Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2015 18:39:46 GMT
I'm the director for a kids daily camp that runs a full week during summer.
Of course we get all the registration forms which asks about allergies. We had quite a few dairy "allergies", which was cause for concern because our snack for the last day is ice-cream.
So I went through the tedious job of calling all the parents. Not one of them have an actual allergy. One child just gets constipated if he has too much, but they were more than delighted for him to get ice cream. The other just wasn't supposed to get cups of milk for who knows what reason.
I understand that there are food sensitivities, our kids are sensitive to certain foods. But I would never dream of putting that on the form unless I wasn't ok with him having those foods. I wish parents could understand that there is a huge difference between food allergies vs a sensitivity.
I'm re-thinking next year's forms. Perhaps putting a little note on the form stating we only need to know about allergies, not food sensitivities.
And the kicker? One mom didn't include under the medical issues line that her daughter is severely diabetic and can have absolutely no sugar. I realize this girl already knows to avoid sugary snacks, but we would have changed our Tuesday snack so she had more options. My biggest concern though is, we would not have known what was wrong if she had a medical emergency. She is severely diabetic and we didn't need to know. Oy!
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sharlag
Drama Llama
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Jun 26, 2014 12:57:48 GMT
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Post by sharlag on Aug 13, 2015 18:48:01 GMT
Sounds like a good idea to modify the form!
The diabetic mom? What the heck?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2015 18:52:30 GMT
One of my coworkers is in the medical field and she couldn't get over the fact that the mom didn't think to tell us! Her words - "now that's some bad parenting decisions right there"
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ComplicatedLady
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Post by ComplicatedLady on Aug 13, 2015 19:00:21 GMT
Maybe modify the form to say "list any food allergies/sensitivities and the child's reaction"? Then hopefully people would list things like ice cream causes constipation. Although if people don't list diabetes as a medical condition then who knows?
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IAmUnoriginal
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Jun 25, 2014 23:27:45 GMT
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Post by IAmUnoriginal on Aug 13, 2015 19:03:42 GMT
My ODS has multiple food allergies. Any form we've filled out for him for school or camp has a spot to indicate those allergies. If we answered yes to any of the allergies, we were required to submit a statement from his treating doctor for the severity and treatment of the named allergies (epi-pen for peanuts, benadryl and observation for the others). Maybe something like that on the form "If you answer yes to any of the food allergies questions below, please provide a statement from the treating physician describing the treatment plan for the exposure to the allergen."
YDS doesn't have food allergies. When I switched him to a preschool/daycare center a couple months back, there was a form in his paperwork packet that included an allergy form that had to be completed by our pediatrician if there were known allergies.
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Post by littlemama on Aug 13, 2015 19:06:14 GMT
Your form didn't list any options other than allergy or no issues, so the only choice people had was to put allergic to milk. It's not that the parents don't understand the difference, it is that your form didn't give them any options. DS attended a day care (I think) where they served milk at snack time. I had to mark that he was allergic to milk so that he could have water and the school wouldn't get in trouble for not serving him milk.
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Post by littlemama on Aug 13, 2015 19:07:52 GMT
My ODS has multiple food allergies. Any form we've filled out for him for school or camp has a spot to indicate those allergies. If we answered yes to any of the allergies, we were required to submit a statement from his treating doctor for the severity and treatment of the named allergies (epi-pen for peanuts, benadryl and observation for the others). Maybe something like that on the form "If you answer yes to any of the food allergies questions below, please provide a statement from the treating physician describing the treatment plan for the exposure to the allergen." YDS doesn't have food allergies. When I switched him to a preschool/daycare center a couple months back, there was a form in his paperwork packet that included an allergy form that had to be completed by our pediatrician if there were known allergies. That's a bit much for allergies that aren't life threatening. If my kid breaks out when he eats strawberries, it isn't something I would take him to the Dr for - my kid would just know that he can't have strawberries.
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Post by penny on Aug 13, 2015 19:08:27 GMT
Forms here ask about allergies and sensitivities as two separate questions... They also ask what reaction the child has... Good if the child gets sick and you're trying to figure out what may have caused it (ex. food poisoning or specific reaction)...
