When I worked in childcare, we had at any given time, one or two kids with a potentially life threatening (anaphylactic) food allergy in our care. In all cases, the kids were allergic to nuts—peanuts and tree nuts—and at a nut-free centre, we never experienced any issues for these children. This is how it should be! Other than on occasion having to carry a kid’s EpiPen belt when we were on a field trip at a waterpark (where otherwise it was attached to them), or checking random ingredient lists on my own work lunch foods or—on occasion—that of the kids in our care, we were extremely diligent, cautious, and prepared, but we had no issues with these kids. Again: this is how it should be. Food allergies are a big deal, always, but if proper precautions are taken by those surrounding the child with the allergy, in keeping the person’s environment fre

When I was in elementary school, I remember every so often having to watch videos about food allergies and how to use an Epi-Pen at daycare with my peers (back when there was a grey cap to remove, and even a simple bump to the black end would deploy the needle—whether or not that was true—and the legacy device didn’t come with a needle-guard as the new version does [1]). From my experience working in daycare several years ago (and a good half-dozen years out of my own daycare experience!), I do think children now are more educat