State Liscensed Facility & Dr. Notes

[Unregistered]

I used to run an in home daycare. I took a max of 6 kids at a time and lived in Indiana. Therefore I was never licensed. I was not required to be.

I have changed to working as a graphic designer for a company instead. I have my kids in a state licensed facility. It is pretty large and is run out of a church.

I had my daughter tested for allergies because she has been having reactions and several symptoms. We are attempting to locate the triggers but since she is (almost 4) there is only so much testing that they can do. I am more than willing to provide them with written restrictions on food, and medications however they are requiring EVERYTHING to come from my doctor and they are being very rigid about this. It's been an incredibly frustrating ordeal.

The allergy doctor has not witnessed a lot of her symptoms (and again, cannot test her for everything). It is a month long wait to get in to see this doctor...and is typically the case with any of these types of doctors in this area.

This daycare has not given me an outline of what verbiage they need in these notes but they are requesting them piece by piece at this point and it's getting to be what I consider excessive ONLY because they are requiring me to go through this doctor to get them. This is taking a lot of time out of my work schedule. When I call this doctor they have a service answer and the nurses have to return the calls.

The doctor's office is also starting to push back on me because this daycare is making so many requests for notes for details and clarifications and it's out of the norm for them to have to provide them to the degree they are asking for me. I feel like the daycare is going a little overboard.

I cannot locate any law that states that all notes have to come from a physician and not a parent. The doctor cannot test her for everything in life and he cannot witness all of her reactions nor can I get her into that doctors office for him to witness them. The majority of these notes are not specific enough because the doctor is just a middle man relaying information that I am telling him and they just want to be done with me. I seriously want to just pull my hair out.

What I want to know is, in the state of Indiana are there specific laws that state that notes such as this are REQUIRED to come from a physician? I have searched all over the internet and I think the daycare is just going a bit overboard.

I was a daycare provider so I understand covering your buns but I am also her mom. What on earth would I gain by restricting her from several fruits and juices? THEY have even witnessed her reactions and they are giving me the biggest run around about this. This is just beyond any type of common sense I can muster to figure out.

[Unregistered]

And mind you I DON'T have a problem with putting notes in writing. I understand that. I just don't understand why I'm continually having to go to the doctor to get them.

I have literally been requested 5 different notes for this. They have given no outlines as far as the information they need but each time I bring them the note they request they tell me it's not clear enough, or they need other information included, ect.

This would be so much easier if they would just let me write the stinking notes and tell me what they need instead of having to keep go and getting new ones. It's just bananas.

[Leigh]

They don't need a specific law. They make their own rules regarding allergies. They need to cover their own behinds. They want so much documentation because parents lie. All the time. They don't want their child to have to eat veggies, so he's allergic to veggies.

I am guessing your doctor is being vague intentionally because he's trying to please you and still not lie to the daycare. If your daughter's allergies are not diagnosed, they don't exist to the doctor. Even if you have witnessed the reaction, he can't confirm unless he has a test proving it to be true. It simply isn't ethical.

Has an allergist actually performed skin or blood testing?

[Willow]

At almost 4 there is no allergy testing an immunologist can't do. Testing for a fruit allergy is a one appointment, easy peasy scratch test.

A clearly written, yes, she's been tested and is allergic to banana's is undoubtedly what they're looking for. Rightfully so as any allergy can be incredibly dangerous and leave them open to liability.


On the flip side of that is Leigh's point. Parents sometimes want to play doctor themselves and suddenly what they merely expect is an issue, they blow up and declare a bona fide allergy. If a provider made concessions for every time that happened they wouldn't be able to serve any foods to the children in their care. You'd be shocked at how common it is.

If you don't like the requirements of the center it's always your right to remove her and get a nanny. That way you can have more control over her diet with or without the doctors notes while she's out of your care.

[Cat Herder]

A private, church run, program is not bound by childcare licensing rules in any state. Legally exempt.

Even without that, this issue will follow you throughout school as well. All will want a medical note for a true allergy. There are legal and insurance reasons.

Liability insurance. Preparedness supplies. Being forced to provide alternatives specific to each child. These things cost them money, too.

[satcook]

A private, church run, program is not bound by childcare licensing rules in any state. Legally exempt.

This is not true in Kansas.....

[Thriftylady]

I am legally unlicensed and I require it in writing as well, in detail. I also require it to state what foods the child can and can't have. So if the child can't have bread but can have rice bread I require that in writing. It is to keep your child safe. There is a saying in the medical industry that I go by in daycare. That saying is "if it isn't in writing it never happened". Just you telling me your child is allergic isn't enough, because many parents lie about these things. And once you provide documentation, I require you to provide the "special" foods for your child, but ONLY allow that after the doctor says it is needed.

[Febby]

A private, church run, program is not bound by childcare licensing rules in any state. Legally exempt.

