Common Daycare Mistakes That Lead to Food Allergen Exposure

 Posted on December 10, 2024 in Food Allergies

Young children who go to daycare are usually not in the best position to manage their own food allergies. While older children are usually aware that they have an allergy, they may not always know what foods contain the ingredients they are allergic to. Toddlers need much more supervision to ensure that they do not eat something containing an allergen. When you drop your child off at daycare and have made the daycare aware of your child’s allergy, you should be able to trust that the care providers will watch carefully during meal and snack times to make sure your child does not eat anything he or she cannot have.

Unfortunately, young children are sometimes exposed to foods they are allergic to at daycare. For some children, this can be life-threatening. If your child was harmed by a food allergen while at daycare, you may be entitled to compensation on his or her behalf. An experienced Illinois food allergen reactions attorney can help you pursue any legal action possible.

How Food Allergen Exposure Happens in Daycare Settings 

Illinois has a series of laws designed to protect children with food allergies in school and daycare settings. Some of the most common careless mistakes that lead to food allergen exposure in daycares include: 

• Poor communication between caregivers - If you told an administrator about your child’s allergies, there is no guarantee that this important information reached each adult who might be supervising your child throughout the day. Allergy exposure can happen if a caregiver was not made aware of your child’s allergy. 
• Allowing widespread food sharing - Generally, children should not be allowed to share or trade food at daycare. If any sharing is permitted, a caregiver should ensure that children with allergies are not given anything that could contain an allergen. 
• Not taking an allergy seriously enough - If your child’s allergies are so severe that even airborne particles or being touched by a child who has handled that food can trigger a severe reaction, your child’s daycare should be taking significant daily steps to prevent your child from being exposed. Many daycares will ban a food from the classroom entirely if a child has an allergy this severe. 
• Allowing cross-contamination - Food should be kept in designated areas, and children should be instructed to wash their hands before eating, and then again after eating before playing or touching other shared materials. Children should not eat and play at the same time, as there is heightened risk of both contaminating shared materials and choking. 

Contact an Illinois Food Allergen Reactions Lawyer 

Newland & Newland, LLP is committed to helping parents whose children have experienced a medical event after being exposed to food allergens in daycare. Our dedicated Illinois daycare allergen exposure attorneys will fight for your family to recover compensation while holding the daycare that allowed this to happen accountable. Contact us at 312-981-0409 for a complimentary consultation.