Parents



Looking for a childcare provider who understands the special needs of little ones with allergies and asthma?

Whether you need childcare services for an hour or by the week, with patience and a strategic plan, you can find quality childcare services.

Allergies and asthma are serious, potentially life-threatening conditions. Chronic ear infections can impact your baby's language development and learning skills. Eczema, hives, rashes, coughing, excess mucus... these and related conditions and symptoms present special challenges in the childcare setting.

While every childcare provider should be certified to perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) in the event your child's heart stops beating, there is no certification program for childcare providers to know YOUR child's special health needs.

That's because asthma and allergies wear a thousand different changing faces. It's like living at the base of a smoldering volcano; you don't know when the next eruption will send you running for help.

So what can you do as parents and childcare providers?

Start by identifying the health needs of the child during the hours he is away from home. Create a strategy that allows your child room to explore his boundaries without risking his health.

Provide a smoke- and pet-free environment and reduce or eliminate exposures to known food allergens preventively.  Go Green!

Parents and childcare providers must coordinate the child's needs as a team. It takes extra effort, time, and attention for all parties to ensure the baby's health needs are met while parents are at work.

Moms and dads need to organize medications as well as diapers, bottles, and food. If the nebulizer travels to and from the childcare center and home, both parents have to remember to put it in the car!

Childcare providers may need to remind parents to refill medications or replace nebulizer supplies periodically. They'll need to remember to tell mom or dad any early warning signs they may have noticed during the day - almost in the same manner as remembering to tell the parents that their baby is learning to share or speak a second language!