Just a little bit of ignorance!!

You know I am really starting to tire of professionals who are ignorant about allergies. Little B goes to 3 year old kindergarten next year. So at the start of the year I began looking for kinders for him.

I’m lucky that I found a great and supportive one almost immediately. They have previously had children who are anaphylactic to nuts and as such were open to a child with multiple food allergies. They also already have a policy about only eating out of lunchboxes and if the child is highly allergic than a staff member sits next to them during snack time.

But I did have one other kindy tell me they weren’t keen to have him as it was too complicated. Though they didn’t think it was too complicated to have a child with anaphylaxis nor to do the training for an epi-pen. Just too complicated to make sure fruit wasn’t shared!?!?!?!?

But I experienced mind blowing ignorance from another kindy teacher. Upon learning he bleeds gastro-intestinally from the foods he is allergic too, she said “oh well that’s not as important to me as a child with anaphylaxis”. When I clarified this comment, she again insisted it wasn’t something she had to concern herself about. This same kindy has only just moved to lunchboxes and still insists on providing milk drinks during snack times.

Not only milk – but this milk is bought by a different parent each kindy day. As a parent to a child with a multiple food allergies, I was blown away by this woman and kindy. One, who serves milk in this day and age with allergies on the increase – let alone relies on varying individuals to provide it? Secondly, just because Little B wouldn’t swell up, stop breathing and potentially die in front of her, she wasn’t willing to keep an eye on him during a kinder session.

Needless to say I didn’t pick this kindergarten but I have heard of some parents sending their cows milk allergic children to kindergarten or child care where they have been given cows milk (even though the parents have provided an alternative).

Just how ignorant can people be? And how did they get their jobs as educational professionals?