Gluten And Babies

[Googles]

I nanny for two young children. One is just over 1 year old and the other is 3 years old. The one year old just started working on feeding himself and is now covered in gluten all the time. I keep getting glutened whenever I work with him. Giving up these jobs is not an option as I am a grad student and need the income (and there is no way I would be able to get another job to work in my schedule of school and practicum). So how do people with young children who eat gluten keep themselves safe? I need advice because I am getting glutened way too much. It was fine before he started feeding himself, but now he is just covered. Any advice (apart from getting a new job) would be appreciated.

[Jestgar]

My brother had a Open Original Shared Link for his daughter (no gluten issues, just normal feeding.

[kareng]

Would the family consider a few gluten-free things? Like Rice Chex instead of Cheerios? Rice instead of bread? Kids like little pieces of meat and a bowl of rice. rice Krispies ( regular have malt but it's a much smaller amount of gluten then some snacks).

I had a little guy here on Xmas spewing gluten cereal. We kept him contained with it to one area for easy clean-up. I wouldn't eat while they are eating. Wash well. Maybe a full sized apron or an oversized shirt to protect your clothes during meals. You could take it off outside & shake out the crumbs? They have the big plastic bibs for toddlers with a pocket that helps catch crumbs.

[suziq0805]

Does the 3 year old like to help with things? Maybe he/she could help with handling the food with gluten in it, or wiping the face of the 1 year old. After meals maybe you could take the 1 year old and wash his hands or get a bath if it's a really messy meal. Another idea could be to buy some disposable gloves to wear during meal time so that you are not directly touching the food.

[domesticactivist]

Can you bathe the child when you get there and then take extra precautions at meal time? It sounds like the whole house is a mine field at this point but if you are cautious about constantly washing up and not eating there maybe you will be ok?

[Googles]

Would the family consider a few gluten-free things? Like Rice Chex instead of Cheerios? Rice instead of bread? Kids like little pieces of meat and a bowl of rice. rice Krispies ( regular have malt but it's a much smaller amount of gluten then some snacks).

It is hard because he has trouble gaining weight so he is always allowed to eat (he is in the 10th percentile for weight and actually stopped gaining at one point). He eats outside of "meal" time, with two-three "meals" when I am there and snacks in between. He doesn't eat a lot of bread as their meals are mostly rice based, but I've noticed that it is mostly since he is now self feeding with crackers and cereal and things like that.

Does the 3 year old like to help with things? Maybe he/she could help with handling the food with gluten in it, or wiping the face of the 1 year old. After meals maybe you could take the 1 year old and wash his hands or get a bath if it's a really messy meal. Another idea could be to buy some disposable gloves to wear during meal time so that you are not directly touching the food.

They are two different families I nanny for. I have been trying to wash his hands after meals. I will try to be more proactive about it at this point. It is hard as he puts his toys in his mouth sometimes and then will re-gluten his hands when he holds them.

Can you bathe the child when you get there and then take extra precautions at meal time? It sounds like the whole house is a mine field at this point but if you are cautious about constantly washing up and not eating there maybe you will be ok?

His parents bathe him after I leave for the night, but I can ask about bathing him when I get there. Apparently recently he has started loving baths. I do think the whole house is a mine field. It is hard not to eat at some point when I am there because I come right from class to work and so don't have a chance to eat anything till 9pm if I don't eat while I am there. I think I am going to have to be more careful.

This experience shows me that if I ever have kids (I'm not planning to have kids at this point) my kids will be gluten free to keep me healthy. I am lucky that my roommate is hardly ever home and cooking as she mostly stays with her boyfriend. Plus she is really careful with the food and cleaning. I know that I'm not getting glutened at home as I only get glutened after working with the kids and since I have been on break and not working for them I'm not getting glutened.

Thanks for everyone for your help. I will keep trying to keep it gluten free by washing their hands and faces more often.

[tarnalberry]

DD is also allowed to eat whenever, and she doesn't have to be at the table either. But I give her gluten free stuff (there are lots of things to give babies that aren't wheat based, and healthier, but are not what we usually think of), even though she doesn't have to be gluten free. I would see if you can focus on gluten free stuff for him while you are there - gluten-free cracker, sure, but also veggies and hummus, cheese, avocado, tortilla with seed butter, smoothies with fruit and veggies, etc.. (If he needs more calories, crackers are not the way to do it! Low calorie density out of those things.)