Having a child that suffers from severe food allergies means that you need to be extra vigilant about where your child spends their free time when they are outside of your care. Even though your child may be aware that they have a severe food allergy, they are still not old enough to be responsible for making sure that their environment is safe for them. If you are looking into preschools for your child with severe food allergies, here are four things that you need to make sure that you inquire about.

#1 School-Wide Food Allergy Policy

The first thing you need to ask about when touring a prospective preschool is what their school-wide food allergy policy is when they knowingly have children attending their preschool who have severe food allergies. You should be looking for a policy that asks all parents to not send their child to school with items that their classmates are allergic to. When a school-wide food allergy policy is in place, it shows you that the entire school community is on board with protecting your child.

#2 Staff Food Allergy Policy

Second, you need to find out what the staff food allergy policy is. How are the staff informed about children who have food allergies? How are substitutes informed about children with food allergies?

Ideally, you are going to want to know that all staff are informed and briefed on children that have food allergies. A list of children with food allergies that includes what they are allergic to as well as the appropriate response should they have an allergic reaction should be included on this list as well.  

All substitute staff should be provided with this list, along with pictures of each child who has food allergies so they can be ensure that they are protecting the right child from potential allergy exposure.

#3 Food Preparation & Cleaning Policy

Third, you need to make sure that the preschool has as stringent cleaning policy following all meal times to ensure that your child is not accidentally exposed to an allergen. All food should be prepared while wearing gloves, and staff should wash their hands before handling food. All tables, chairs and floors should be disinfected with bleach after each meal and the floors should be swept as well. The child should also be required to wash their hands after they eat. This will help ensure that food your child is allergic to is not spread throughout the classroom.

#4 Outside Food Policy

Finally, make sure that the preschool checks all outside food that is served for special occasions. If you are not comfortable with your child eating outside food, see if the preschool will allow you to provide a basket of special treats for your child to eat when outside food is provided to the classroom as a whole.

Make sure that you are comfortable with the answers provided by the preschool staff. You want to send your child to a preschool that will actively watch out and protect your child from exposure to the foods that they are severely allergic to. 

Keep these things in mind as you contact different preschools in your area, like Country Day School.