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Post by ten&rose on Aug 13, 2015 19:16:08 GMT
I am one of those moms. DS is somewhere between a dairy allergy and dairy sensitivity. He has to have signed statement from his doctor so he can attend activities on post and so he can get an alternate lunch at school. I always fill it out as an allergy because I've found caregivers take an allergy more seriously. Case in point, at one hourly care they very proudly told me that they made sure he had soy milk for lunch.... of pasta alfredo. I educated them on what alfredo sauce is made out of and gave him Miralax that evening. DS will eat ice cream but he usually eats very small amounts and quits when his tummy hurts. Long story short, I call it an allergy so he isn't served alfredo with ice cream and milk.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2015 19:22:43 GMT
I am one of those moms. DS is somewhere between a dairy allergy and dairy sensitivity. He has to have signed statement from his doctor so he can attend activities on post and so he can get an alternate lunch at school. I always fill it out as an allergy because I've found caregivers take an allergy more seriously. Case in point, at one hourly care they very proudly told me that they made sure he had soy milk for lunch.... of pasta alfredo. I educated them on what alfredo sauce is made out of and gave him Miralax that evening. DS will eat ice cream but he usually eats very small amounts and quits when his tummy hurts. Long story short, I call it an allergy so he isn't served alfredo with ice cream and milk. I would be fine with you putting that under an allergy because you are asking the caregivers not to give him said food. My issue is with parents that put down food sensitives for us to know about but are completely fine with their child having the problem food. Why put something down if you're completely ok with the child having that food?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2015 19:27:26 GMT
Your form didn't list any options other than allergy or no issues, so the only choice people had was to put allergic to milk. It's not that the parents don't understand the difference, it is that your form didn't give them any options. DS attended a day care (I think) where they served milk at snack time. I had to mark that he was allergic to milk so that he could have water and the school wouldn't get in trouble for not serving him milk. The forms are made by the company we order our material from, but I will definitely make some changes for the following year. This was my first year running this program, we're basically starting from the ground up so some of these issues are only noticed when the problem arises. I'm fine with a parent stating a sensitivity as an allergy if they don't want their child to have that food. My issue is with parents who put something down but don't care if we give said food anyway. Why put anything down then? Even my food fanatic SIL did not include any of her children's food sensitivities on the form, because she's ok with them having those foods for camp week. That's the only point I'm trying to make.
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Post by fuji on Aug 13, 2015 19:36:19 GMT
I would modify the form and have a section for "food allergies" and "food sensitivities." Under food sensitivity, I would have two columns -- one would list the sensitivity and the other would explain the physical reaction that results from the sensitivity. I would also include a definition of "allergy" and "sensitivity."
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Post by rainangel on Aug 13, 2015 19:45:26 GMT
My kids have friends who are highly and deathly allergic to nuts. And they have friends who break out if they eat TOO MANY nuts. The difference between the two is HUGE!
I suggest putting seperate questions for allergies and sensitivities, and leave a section for them to fill in known reactions when exposed.
Or you just have to eliminate ANYTHING that kids may or may not have reaction to at your camp.... Which probably leaves you with snackoptions like 'water with ice cubes'.
And the mother of the diabetic girl can not be in her right mind not informing you about her medical condition! Straight up bad parenting decision. Yes I judge this woman!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2015 19:46:00 GMT
Yes I agree, changes to the forms will need to be made for next year.
I might even have any parents with allergies/sensitivities go through our snack menu and approve or disapprove the daily snacks. That way we won't have to spend time phoning all the parents and we can make other arrangements for those children that require it.
I'm definitely not against parents who want their children to avoid certain foods. I'm just baffled by parents that add a food allergy but are perfectly fine with their child having it.
I love the idea of asking parents to include reactions to these foods.
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Post by gryroagain on Aug 13, 2015 19:49:27 GMT
I usually chuck dds lactose intolerance under "medical" since it isn't an allergy, and save the true allergies for the allergy section. She has been more than capable of avoiding dairy on her own from a young age, or making the choice herself to partake and reap the consequences. I usually write a note to that effect- so if she is pining for the special treat no one will forbid her out of fear, but if she refuses it's for a reason. She is 17 now and it's not worth it to her to try dairy treats, so I don't write anything down at all now.
