Looking For Some Suggestions

[cmclean24]

For some of you that have 4 or 5 children everyday and they are all between 8 months and 18 months, and they all have different schedules, arrival/departure times and naps..which means snacks and lunches can sometimes vary, which also means you may just finish feeding 2 children and then 2 wake up so then you feed those ones, but then other ones are crying because now they want food again...so what do you do?
Also, when feeding 4 or 5 children at a time how do you manage all different spoons, bowls, etc?? Do you also go around all day and monitor that no child is touching another childs sippy cup? Do you find that they just want to see the new cup for a few minutes and then they move on to something else? Please send me some ideas and opinions as I would really like to hear them, I am having some problems with families and their expectations and I cannot really fulfill them up to their standards and feel I am doing a great job.

[Blackcat31]

Here, everyone eats at the same time. If someone arrives after a scheduled meal, the parent is required to feed them before dropping off.

I also don't do any sippy cups and the kids only drink water or milk at snack or meal times. If they are thirsty in between snacks and meals, they let me know and I will get them water. ALL eating and drinking is done at the table.

NO one is allowed to roam freely with any type of food or drink.

I only care for 2 kids under the age of 2 and 1 of them eats with the others while the younger one eats a bottle on whatever schedule they need to be on.

Once they start eating table food, they eat at the same time as the others.

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

Here, everyone eats at the same time. If someone arrives after a scheduled meal, the parent is required to feed them before dropping off.

I also don't do any sippy cups and the kids only drink water or milk at snack or meal times. If they are thirsty in between snacks and meals, they let me know and I will get them water. ALL eating and drinking is done at the table.

NO one is allowed to roam freely with any type of food or drink.

I only care for 2 kids under the age of 2 and 1 of them eats with the others while the younger one eats a bottle on whatever schedule they need to be on.

Once they start eating table food, they eat at the same time as the others.

Exactly this except breakfast, I will feed breakfast if they arrive before 9 am. But I will not make the ones tht arrive at 7 wait until 8:30 when another 2 arrive. I only serve, for themost part, cereal, bananas and milk for breakfast so it is not a big deal. Drinks, with meals it is milk. In between if they need a drink it is water in a little bathroom size Dixie cup and it is tossed afterwards.

[cmclean24]

Thanks, but what do you do when parents say, my child will drink this bottle at 10 and then this one at 2, but you have to sit there and lay him down and feed him them as he wont do it himself and therefore we cant even be in the highchairs for that, I have 2 that are like that and its very frustrating, especially being a year old, and then the parents getting mad at me when they wont finish those 2 bottles...and my son has an allergy to milk so I am forever trying with the children, then putting their bottles back, then doing that over and over..it's annoying, they cannot just leaves their bottles laying around and grab at their convenience like maybe they do at home. I'm getting so stressed with all of the different schedules, sleep times interfering and trying to please everyone. If you are spoon feeding 5 at a time though do you alternate all 5 different spoons in the bowl, etc..as none of the kids know how to feed themselves yet, only some can eat small finger foods, but parents send them with puree too and I don't know what to do...

[lovemykidstoo]

Same as above 2 responses. Most of my kids eat breakfast at home so it's not a big deal. Snacks and lunch are served at the same time each day. If they are not here, then they eat at home. Per licensing, all food and drink have to be at the table. They cannot keep sippies with them. They also don't go up to the table and drink on their own. The cups are set out at meal time and taken away. I will give water on request.

[Blackcat31]

Thanks, but what do you do when parents say, my child will drink this bottle at 10 and then this one at 2, but you have to sit there and lay him down and feed him them as he wont do it himself and therefore we cant even be in the highchairs for that, I have 2 that are like that and its very frustrating, especially being a year old, and then the parents getting mad at me when they wont finish those 2 bottles...and my son has an allergy to milk so I am forever trying with the children, then putting their bottles back, then doing that over and over..it's annoying, they cannot just leaves their bottles laying around and grab at their convenience like maybe they do at home. I'm getting so stressed with all of the different schedules, sleep times interfering and trying to please everyone. If you are spoon feeding 5 at a time though do you alternate all 5 different spoons in the bowl, etc..as none of the kids know how to feed themselves yet, only some can eat small finger foods, but parents send them with puree too and I don't know what to do...

How old are the kids you have in care?

I think maybe we can all give you some great ideas and advice if we know the ages of the daycare kids and what times your meals are.

Also do you have rules about food from home?

[lovemykidstoo]

True BC, we need the ages. I typically will not spoon feed a child unless they're under a year. If they're old enough for table food, then I will encourage utensils or make them food that they can easily pick up with their fingers.

[MarinaVanessa]

For some of you that have 4 or 5 children everyday and they all have different schedules, arrival/departure times and naps..which means snacks and lunches can sometimes vary, which also means you may just finish feeding 2 children and then 2 wake up so then you feed those ones, but then other ones are crying because now they want food again...so what do you do?
Also, when feeding 4 or 5 children at a time how do you manage all different spoons, bowls, etc?? Do you also go around all day and monitor that no child is touching another childs sippy cup? Do you find that they just want to see the new cup for a few minutes and then they move on to something else? Please send me some ideas and opinions as I would really like to hear them, I am having some problems with families and their expectations and I cannot really fulfill them up to their standards and feel I am doing a great job.

