How Many Hours Without Eating/Meals???

[Crazy8]

what is the max number of hours you go between serving some type of meal/snack??? Is there a maximum allowed in your state??

I don't fully understand our guidelines - they state:

The provider shall ensure the provision of Breakfast for all children who:
i. have not eaten breakfast; and
ii are present during the hours of 7am - 10am

lunch is -
i. have not eaten lunch
ii. are present during the hours of 10am - 1pm and
iii. are under the providers care for at least 5 consecutive hours.

So if a child comes in at 9am without having had breakfast I'm required to give it to them??? I'd be doing nothing but serving meals all day if that is the way its supposed to be done as I have kids coming in any time between 7:15 and 10am!!

I was considering cutting out morning snack because we eat breakfast at 8-8:30ish and lunch at 11:45ish. Not sure if almost 4 hours is too long and now looking at our requirements I'm thinking I've been in the wrong by telling people they need to be here by 8:30 for me to give them breakfast.

WDYT?

[Heidi]

we must offer something every 3 hours, unless the children are napping. I would set your meal times, post them, and stick to them. Meaning, if you are comming after 9am, feed your child breakfast!

[mismatchedsocks]

WI states at least every 3 hours. Your rules sound INTERESTING. I dont even fully understand how you can function if you had to feed on demand of drop offs like that. I agree with bbo. Just post meal times. Make sure they are within 3 hours.

[Crazy8]

we must offer something every 3 hours, unless the children are napping. I would set your meal times, post them, and stick to them. Meaning, if you are comming after 9am, feed your child breakfast!

I do have this set.... breakfast if arrive by 8am, snacks at 9:30 & 3:00pm. Lunch used to be a little later, but serving at 11:45 now due to buses. I have one who consistantly comes in with breakfast late and I've made a point to tell her I'll save it for snack time but honestly my other kids who sit to eat breakfast at 8am are not hungry at 9:30 so I was thinking of cutting out morning snack time.

[Crazy8]

WI states at least every 3 hours. Your rules sound INTERESTING. I dont even fully understand how you can function if you had to feed on demand of drop offs like that. I agree with bbo. Just post meal times. Make sure they are within 3 hours.

you should read our entire manual - NOTHING in it is clear cut!!!

ok, so I can't cut out morning snack if b'fast is 8am and lunch 11:45 since that is 3h45m - problem is my kids who eat at 8am are not hungry again at 9:30 when I serve snack.

[Heidi]

ok, so if breakfast starts at 8 and ends at 8:30, then 3 hours later is 11:30

Our rules say every 3 hours, but eating isn't instantanious, we eat slowly here :-)

[Unregistered]

what is the max number of hours you go between serving some type of meal/snack??? Is there a maximum allowed in your state??

I don't fully understand our guidelines - they state:

The provider shall ensure the provision of Breakfast for all children who:
i. have not eaten breakfast; and
ii are present during the hours of 7am - 10am

lunch is -
i. have not eaten lunch
ii. are present during the hours of 10am - 1pm and
iii. are under the providers care for at least 5 consecutive hours.

So if a child comes in at 9am without having had breakfast I'm required to give it to them??? I'd be doing nothing but serving meals all day if that is the way its supposed to be done as I have kids coming in any time between 7:15 and 10am!!

I was considering cutting out morning snack because we eat breakfast at 8-8:30ish and lunch at 11:45ish. Not sure if almost 4 hours is too long and now looking at our requirements I'm thinking I've been in the wrong by telling people they need to be here by 8:30 for me to give them breakfast.

WDYT?

Breakfest-8am
Lunch- 12pm
Snack-3pm

Im not in food program nor licnesed I follow my own times and rules.

[daycare]

over all health states 3 hours max between meals.

I try to serve food every 2.5 hours.

bk-830
am snack 1030
lunch 1230

PM snack is the longest that they will go without eating
3:45-4:00 depends when all of the kids wake.

most of my kids go home at 430-600

[Nellie]

Children need to be provided with nourishment every 3 hours where I live.

In your case I'd set your meal times with in the states guide times and let the parents know what your meal times are. Make a piece of toast and a glass of juice just in case a child doesn't come fed and try to stress to the parents the disruption of feeding one child. I almost think by what you posted that you may be required to feed a child if they came at 9 with out breakfast, but do your best to not encourage the behavior.

[Rachel]

I'm not in the states, but interestingly enough I have to have at least 3.5 hours between breakfast & lunch (no snack).

I can serve breakfast between 8 & 9, and lunch not before 11:30. Right now I do breakfast at 8:30, lunch at 12:00, and snack at 3:00

[2ndFamilyDC]

Oh I couldn't follow those guidelines. I do not opperate like a restaurant.

[MarinaVanessa]

I'm in CA and I havn't seen any regulations regarding meal times and servings however our food program has regulations about a minimum amount of hours between meals. For example there has to be at least 2 hours between sncks and meals. If you serve breakfast at 8am then you can't serve snack until 11am for it to count.

I figure that two hours between meals and snacks is enough to keep the little people satisfied. I find that anything less than 2 hours between meals and they don't finish what I serve because they aren't hungry. Three hours between meals and the kids are asking me for food.

Here's my meal schedule:
Breakfast 7am
Snack 9am
Lunch 11:30 am
Nap 12:15-2:15
Snack 2:30pm
Supper 5pm

[Crazy8]

thanks. I'm not on the food program if that matters. I can't bump breakfast any earlier and moving snack up later would interfere with our day.

I just posted the schedule by my front door and going to put a post on my FB page about why its important to stick to the meal times. I'm not going to cut out morning snack - but I am going to stress that its basically there for the ones who do not arrive in time for breakfast and that NO meals will be served in between those times.

[Kaddidle Care]

We open at 7:30 - hopefully they've had breakfast but if they haven't and parents bring something we offer it until 9 ish. We usually have Cheerios on hand in case a little one says they haven't eaten. We try not to go past 9:00 as PreSchool and PreK classes start at 9:00.

Snack is 10:30
Lunch 12:30
Afternoon Snack 3:00
5:30 closing time

They never go more than 3 hours without something.

[CheekyChick]

I serve breakfast between 7:30 and 9:00 so I'm sure all the little ones get breakfast. Lunch is between 11:30 and 1:00. Afternoon snack is at 3:00.