The mother mentions in passing, while walking away, that Sofia "reacts a bit to nuts". You are three days into a charter, in a bay two hours from anywhere, and the chef is making a pesto for lunch. That sentence is the most important thing anyone has said to you all week, and it is now your job to make sure it does not stay a passing remark.
Allergies: the conversation that is life-or-death
- Get every allergy in writing before the family boards, and confirm it face to face with the parents.
- Take it to the chef in person, and to the chief stew - not by passing message. Confirm the chef has understood the severity, and ask how cross-contamination is managed: boards, oils, fryers, utensils, storage.
- Ask directly: does the child have a prescribed adrenaline auto-injector? Where is it, how many, when do they expire, who else on board knows where it is? It travels with the child - beach, tender, shore trip - not in a cabin drawer.
- Confirm that the captain and the medical officer know. An anaphylaxis emergency at sea is a vessel emergency, not a nanny problem.
- You never feed a child anything you have not checked. Not a guest snack, not a taste of the canape tray, not a sweet from a shop ashore.
Feeding at sea
| Situation | Approach |
|---|---|
| Weaning infants | Follow the parents plan exactly. New foods are introduced by parents, not by you, and never far from help |
| Fussy eating | Offer, do not fight. Small portions, familiar foods, one new thing beside a safe thing |
| Choking foods | Grapes and cherry tomatoes quartered lengthways; no whole nuts, popcorn or hard sweets for young children |
| Seated eating | Children eat sitting down, never walking, never running, never in a moving tender |
| Guest meals | Children usually eat earlier and separately. Agree with the chief stew |
| Special diets | In writing, to the chef, in advance |
Hydration
Heat, sun, salt water and excitement dehydrate children fast, and they will not ask. Offer water on a schedule. Watch for dark urine, dry lips, fewer wet nappies, headache, lethargy or unusual irritability. Ashore, be careful with local water and ice - use bottled or the yacht supply.
Hygiene and nappies
- Hand washing before every meal and after the beach - gastroenteritis on a yacht spreads through everyone in days, guests and crew alike.
- Change nappies only in the designated place, never on a sun lounger or the sole of a guest area. Bag, seal and dispose per the yacht waste rules - nothing goes over the side.
- Nappy sacks, wipes and rubbish are marine pollution: the yacht garbage management plan applies to you too.
- Rinse salt and chlorine off skin promptly, and dry ears.
Onboard Notes
On day one, put a written allergy card in the galley, in the crew mess and with the medical kit. If the allergy is severe, say the sentence out loud to the chef and the captain: if this child eats that, this becomes a medical evacuation.
Preparatory study only. These lessons are not a childcare qualification and are not first aid training. Caring for children at sea requires a recognised childcare qualification and a current, practically assessed paediatric first aid certificate from an approved provider.