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Post by littlemama on Aug 13, 2015 19:50:09 GMT
Your form didn't list any options other than allergy or no issues, so the only choice people had was to put allergic to milk. It's not that the parents don't understand the difference, it is that your form didn't give them any options. DS attended a day care (I think) where they served milk at snack time. I had to mark that he was allergic to milk so that he could have water and the school wouldn't get in trouble for not serving him milk. The forms are made by the company we order our material from, but I will definitely make some changes for the following year. This was my first year running this program, we're basically starting from the ground up so some of these issues are only noticed when the problem arises. I'm fine with a parent stating a sensitivity as an allergy if they don't want their child to have that food. My issue is with parents who put something down but don't care if we give said food anyway. Why put anything down then? Even my food fanatic SIL did not include any of her children's food sensitivities on the form, because she's ok with them having those foods for camp week. That's the only point I'm trying to make. I do understand that it would be frustrating to have the parents mark something, but then not care if they eat the item. In my son's case, he could not drink milk, but he could eat some cheese and ice cream. I had to say he was allergic to dairy so they would not give him milk to drink, but in reality, there were other dairy products he could have.
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Post by PEArfect on Aug 13, 2015 19:52:36 GMT
Food aversions aren't fun to deal with either. Just ask someone that is lactose intolerant. That is probably why parents list them as allergies. I think schools and activity directors should be made aware of food allergies, but I think that it should be up to the parents to send in allergy free snacks for their children. If I had a child with a food allergy I wouldn't trust others not to give them something they would be allergic to.
I'm allergic to wheat. If you don't live with a particular food allergy how would you know how to prepare something for someone that has that allergy? I don't chance it, and I wouldn't want that responsibility for someone else either. I just say "no thank you." Wheat and its derivatives are in a lot of products.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2015 19:53:17 GMT
The forms are made by the company we order our material from, but I will definitely make some changes for the following year. This was my first year running this program, we're basically starting from the ground up so some of these issues are only noticed when the problem arises. I'm fine with a parent stating a sensitivity as an allergy if they don't want their child to have that food. My issue is with parents who put something down but don't care if we give said food anyway. Why put anything down then? Even my food fanatic SIL did not include any of her children's food sensitivities on the form, because she's ok with them having those foods for camp week. That's the only point I'm trying to make. I do understand that it would be frustrating to have the parents mark something, but then not care if they eat the item. In my son's case, he could not drink milk, but he could eat some cheese and ice cream. I had to say he was allergic to dairy so they would not give him milk to drink, but in reality, there were other dairy products he could have. Thank you for pointing that out. It also reaffirms to me that the best route might be to have allergy parents see the snack menu so it can be approved/disapproved. It might make the week easier for everyone involved.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2015 19:59:47 GMT
Food aversions aren't fun to deal with either. Just ask someone that is lactose intolerant. That is probably why parents list them as allergies. I think schools and activity directors should be made aware of food allergies, but I think that it should be up to the parents to send in allergy free snacks for their children. If I had a child with a food allergy I wouldn't trust others not to give them something they would be allergic to. I'm allergic to wheat. If you don't live with a particular food allergy how would you know how to prepare something for someone that has that allergy? I don't chance it, and I wouldn't want that responsibility for someone else either. I just say "no thank you." Wheat and its derivatives are in a lot of products. Absolutely! My BIL is celiac, we have family members who are intolerant to dairy, eggs, wheat, corn, etc. So even though I'm hyper aware of ingredients I know how hard it is to trust that responsibility with others. As for the diabetic girl, we have one mom who is on a strict diet for various reasons. She talked to the mother about possible snack options and offered to make sugar free cookies for her daughter. The mother was almost in tears that someone would go the extra mile for her. Had we known earlier, we could have offered her appropriate options. Our snack on day 2 was homemade Rice Krispie treats and apple slices, both not ok for this child. Live and learn!
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Post by moveablefeast on Aug 13, 2015 20:05:37 GMT
I work at a preschool... And would rather know more than less about children's food needs. For example, I had one last year who had an egg allergy. A small amount of egg in a cupcake was okay but a hard-boiled egg or scrambled egg would cause an anaphylaxis reaction.
We had one with a milk sensitivity who could consume cream or butter but not milk itself.
This is what the parent needs to communicate if there are subtleties to the child's reaction to foods. Knowing about sensitivities still matters because you need the whole picture of what kids can and cannot eat.
