My son almost died at daycare because of ‘human error’

"I'm sharing this as the spotlight hits Australian daycare centre abuses all over Australia this week."

I'll never forget when I walked in to daycare to find my son struggling to breathe, quietly in a corner on his own.

His little three-year-old tongue was so swollen it took up his entire mouth. 

He wasn't hit on the face and recorded for 'a joke', like the baby in daycare whose story was exposed by the ABC this week.

But he was similarly utterly, totally failed, and almost died because of it.

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"My son shouldn't have been at risk"

As all parents, I did my research on the daycare centre I selected in Adelaide's eastern suburbs. The vibe, whether the carers looked happy, the cleanliness.

But most importantly, did they understand my son could die if they didn't pay attention to what they fed him? Did they get what anaphylaxis is? Know what "allergic to all tree nuts" means?

Yes, the director assured me. "We have a full time chef - nothing is pre-made. This is a nut-free centre."

Just not when a casual chef was on, I soon discovered.

Image: Nama Winston

On the day he almost died, I walked into the toddler room and found my son standing with his back against a wall in a corner. Very unlike him. As I got closer I saw red welts on his face, swollen lips, watery eyes...

As he awkwardly opened his little mouth to show me something, I saw it was filled with a very swollen tongue.

He was having a rapidly progressing anaphylactic reaction. And bloody no one had noticed.

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They called it a 'human error'

I was the one who administered the epipen as I screamed for someone to call an ambulance.

I asked what they'd eaten and was told, "chicken pesto pasta". The staff was gobsmacked when I explained that pesto sauce generally has pine nuts in it.

"It's a casual chef, he used this sauce," someone told me as we got onto the ambo's gurney. They shoved the empty used bottle into my son's daycare bag (can you believe it?).

Later, I read the label, which cleared cited pine nuts as an ingredient. Later, they called it 'human error'.

I cannot tell you how terrifying that experience was. I watched in horror as the paramedics ripped off his nappy to administer adrenaline at least three times as we sped, sirens blaring, to hospital.

My son was in pain, but not screaming, because he was being helped to breathe. Even his groin was covered in angry welts. It took a full 24 hours for the effects of the attack to subside.

We never returned to that daycare centre, obviously. I made the right reports, told the other parents and couldn't deal with much more.

Image: Nama Winston

We need a default, Australia-wide policies

To my shame, I admit it hadn't been the first incident at that centre. There was also the time my son cut off the ponytail of a little girl in his room - because adult scissors had been left within his reach.

There shouldn't have been a second chance. I still feel that guilt today.

The new centre we enrolled in almost did an overkill in looking after us for the next year. This was mostly because the director also had a child with anaphylaxis, so was hyper-vigilant.

But that shouldn't have been the reason why. That attitude should be a default policy Australia-wide.

It is clear from the ABC investigation this week, and stories like mine, that some Aussie daycare centres need closer attention, higher standards and better educated staff.

That means closer scrutiny on the industry; which makes me feel for the many who do the right thing.

But with the stakes so high, and parents so worried when story after story is exposed, someone needs to bear the burden of addressing the risks: and it shouldn't be the kids, nor the parents who entrust the most vulnerable in society to care.

Originally published as My son almost died at daycare because of ‘human error’