8 Crucial Food Allergy Questions to Ask Preschools, Daycares & Schools
*Updated 2024
As a 17-year experienced food allergy mama with 14 years of school behind us, I thought I would share exactly what I would ask preschools if I were to do it again today. That’s how I came up with these food allergy questions to ask preschools. (TIP: These questions also work for your kindergarten and elementary or grade school too!)
Because I know how hard it is to let someone else take care of your littles. Add food allergies and it can be THE most stressful thing ever.
That’s why I created a stress-relieving School Allergy Plan Template that goes into great detail about food allergy safety at school. Yes, the questions below are essential, but there are so many more to go over with your preschool. You can learn about this School Allergy Plan Template here.
Make sure you read to the end so you don’t miss the most important questions.
Now, let’s dive in.
What To Ask Preschools About Food Allergies
First, I would start with something general to get a feel for their food allergy knowledge. For example:
How do they manage severe food allergies?
This is a really broad question and is meant to get an idea of how much they really know about allergies. What they choose to talk about here will help you get a feeling for how allergy savvy they are and it could give you an indication about whether they welcome kids with allergies or if it seems like they feel allergies are an inconvenience. By asking this question first, you’re able to decide if you even need to go further in your questioning or not (especially if they don’t seem overly welcoming to kids with allergies).
Some things to listen for in their response are:
How do they contain foods in all situations from prepping to snack time? Do they understand what cross-contact is? Will your child’s allergens be served to other kids? If so, how do they plan to contain the allergen to ensure your child doesn’t come into contact?
Next, if they answer in a way that seems knowledgeable and helpful, you can get into more detail with the following questions:
2. What training does the staff take about food allergies and how often?
It’s super important that the provider understands cross-contact especially since the possibility of cross-contact is high when you get a bunch of littles eating together.
Training needs to include what to WATCH for when it comes to anaphylaxis (and it’s not just hives and breathing problems, it can also include fainting, swelling of face, tongue, and lips, vomiting/diarrhea, and even excessive coughing and sneezing). Of course, how to use epinephrine is important too.
Food allergy training needs to happen EVERY YEAR. If teachers need the ongoing repetition and refreshing of information so it’s clear in their minds. It’s not enough to have training once and then done. This is the same reason that CPR certification is required to be done EVERY single year to be valid. NEW teachers/caregivers that arrive after the training need to go through it before they ever watch your child.
3. Have teachers practiced administering an epinephrine injector?
If not, I would offer to donate a few expired EpiPens so the teachers/caregivers can feel what it’s like to administer on an orange. This is invaluable so they aren’t afraid to do it IF the time comes.
4. What is the snack policy?
Here you want to find out if parents are providing the snacks or if the school provides them. In my opinion, it’s best if the school provides them because then they only need to educate their staff. If parents provide the snack then every parent needs to understand what cross-contact is and ensure that the food is prepped in a safe and clean area. To understand whether it’s done safely is a tough one so it’s not worth the risk. Either way, how will they make sure that the snack is allergy-safe every single day?
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5. How do they celebrate in the classroom?
Is there food involved during the celebrations? If so who will provide it and if allergens are present, how will they make sure your child is included?
One thing I had no idea about when my girls started preschool and school was that it’s not enough to just ensure that your child doesn’t eat their allergens. One of the MOST difficult things to deal with is our child feeling left out or lonely. Celebrations that focus on food instead of activities and fun are very difficult for food allergy kids to understand because it specifically excludes them. In my opinion, ANY celebrations should be non-food-focused and activity-based OR they should be safe for every child.
6. Are there curriculum activities that involve food?
Will they include your child’s allergen? If so, are they able to remove this from the curriculum or substitute it with something else?
It’s so easy for schools to “think” that they are allergy-friendly because they forget about when they use food as activities. For example, baking cookies or making pancakes.
Asking this question forces them to consider their curriculum activities through the view of food allergies. I suggest you even ask them to list all the times there is food used in the curriculum at the beginning of the year so you can ensure there are safe options or the food is dealt with safely.
7. Where will your child’s emergency plan be kept, and how will they make sure each teacher & staff member sees it?
When my girls were in school, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as an emergency plan. Now, I use them like they’re going out of style. I send one for every field trip, to every teacher and always have an updated one at the school. The great thing is that these plans have a place to put a picture of your child on the top so teachers can see WHO has the allergy (this is especially important for substitute teachers/caregivers).
But emergency plans won’t be helpful unless they can be accessed and looked at by every teacher/caregiver that comes into contact with your child. In this way, it’s important to have it in a spot where teachers will look at it and use it. This question will help you find out where they keep it and how they make sure each teacher looks at it.
8. What is their hand-washing procedure?
Wouldn’t it be great if we knew that every kid in your child’s class never ate your child’s allergen? While this would be great, it isn’t possible to expect this. There is just no way to enforce it. Instead, the next best thing is to make sure that every kid has their hands and face wiped as they arrive and that they wash their hands before AND after every single snack. Not only does this help with allergies, but it reduces germ sharing too!
What To Do Next If You’re Sending Your Allergic Child To Preschool, Daycare, or School
If you’re sending your allergic child to preschool, daycare, or school, these questions are a great start, but there is so much more you need to know and ask.
Many years ago, I created a template of the questions I asked the teacher every year. If there was a problem, I would add to the template or re-word the questions so they would be more clear.
After 14 years of preschool and school, I now have a thorough, 10-page template that has 14 years of experience behind it!
Now, when I meet our teacher every fall, everything is in one spot and I feel organized and ready.
I'm confident that:
I'm not missing anything.
the teacher won't be overwhelmed with information or feel like I'm demanding.
the school year will start off right and only get better.
I want to help you keep your child safe and included at preschool, daycare, and school too! This low-cost template works for preschools, daycares, and schools in USA and Canada. You can even use it as a 504 plan template too.
You can grab this low-cost, 10-page School Food Allergy Plan Template here.
Just in case you’re not sure, here are a few things food allergy mamas have said after using the School Food Allergy Plan Template:
This template is incredible. It’s so thorough and will be very helpful when I meet Emma’s teacher this fall. I’ll use it for many years to come!
Lise V.
This template is exactly what I’ve been looking for! It’s incredibly helpful, clear, organized and helps me get my thoughts across in a kind and calm manner. Thanks!
Carissa M.
This template is a great guide on where to even begin when it comes to school discussions. Additionally, you can choose what information is relevant to your immediate situation. The resources you list are so helpful, on point and beneficial!
Wer. L.
I just bought your template and it’s amazing!
Jennifer C.
I know this will help you too. What are you waiting for? Check it out here.
Conclusion
Do not gloss over food allergies when you’re looking for a daycare, preschool, and grade school. Understanding how much knowledge the school or daycare has, in the beginning, will keep your child safer and save you lots of misunderstandings and frustrations later.
Also, don’t be afraid to have high expectations when it comes to food allergies because this knowledge will only make the provider better. Let me know in the comments, what question was most eye-opening for you?
You May Also Like These Posts:
9 Essential Food Allergy Kid School Supplies
The Parent’s Guide To Critical Food Allergy Training At School
