. If I have a child who is allergic to one non-staple thing (like pineapple) I just don't serve it. If it is a staple (wheat, milk) then I make substitutions that are as close to the "original" as possible. This way the kids are all eating the same thing and there is no, "Why does Tony have something different?" "I want what Ashley has!" I do this not only because of potential whining but because I don't want the kids with allergies and dietary restrictions to feel different just because they can't have a certain thing.

One other thing I do is assign each child a color and their dishes, silverware, and cup will all be that color. This way I don't have to worry about any potential cross contamination.