Maybe it's different for camp but that's how we approach it at preschool.
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Post by Basket1lady on Aug 13, 2015 20:11:05 GMT
I'm the Volunteer Coordinator for the HS Theatre program. We feed the kids dinner during Tech Week because they are at the school from 7 am to 9 pm daily for that week.
On my form, I have two sections. The kids fill out their own forms, so I found that I needed to be very specific. One section is Allergies That WILL SEND YOU TO THE ER and the other section is Food Sensitivities/Foods You Don't Eat. I'm feeding between 60-120 kids (depends on the cast size) and I have options for those who can't eat gluten or break out in a rash from strawberries. I want the kids to eat so that they have the energy to keep going all week. But I need to know if eating something will send a kid to the ER. Last year, I banned latex gloves, nuts, shellfish, bananas, avocados, and kiwi from the room and asked that any home cooks avoid those items in their cooking area as well.
Another thing I ask the kids is if they eat food from another kitchen. Some allergies are bad enough where the parents bring in the student's meal. I still ban the above, but I worry less about that child eating something unintentionally contaminated.
That may help you out. I have a child with a borderline prolonged QT interval. He can't have Benedryl or many types of antibiotics. On his school forms, I would list Benedryl under allergies, even though it wasn't a true allergy. But there was no place on the form for Common Medications That Will Increase Your Child's QT Interval. I also wrote a note for his file and spoke with the nurse and the athletic trainer myself. But those forms were all they had on the field in an emergency and I didn't want to quibble over semantics.
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Gravity
Pearl Clutcher
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Jun 27, 2014 0:29:55 GMT
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Post by Gravity on Aug 13, 2015 20:14:08 GMT
A friend runs a summer day camp. Parents are provided with a menu of each day's meal and snacks for the next week. If the child cannot or opts not to eat the provided food, the parent is expected to provide the child's food. IMO, a day camp should not be expected to cater to each child's dietary restrictions.
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Post by jenb72 on Aug 13, 2015 20:32:03 GMT
I can understand where there might be some confusion based on what the other ladies have mentioned.
Thankfully, my kids aren't allergic to anything. I, however, have recently developed a sensitivity to lactose. I can't drink a glass of 2% milk without consequences and a milkshake causes me lots of problems. But, I have no problem with cheese or a regular size bowl of ice cream. It's really odd to me. If it were one of my kids with these sensitivities, I might be tempted to list it on the sheet if only to help my kids avoid those problems.
Jen
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LeaP
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Jun 26, 2014 23:17:22 GMT
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Post by LeaP on Aug 13, 2015 21:04:27 GMT
A friend runs a summer day camp. Parents are provided with a menu of each day's meal and snacks for the next week. If the child cannot or opts not to eat the provided food, the parent is expected to provide the child's food. IMO, a day camp should not be expected to cater to each child's dietary restrictions. I like this idea. It really depends on the age of the kids. By 4th or 5th grade they should be able to explain their dietary restrictions. For seven years I made cake sushi on the last day of school with my kids' classes. By third grade most of the kids did a fantastic job of explaining why they couldn't have something like a gummy shark - not halal. I have some of the nicest notes thanking me for caring.
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Post by annabella on Aug 13, 2015 21:09:00 GMT
Definitely modify the form and say is it okay for your child to have ice cream on the last day, yes/no?
I organized an ice cream social in my office last year and one girl made a fuss about how she has a dairy allergy and I had to get a special gelato for her. Fast forward to this year, someone else hosted the ice cream social and this same girl ate the ice cream. So of course I said something and she said "oh I'll just suffer later" and then throughout the week she ate the leftover ice cream.
