How to Help Your Allergy-Prone Child Go to Child Care

It is important for children with allergies to have normal lifestyles, which may include child care. You can take several steps to ensure an allergy-controlled existence for your son or daughter while away from home.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Air Cleaners
• Allergy Free Matress Covers
• Dehumidifiers
• Allergy-free Bedding
• Humidifiers

1. Discuss your child's allergy history with the child care provider.
2. Provide a list of known allergy-producing foods.
3. Look for signs of a pet - a child care provider will not always divulge that his or her cat uses the sofa as a bed during the night.
4. Familiarize yourself with the child care provider's emergency procedures in case of a serious allergy attack.
5. Talk about designing strategies to help your child avoid allergens while in the provider's home or center.
6. Bring in a humidifier or dehumidifier if possible.
7. Provide anti-allergen bedding to encase mattresses and sheets that may used at naptime.
8. Request that your child be kept away from chalk and not allowed around blackboards if chalk is a known allergen.
9. Inquire about cleaning frequency - how often the room is dusted, vacuumed or mopped and how often cloth toys are washed.
10. Suggest using nontoxic cleaning products that you know will not irritate your child. Perhaps provide these products initially.
11. Ask about storing washable yet dust-collecting toys in airtight containers.
12. Combat pollen by keeping your child indoors when the pollen count is high or on windy days.
13. Make sure the sandbox is covered when not in use.
14. Be on the alert for behavioral changes that may indicate discomfort resulting from allergies while at child care.
15. Share your child's allergy experience at child care with his or her health care provider or allergist.

Tips & Warnings

• Explain to your child why these strategies are being used. Listen to his or her concerns and questions. Include your child in the process of preparing his or her environment.
• Thank the child care provider frequently for helping to meet your child's specific needs.
• Your child may spend more days at home than you anticipate until the child care environment is completely allergen-free.