Attending Daycare with a Feeding Tube
Finding a daycare for your tubie is an exciting time as your child is ready to embark on a more independent journey. As a parent of a tubie, prioritizing your child’s needs is necessary to ensure they have a smooth transition to daycare.
Some daycares may be hesitant to care for your child due to their tube feeding needs. Keep in mind, private and in-home daycares may be more willing to care for your tubie.
If you are set upon choosing a public daycare for your tubie, it is important to look at all angles to ensure your child is receiving the best care possible and their needs are met or exceeded. Read below for tips to follow when considering a public daycare for your child:
TIPS FOR CHOOSING A DAYCARE:
Ask questions
Are you familiar with tube feeding?
Do you have other kids who also use feeding tubes?
Do you have any concerns about caring for a child with a feeding tube?
Do your own research
Read past parent reviews and comments
Conduct interviews or set-up meetings
Have your child meet their caregiver prior to starting
AFTER CHOOSING A DAYCARE:
Once you find a daycare that will best suit your child’s needs, you will likely be responsible for training the staff at the facility to care for your child. The staff should learn the following:
How to prepare a feed and store formula/food
How to administer a feed
How to vent, if applicable
How to use and troubleshoot the feeding pump
How to flush
How to give medications
How to change a feeding tube in an emergency
How to properly follow a feeding schedule
How to change dressings
How to properly clean equipment
How to store equipment
How to handle a tube feeding emergency
To access basic videos that may be helpful in this instance such as: Pour & Prime, Flushing & Clogging, and How to Gravity Feed, please click HERE.
PUBLIC DAYCARE ALTERNATIVES:
Individual/ private caregivers or nannies
Home Health Care services that specialized in pediatrics or tube feeding administration
Special Needs daycare
Medical daycares
In home or home-based daycares
Remember that children with feeding tubes are “typically considered children with disabilities and are therefore covered by of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Title III of this Act forbids daycares and childcare facilities from discriminating against children with disabilities, including all daycare and childcare centers, even small home-based programs. Daycares and childcare centers must accept children with disabilities if they do not pose a threat to other children, and they can be accommodated without a fundamental alteration to the program. Daycares must be willing to make reasonable modifications to accommodate a child (Feeding Tube Awareness).”
To learn more about choosing a daycare for your Tubie, click HERE.