Nannying For Two Little Kids!

[Victoria6102]

Hey there! I'm not actually a parent myself but thought maybe you moms could help me. I've been babysitting two little boys, aged 2 and 1. They love eating sandwiches, Mac and cheese, and all kinds of gluten filled foods, which of course I prepare for them. I will be starting a nannying job for them , 40 hours a week. They also love playing with play dough! How careful do I need to be while I'm nannying to make sure I don't get glutened? I already rinse out every dish before I use it, wash my hands all the time. I keep a clean towel on a clean part of the counter for every time I wash my hands and want to dry them gluten-free (lol). My fear is that I will get glutened, because I always come home with sandwich crumbs and Mac and cheese on me haha! It's just on my clothes so it's not in my mouth but it just worries me. So, what precautions can I take so I can continue to be 100% gluten free? Thanks!

[missy'smom]

I handle many gluteny foods and do fine, I just don't work with flour. Just wash hands a lot. I serve, organize all my church potlucks BBQ's and events that involve food and am fine so long as I keep my food away from the rest and wash hands well. You also have to take the usual precautions when using their equipment for making you food-no using their non-stick pans and colanders etc. I wouldn't worry about a few crumbs on my clothes. I have an allergy that could cause anaphylaxis so I do have to worry about that with the substance that I am allergic to but I don't worry about it with gluten or anything else.

If the kids are going to need assistance with their lunch, you may need to adjust when/how you eat yours, since handling their sandwiches while eating your lunch could be problematic, if they need assistance during the meal time. I haven't had to deal with little ones since gluten-free so maybe other moms of young ones can offer some advice. I would be more concerned about sandwiches than mac and cheese.

There are recipes for gluten-free playdoh. I used to work in a pre-school(prior to gluten-free) and make all the classroom playdoh(not gluten-free) but it was easy and I dyed it with food coloring to match the seasons/holidays and made a new batch about once a month and tossed the old. If you made it, you could play with it too with no worries and no clean-up worries.

[mamaupupup]

Hi there,

I'm a Mom with Celiac twins. We have been lucky enough to have help off an on since the girls were born .

I would be fine if a babysitter/Nanny said to me, "I have a gluten sensitivity. May I make them x, y, or z instead of a, b, c for lunch?" I'd also be fine if she said, "I can't bake cookies, but I can make fruit salad with the kiddos..."

Frankly, I think this is a great set of ages to expand their food horizons--one of our babysitters is a foodie and THAT helped me so much!

Set healthy limits for yourself--make gluten-free playdoh, etc. The family will respect you for it (I would!). Just be AMAZING and they'll do everything to support you!

[Victoria6102]

Thank you both for your replies! Does anyone have a good recipe for gluten free playdough?

And the little guy loves to help cook, what are some things I can make with him? I obviously can't do baking. (well atleast glutenous baking)

The parents are very understanding and always ask "can you do this" or "can you make this" before asking me to do anything! They're very thoughtful. They buy me gluten free snacks and are very helpful. Which is good since I'll be working for them! Haha maybe I'll talk to them and see what the kids like to eat that I can change to a gluten free recipe. We have done mashed sweet potatoes, salad, and a couple other things but like you said maybe I can broaden this kids horizons of food!

[pricklypear1971]

You may try using those food service gloves that are used in restaurants - I bought about a thousand of them at Costco for under $10.

I bought them for food prep for my one hand with DH (that's finally healing) but I've found they are great if I need to quickly clean up gluten or touch things I'd rather not.

They aren't very green, but for my particular situation they've been great.

I also use heavy latex gloves for dishes. You may want to try that, too.

[Sesara]

Just want to add that if you have a latex sensitivity (I do), nitrile gloves are also a great choice.

[Victoria6102]

I am allergic to latex, actually! What are nitrile gloves and where can you find them?

[pricklypear1971]

I am allergic to latex, actually! What are nitrile gloves and where can you find them?

You may have to look around for them. If all else fails try a drug store. Sometimes you see them at home improvement stores but I didn't see them at my grocery store.

The food service gloves are plastic.

[beachbirdie]

I am allergic to latex, actually! What are nitrile gloves and where can you find them?

I think the Costco gloves are nitrile. You can mail order them inexpensively as well, if you need large quantities that you can't find locally. CVs.com has them, drugstore.com, and the giant spamming emporium that starts with the letter a has them. You could do an online comparison hunt by searching "where to buy nitrile exam gloves".

Open Original Shared Link, LOL!

[xjrosie]

If you want to try baking, ask the parents to pick up some Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Flour. It has been the best thing to replace regular flour that I've tried. Then you can bake again!

As for eating, I would suggest finishing your meals right before getting theirs ready. Then you can eat safely and still tend to the kiddos while they're eating.