Even without that, this issue will follow you throughout school as well. All will want a medical note for a true allergy. There are legal and insurance reasons.

Liability insurance. Preparedness supplies. Being forced to provide alternatives specific to each child. These things cost them money, too.

Church child care programs have to be licensed here unless they only operate while religious services are being conducted, if it's a summer program that operates for two weeks or less, or if they care for three or fewer children.

Most centers that I've worked at require a doctor's note for allergies. A couple had their own forms for the doctor to use, so they could be sure to get all the information they needed. Most need to know what the allergen(s) are, what happens if the child is exposed, and what we should do in case of accidental exposure. It's a liability issue not to have that information.

I've been at centers where children have been accidentally fed things they're allergic. Obviously it shouldn't happen and I've never done it myself, but it does happen.

[Unregistered]

She had several vials of blood drawn at a local hospital to test her blood. She did have the tests and I have a 7 page report reflecting that her results but both her pediatrician and her doctor told me not to give the whole report to the daycare because they are being so extreme about this whole ordeal. She's showing high levels for her Immunoglobulin E IgE her results came back as 675.0 out of .4 - 351.6. What this part of the test means is that she is in general going to naturally be allergic to various things in life but there is no way to test her for every single thing in life.

I have to weed out things as I see them but I cannot do that without the cooperation of other care providers and I cannot run to the doctor every time I need to temporarily remove something to see what is causing the reaction and that being said it's a month long wait to get in to see this doctor to begin with.

On this test, she has tested high for things she has shown zero reaction to and she eats daily. The doctor instructed me that if I do not witness any reactions to things that she eats even if she shows a high levels to not remove it from her diet.... hence why I am not supposed to give them the whole packet of testing results.

If I made the huge mistake of giving them all the results (against my doctors instruction) they are being so rigid that they would not allow her to eat or drink anything ever. The doctor instructed me this before he even went over the test with me.

Can they test for specific things.... they can but they cannot test for every single solitary thing in life while she is this young.... actually I am an adult and have had a lot of allergy scratch testing myself due to chronic severe sinus problems. I know it would be impossible to test for everything in life but they can run much larger tests at older ages. At this stage, you locate the possible triggers and test for those. I cannot locate triggers if the daycare is not cooperative.

This facility is the only one that busses to my other child's school.

[mommyneedsadayoff]

She had several vials of blood drawn at a local hospital to test her blood. She did have the tests and I have a 7 page report reflecting that her results but both her pediatrician and her doctor told me not to give the whole report to the daycare because they are being so extreme about this whole ordeal. She's showing high levels for her Immunoglobulin E IgE her results came back as 675.0 out of .4 - 351.6. What this part of the test means is that she is in general going to naturally be allergic to various things in life but there is no way to test her for every single thing in life.

I have to weed out things as I see them but I cannot do that without the cooperation of other care providers and I cannot run to the doctor every time I need to temporarily remove something to see what is causing the reaction and that being said it's a month long wait to get in to see this doctor to begin with.

On this test, she has tested high for things she has shown zero reaction to and she eats daily. The doctor instructed me that if I do not witness any reactions to things that she eats even if she shows a high levels to not remove it from her diet.... hence why I am not supposed to give them the whole packet of testing results.

If I made the huge mistake of giving them all the results (against my doctors instruction) they are being so rigid that they would not allow her to eat or drink anything ever. The doctor instructed me this before he even went over the test with me.

Can they test for specific things.... they can but they cannot test for every single solitary thing in life while she is this young.... actually I am an adult and have had a lot of allergy scratch testing myself due to chronic severe sinus problems. I know it would be impossible to test for everything in life but they can run much larger tests at older ages. At this stage, you locate the possible triggers and test for those. I cannot locate triggers if the daycare is not cooperative.

This facility is the only one that busses to my other child's school.

Maybe you could ask them if she can bring her own lunch? I am sorry it is causing so much distress, but allergies are a very scary thing for providers nowadays and I understand why they are being so specific. If a parent told me their kid has allergic reactions to certain foods, but we are not sure which ones, I would honestly probably terminate the arrangement. I know that sounds bad, but I cannot have the liability of serving that child food and not knowing if they will start to react. I don't think it is fair that your doctor is pitting you against the daycare in way that includes withholding information. I think that is a very scary thing to do and if your doctor was the one who was liable, he may be just as strict as the daycare when it comes to what your child eats in their care. He doesn't have that liability, so it is easy for him to say they are being too strict. This is just my opinion, but unless you can meet the standards the daycare is asking for, I would search for other care. They are not going to change their minds, especially at this point, so I think your choice is probably to comply or move on. Just be ware that whatever dayacre you attend, the minute you mention allergies, they are gonna probably need similar documentation. Good luck to you and your daughter! I hope it works out!