I have up to 8 kids at once on some days and I have one solid meal and nap schedule for the kids 2 years and older, no matter what time the child arrives. It goes like this:

7am breakfast
9am morning snack
11:30 lunch
12pm nap/quiet time
3pm evening snack
5pm supper (light meal a lot like lunch)

Everything else is a flexible routine. It doesn't matter what time the child arrives, if you want to participate in any of these meals then the child needs to arrive AT OR BEFORE these times, otherwise parents must feed them before coming. I don't do drop offs/pick ups during nap (12-2pm) and kids are to arrive dressed and in fresh diapers (if still in diapers).

If the child is 6 weeks - 1yo and they are fed on demand with either a bottle (breast milk or formula) and if old enough then first foods. I allow infants more than one nap a day started at the same time as at home at first until I can transition them to my daycare's sleep schedule. For infants 1-2 years old they are fed at the same schedule as the other older kids but if they get hungry in between I give them extra feedings. Once they are 2yo they go on the exact same schedule as the older kids.

Group care is extremely difficult to do if everyone is on their own feeding/sleeping schedule. I plan my day and whoever is here to participate can participate and whoever is not here doesn't.

[cmclean24]

Thanks, the children and between 8 months and 18 months which is hard because they all need to be fed for the most part. Also, the parents bring cups and bottles and want their child to finish a certain amount, which becomes challenging when they do not fall during times at the table. Basically I find it most difficult when here's an example, a boy who is 1 and a girl who is 18 months, both nap everyday about 11:30 until 1/1:30, which lunch for the others is 12/12:30, so how do you make it work so when I give lunch to the 2 that just woke up, the other children are crying/screaming because I have left the room and not everyone is eating together. How do you do it though on days where all of them are awake and you need to give them something spoonfed? 5 different spoons and bowls or...??
I do not really have rules, some people don't bring things and some do, but chances are most times I do not end up giving the stuff from home anyway. I'm finding it so hard because when I offer "lunch" some children are just screaming and crying and want out of the highchair and then its disruptive and all of them start screaming...so what if they aren't ready and hungry enough...do I wait a bit and then an hour later try again..but then the children that already ate are crying at my leg wanting up, my attention and possibly more food....??

[cmclean24]

True BC, we need the ages. I typically will not spoon feed a child unless they're under a year. If they're old enough for table food, then I will encourage utensils or make them food that they can easily pick up with their fingers.

Thanks, but I have the ages in my post, 8 months to 18 months
But how do you go about this when the parents still spoonfeed at home and they are still eating pureed or wont even eat the cut up stuff i have for them?
They just scream instead

[MarinaVanessa]

Thanks, but what do you do when parents say, my child will drink this bottle at 10 and then this one at 2, but you have to sit there and lay him down and feed him them as he wont do it himself and therefore we cant even be in the highchairs for that, I have 2 that are like that and its very frustrating, especially being a year old, and then the parents getting mad at me when they wont finish those 2 bottles...and my son has an allergy to milk so I am forever trying with the children, then putting their bottles back, then doing that over and over..it's annoying, they cannot just leaves their bottles laying around and grab at their convenience like maybe they do at home. I'm getting so stressed with all of the different schedules, sleep times interfering and trying to please everyone. If you are spoon feeding 5 at a time though do you alternate all 5 different spoons in the bowl, etc..as none of the kids know how to feed themselves yet, only some can eat small finger foods, but parents send them with puree too and I don't know what to do...

I hold infants under 1yo (usually younger than that) to bottle feed them if they don't already hold their own bottles. If they do hold their bottles then I will sit them in a high chair. I also follow the USDA food program guidelines so after 1yo I don't expect them to finish off bottles since I feed them the recommended foods after 1yo. Some parents insist on giving them a bottle so I will offer it AFTER I feed them their meals first which usually results in the child maybe only drinking an ounce or two because now they are full.

I do not follow any feeding schedule or meal plan other than my own unless if the parent provides me with a doctor's note AND only if it's for medical reasons. By 1yo they should be off the bottle or at least close to it anyway.

At my daycare drinks and food are also only allowed at the table like BC. No walking around with them (I do however use sippy cups for the younger kids that have not yet mastered an open cup) but they are the take-and-toss kind. All of my DC kids now use those same cups, the younger ones just get a lid put on it. No walking around with the cup or food here either and once a meal is done, it's done. No walking around with a bottle or cup, as soon as meal times are done the uneaten portion on their plates go in the trash.