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theshyone
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Post by theshyone on Aug 13, 2015 21:41:04 GMT
I'm the director for a kids daily camp that runs a full week during summer. Of course we get all the registration forms which asks about allergies. We had quite a few dairy "allergies", which was cause for concern because our snack for the last day is ice-cream. So I went through the tedious job of calling all the parents. Not one of them have an actual allergy. One child just gets constipated if he has too much, but they were more than delighted for him to get ice cream. The other just wasn't supposed to get cups of milk for who knows what reason. I understand that there are food sensitivities, our kids are sensitive to certain foods. But I would never dream of putting that on the form unless I wasn't ok with him having those foods. I wish parents could understand that there is a huge difference between food allergies vs a sensitivity. I'm re-thinking next year's forms. Perhaps putting a little note on the form stating we only need to know about allergies, not food sensitivities. And the kicker? One mom didn't include under the medical issues line that her daughter is severely diabetic and can have absolutely no sugar. I realize this girl already knows to avoid sugary snacks, but we would have changed our Tuesday snack so she had more options. My biggest concern though is, we would not have known what was wrong if she had a medical emergency. She is severely diabetic and we didn't need to know. Oy! I think I'd put in a line: foods to be avoided. technically my son isn't allergic to dairy, but he will projectile vomit within minutes if it's injested, I certainly don't want you to think "oh, he is sensitive, but I'll give it to him anyway".
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Post by JustCallMeMommy on Aug 13, 2015 21:47:54 GMT
Parents are just nuts sometimes. I teach kids on Sundays, and with the little kids, even though we have allergy information on file, if we are serving a treat, we ask the parents if it will be OK. Older kids typically know what they can and cannot have.
Ali had a friend over for a sleepover once who had been in her class for 2 years. We were told both years not to bring anything with nuts because of this allergy. When she arrived for her sleepover, I wanted to understand the nature of the allergy, how I would need to react, etc., so I started asking questions. Turns out, the child had never been diagnosed - she got a rash once as a baby and they suspected it MIGHT have been from peanuts. Another friend tells everyone that she is allergic to strawberries, but she confided in me that she just doesn't like them, but by telling everyone she is allergic, they don't act like she is crazy.
I think cases like these are the reason many people don't take allergies seriously. Moms who mark an allergy to dairy because the child doesn't LIKE to drink milk are really doing a disservice to kids who really do have allergies.
FWIW, I would roll my eyes at the 20 questions it takes to really understand what a child can and cannot eat, but I would understand where you are coming from.
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Post by gryroagain on Aug 13, 2015 21:48:48 GMT
And one reason people put them down is because if the child declines a treat, the program will know why. They may not be severely allergic, but for some places unless it's explicitly stated somewhere the kids are all expected to eat what is given, and some kids can't even though they won't die if they do. So putting it down (even under allergies) is easier than not and having the food wasted or the kid get grief for not eating it.
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Post by ten&rose on Aug 13, 2015 21:48:51 GMT
I am one of those moms. DS is somewhere between a dairy allergy and dairy sensitivity. He has to have signed statement from his doctor so he can attend activities on post and so he can get an alternate lunch at school. I always fill it out as an allergy because I've found caregivers take an allergy more seriously. Case in point, at one hourly care they very proudly told me that they made sure he had soy milk for lunch.... of pasta alfredo. I educated them on what alfredo sauce is made out of and gave him Miralax that evening. DS will eat ice cream but he usually eats very small amounts and quits when his tummy hurts. Long story short, I call it an allergy so he isn't served alfredo with ice cream and milk. I would be fine with you putting that under an allergy because you are asking the caregivers not to give him said food. My issue is with parents that put down food sensitives for us to know about but are completely fine with their child having the problem food. Why put something down if you're completely ok with the child having that food? However I will admit that I do allow him to have the ice cream treat at VBS etc because he does self regulate. I know I'm contradictory but after dealing with his belly for years to get answers I am a little gun shy to let him self regulate completely.
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Post by ten&rose on Aug 13, 2015 21:52:40 GMT
The forms are made by the company we order our material from, but I will definitely make some changes for the following year. This was my first year running this program, we're basically starting from the ground up so some of these issues are only noticed when the problem arises. I'm fine with a parent stating a sensitivity as an allergy if they don't want their child to have that food. My issue is with parents who put something down but don't care if we give said food anyway. Why put anything down then? Even my food fanatic SIL did not include any of her children's food sensitivities on the form, because she's ok with them having those foods for camp week. That's the only point I'm trying to make. I do understand that it would be frustrating to have the parents mark something, but then not care if they eat the item. In my son's case, he could not drink milk, but he could eat some cheese and ice cream. I had to say he was allergic to dairy so they would not give him milk to drink, but in reality, there were other dairy products he could have. This is my kiddo. And because we deal with so many federal programs being a military family I cover their bases by saying allergy and turn around and let him have pizza.
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