[Leigh]

She had several vials of blood drawn at a local hospital to test her blood. She did have the tests and I have a 7 page report reflecting that her results but both her pediatrician and her doctor told me not to give the whole report to the daycare because they are being so extreme about this whole ordeal. She's showing high levels for her Immunoglobulin E IgE her results came back as 675.0 out of .4 - 351.6. What this part of the test means is that she is in general going to naturally be allergic to various things in life but there is no way to test her for every single thing in life.

I have to weed out things as I see them but I cannot do that without the cooperation of other care providers and I cannot run to the doctor every time I need to temporarily remove something to see what is causing the reaction and that being said it's a month long wait to get in to see this doctor to begin with.

On this test, she has tested high for things she has shown zero reaction to and she eats daily. The doctor instructed me that if I do not witness any reactions to things that she eats even if she shows a high levels to not remove it from her diet.... hence why I am not supposed to give them the whole packet of testing results.

If I made the huge mistake of giving them all the results (against my doctors instruction) they are being so rigid that they would not allow her to eat or drink anything ever. The doctor instructed me this before he even went over the test with me.

Can they test for specific things.... they can but they cannot test for every single solitary thing in life while she is this young.... actually I am an adult and have had a lot of allergy scratch testing myself due to chronic severe sinus problems. I know it would be impossible to test for everything in life but they can run much larger tests at older ages. At this stage, you locate the possible triggers and test for those. I cannot locate triggers if the daycare is not cooperative.

This facility is the only one that busses to my other child's school.

I would have the skin testing done, as well, you can test for many more things that way.

[Unregistered]

On top of it they have witnessed these reactions several times and called me as a result of them. They know she has them. They know I'm not lying and they have notes from the doctor stating which items to remove from her diet.

My problem is they want all of these details in the notes but they are not specifiying what they need up front they making requests piece by piece.

First they wanted the allergies regarding the fruits in writing: understandable

Then they wanted a note for dosing medication: understandable

Then when I found out they continued giving her juices containing the same fruits that she was allergic to they needed a separate note to remove the juices.

Then it wasn't specific enough on which juices.

After I got that for them, then despite the fact that there was never a restriction on water or milk requested, they decided that they needed a separate doctors note on what they were allowed to supplement other than juice.

The doctor that we see has an answering service. A person answers, always says that the nurse is on the other line and they always have to call back. This means I have to jump through hoops each time I have to get one of these notes because if I miss the call back while I'm at work (which happens frequently because I am on the phones at work a lot) I have to wait for another call return again.

I was a daycare provider. I get it. Totally understand what parents can pull but at the same time there comes a point where you are disregarding all common sense and you choose to be a pain just to be a pain.

[Unregistered]

The reactions that she has are itchiness, rash, itchy eyes, scalp, nose, mouth, acidic urination and tummy irritability. She's not going into anaphylactic shock.

[Second Home]

My dd had a skin test done at age 2 , they covered her whole back . A month later we went back and they did a second round of other things that again covered her back . So it can be done at a younger age than your child .
I was given a list of things and the reaction grade assigned to each allergen .

The daycare needs to be sure your child is safe and that means a detailed health record . I am sure they have many children in care and it is much harder to keep every child away from what they maybe / are allergic to . And then there are somethings that they realistically can not keep your child away from ( grass, trees) .

Not sure in your state but we must keep very detailed records for every child in care , the state goes over each record and checks every immunization schedule for each child . Every medication must be documented with instructions from a doctor on their personalized stationary.

Unfortunately we as providers have to be careful because many of us have had parents lie to us about a medical condition of their child ( I am not implying you are ) , then when the child is ill it is our fault even thought the parents were not honest .


Many of the above things you mentioned are thing that I am required by my regulations to do as well . We also need to follow the food guidelines and substituting one item for another may not be allowed without a dr's note .

[Thriftylady]

My dd had a skin test done at age 2 , they covered her whole back . A month later we went back and they did a second round of other things that again covered her back . So it can be done at a younger age than your child .
I was given a list of things and the reaction grade assigned to each allergen .

The daycare needs to be sure your child is safe and that means a detailed health record . I am sure they have many children in care and it is much harder to keep every child away from what they maybe / are allergic to . And then there are somethings that they realistically can not keep your child away from ( grass, trees) .

Not sure in your state but we must keep very detailed records for every child in care , the state goes over each record and checks every immunization schedule for each child . Every medication must be documented with instructions from a doctor on their personalized stationary.

Unfortunately we as providers have to be careful because many of us have had parents lie to us about a medical condition of their child ( I am not implying you are ) , then when the child is ill it is our fault even thought the parents were not honest .


Many of the above things you mentioned are thing that I am required by my regulations to do as well . We also need to follow the food guidelines and substituting one item for another may not be allowed without a dr's note .

This. We have to have the information for several reasons. The top one is to protect the well being of your child.