[lovemykidstoo]

Thanks, the children and between 8 months and 18 months which is hard because they all need to be fed for the most part. Also, the parents bring cups and bottles and want their child to finish a certain amount, which becomes challenging when they do not fall during times at the table. Basically I find it most difficult when here's an example, a boy who is 1 and a girl who is 18 months, both nap everyday about 11:30 until 1/1:30, which lunch for the others is 12/12:30, so how do you make it work so when I give lunch to the 2 that just woke up, the other children are crying/screaming because I have left the room and not everyone is eating together. How do you do it though on days where all of them are awake and you need to give them something spoonfed? 5 different spoons and bowls or...??
I do not really have rules, some people don't bring things and some do, but chances are most times I do not end up giving the stuff from home anyway. I'm finding it so hard because when I offer "lunch" some children are just screaming and crying and want out of the highchair and then its disruptive and all of them start screaming...so what if they aren't ready and hungry enough...do I wait a bit and then an hour later try again..but then the children that already ate are crying at my leg wanting up, my attention and possibly more food....??

I would slowly convert these times to maybe feeding everyone at 11:30 and having everyone nap at 12:00. If you change it like 5 minutes a day or every couple of days you will be able to get everyone on the same schedule. You are going to drive yourself nuts if you are feeding everyone on their own schedule. What kind of pureed food do the parents have the child is on over the age of a year?

[Blackcat31]

Thanks, but I have the ages in my post, 8 months to 18 months
But how do you go about this when the parents still spoonfeed at home and they are still eating pureed or wont even eat the cut up stuff i have for them?
They just scream instead

Sorry, I thought you were being hypothetical in your post.... I didn't realize that you meant that were the ages of your DCK's.

I don't mean this mean or snarky but are you allowed to have 5 kids under the age of 18 months by yourself? I mean the reasons we (in my state) aren't allowed to have that many that young at once is because it IS hard to manage all their needs by yourself when they are so young.

In your case, you are going to have to do some back stepping to correct the issues you have.

For example ALL your DCK's that are over age 12 months should be eating on a regular meal/snack time schedule. With about 3 hours in between each meal and snack.

Those kids should also be proficient or atleast somewhat on their way to being proficient with self-feeding. I usually start introducing kids around age 6-8 months to self-feeding foods at snack time so by the time they are 12 months old, they are doing atleast 75% of the feeding on their own.

I think what you will need to do is start working with the parents on having them start getting their kids to self feed and use utensils.

For the bottle fed babies, I require parents to feed them their first bottle in the mornings PRIOR to drop off and within a time frame so that they (the babies) don't need to be fed for atleast 90 minutes after arrival. That way I don't have to worry about getting a bottle in anyone within the first hour and a half of opening.

Another good rule of thumb to follow with little kids is to serve what you serve and let them choose if they want to eat or not. If they choose to not eat, then they are the ones hungry until the next snack or meal time.

I would also let parents know that you can't force feed a child and they really can't expect you to make their child eat a specific amount of ounces each feeding.

It is really important that the parents work WITH you in getting their children on a regular routine for meals and snacks or you will never be able to fix this issue...unless you suddenly grow a few more sets of arms.

Hang in there...with a little effort on everyone's part, it can be fixed.

[daycarediva]

8-18m? Just two kids? I would like to know how many kids you care for daily and their ages

eg.
8mo
10mo
14mo
18mo

I would be giving ALL kids between 8m-18m TWO naps, one am nap and one PM nap, with everyone eating lunch at the same time in between. So that the little kids have a PM nap at the same time as the older kids. Aside from very young infants who I would feed on demand, I would be getting EVERYONE on the same schedule. Bottles at 8/10/12/4 breakfast at 8, lunch at 12, snack at 4. I would be feeding meals first, THEN offering bottles afterwards. All cups and food at the table/high chair only, etc.

It sounds like you have a lot of adjustments to make to help your day go smoothly.

[MamaBearCanada]

I tell the parents this is group care and they need to try to get their kids on my schedule. It sounds mean but it is the only way that works for everyone. I would be flexible with nap times for those under 12 months as long as it does not interfere with meal times. For those over 12 months they feed themselves. Those on bottles get a reasonable amount of time to drink/eat then they are done. When I feed yoghurt etc to the younger ones I line them up in highchair each has own yoghurt own spoon they each get one spoonful then the next gets a spoonful and so on. I just leave their spoon in their dish while I feed the next. The only bottle I need to give at the moment is the one before nap.

However, I only have 2 under 2 and the youngest I've had (other than my own 2) was 11 months. I can't imagine having 5!

I would suggest deciding the following based upon what works best for YOU and your licensing/food program regulations

1. Are you going to provide puréed food or have parents provide it?
2. What age do you stop serving puréed food at your house?
3. What age do children go to one afternoon nap?
4. What are YOUR set times for nap? Mine are 10 & 2 for those taking 2 naps a day and 1pm for those taking one nap.
5. What times work for you for snacks & lunch?
6. When do you stop giving bottles and require sippy cups or at least self feeding of bottles?

Then tell the parents these are your regulations & requirements & that they need to help their child get there. Focus on: these are important skills for your child, they adjust better when they are on the same schedule at home and here, your child will be more content when they can meet their own needs and not have to rely on someone else (within their developmental ability of course).