Picky Eating Parents???

[Cradle2crayons]

I joined the food program after deciding it was preferable to a rate increase (for the parents, not for me-I'd have rather just charged more, of course!). There are a lot of kids "at nutritional risk" in my area, so I can say that the food program DOES help me bring in new kids-parents are excited about it...I think more for the fact that I am monitored in what I feed them. I've heard lots from parents about kids not being fed enough at daycare or being fed hot dogs and ramen on a regular basis.

For God's sake-there are providers in my area charging 60 cents and 75 cents an hour for kids-HOW do they feed them? It can NOT be well.

Opting out IS an option that I give parents, but opting out comes with a $5 per day rate increase. No one has opted out yet.

We aren't allowed to opt out here. We can't opt out our own kids or any daycare kids. I wish we could.

[mrsmartin2007]

My understanding is that you have to offer them everything that is required for the meals you are claiming.... but you can give them additional snacks, or food as long as you do not count it for reimbursement. One somewhat common example is special treats for birthdays or holidays (you can still deduct these on your taxes)
I have also heard of someone offering 'milk' and if the kids don't drink it, they can offer soy/ almond or whatever else after (request from dcp), and their food rep was okay with that (I don't know if all of them would be)
I do wish they allowed for some dietary differences with the food program.... at the very least they should allow religious food requirement requests to be honored in addition to doctor's.

I agree with the religious request as well because she doesn't want them to have pork either. There is much to learn.

[JoseyJo]

I agree with the religious request as well because she doesn't want them to have pork either. There is much to learn.

We are on the food program and don't eat pork or shellfish. We haven't ever had a problem w/ it! There are lots of other meats out there, and lots of non-meat proteins too. We serve beans, lentils, eggs or cheese as a protein at least a couple times a week. We are not allowed to serve nuts/seeds as a protein (well, we can, but we must serve another protein with it so it's just a waste of money) for lunch/dinner but we are allowed to at snack.

We also have a dcg allergic to milk (causes extreme excema, but not life threatening so not able to use a dr note) - I give her goat's milk as parents do not want her to have the high levels of estrogen-like compounds in soy. Cow, goat or some brands of soy are all that are acceptable here on the food program unless they have a life threatening allergy.

[mrsmartin2007]

We are on the food program and don't eat pork or shellfish. We haven't ever had a problem w/ it! There are lots of other meats out there, and lots of non-meat proteins too. We serve beans, lentils, eggs or cheese as a protein at least a couple times a week. We are not allowed to serve nuts/seeds as a protein (well, we can, but we must serve another protein with it so it's just a waste of money) for lunch/dinner but we are allowed to at snack.

We also have a dcg allergic to milk (causes extreme excema, but not life threatening so not able to use a dr note) - I give her goat's milk as parents do not want her to have the high levels of estrogen-like compounds in soy. Cow, goat or some brands of soy are all that are acceptable here on the food program unless they have a life threatening allergy.

SO if there is a doctors note but the situation is not life threatening, it overrides the doctors note? So then what? Im confused now.

[Play Care]

SO if there is a doctors note but the situation is not life threatening, it overrides the doctors note? So then what? Im confused now.

I believe the doctors note overrides everything, but there still has to be an acceptable alternative.
I do think you need to put something in your contract about what you serve, how you serve and what (if any) exceptions you are willing/able to make. Essentially "this is how *I* do things." I will take a parents preferences into account, but especially being on the food program I am not going to commit fraud because of it.

As for the FP guidelines, I know some of the approved snacks list make me go but it just says that you could serve them - you don't *have* to. My kids are fed healthy foods - lost of fresh veggies and fruits, lean proteins, etc. Baked goods, convenience type snacks (granola/cereal bars, etc.) are rare here. I also don't serve chips, candy, etc. When I am asked for them by the kids I tell them "if your parents want you to have those things, they will give them to you.":: I've received nothing but praise from the FP ladies about what I'm serving (and it's not Fritos:: )

[mrsmartin2007]

I believe the doctors note overrides everything, but there still has to be an acceptable alternative.
I do think you need to put something in your contract about what you serve, how you serve and what (if any) exceptions you are willing/able to make. Essentially "this is how *I* do things." I will take a parents preferences into account, but especially being on the food program I am not going to commit fraud because of it.

As for the FP guidelines, I know some of the approved snacks list make me go but it just says that you could serve them - you don't *have* to. My kids are fed healthy foods - lost of fresh veggies and fruits, lean proteins, etc. Baked goods, convenience type snacks (granola/cereal bars, etc.) are rare here. I also don't serve chips, candy, etc. When I am asked for them by the kids I tell them "if your parents want you to have those things, they will give them to you.":: I've received nothing but praise from the FP ladies about what I'm serving (and it's not Fritos:: )

Where you get the break down of the specific types of things that you can serve? They left me a booklet but it just have a list of basics not specifics.

[Play Care]

Where you get the break down of the specific types of things that you can serve? They left me a booklet but it just have a list of basics not specifics.

Somewhere around here I have a book of what's acceptable/creditable. Somewhere...:: I think they gave it to me when I signed up. I'll try to track it down at some point.

[Blackcat31]

Where you get the break down of the specific types of things that you can serve? They left me a booklet but it just have a list of basics not specifics.

Here is a 60+ page PDF document of ALL credible and non-credible foods from the USDA food program.

My food program gave this booklet out to me when I first joined but I have since tossed it and reference this on-line file instead.

http://www.childcaregroup.org/images/Misc/Creditable_Non-_Foods.pdf

Hope that helps

[craftymissbeth]

As a family, we drink almond milk. I would LOVE to serve almond milk exclusively to the dck's (right now I serve it at snack and they get cow's milk at meals).

I'm not on the food program, but I was considering it. I looked through my local sponsor's website and when I saw the list of acceptable milk alternatives I was really disappointed.

We don't drink cow's milk for several different reasons. One - between dh, ds, and me we all have different health symptoms that pop up after drinking it. We don't drink soy milk mostly because I'm uncertain of the hormonal changes it causes (we avoid soy altogether, but it's not easy totally eliminating it).

Anyway, all that to say that I just don't think I'm going to do the food program...

[Leigh]

My understanding is that you have to offer them everything that is required for the meals you are claiming.... but you can give them additional snacks, or food as long as you do not count it for reimbursement. One somewhat common example is special treats for birthdays or holidays (you can still deduct these on your taxes)
I have also heard of someone offering 'milk' and if the kids don't drink it, they can offer soy/ almond or whatever else after (request from dcp), and their food rep was okay with that (I don't know if all of them would be)
I do wish they allowed for some dietary differences with the food program.... at the very least they should allow religious food requirement requests to be honored in addition to doctor's.

I am not aware of (and perhaps some do exist) of any way that I could not accommodate a religious request. Kids are not required to eat pork, or even to eat meat. There are allowed protein substitutions (beans, peanut butter, yogurt, etc.).

[Leigh]

SO if there is a doctors note but the situation is not life threatening, it overrides the doctors note? So then what? Im confused now.

In my state (and regs may vary), a doctor must state that the allergy is life threatening for a child to be exempted. Severe eczema COULD be considered life threatening, while it may not cause death, it can threaten quality of life. It's really all up to what your doctor is willing to say about it.

[mrsmartin2007]

Here is a 60+ page PDF document of ALL credible and non-credible foods from the USDA food program.

My food program gave this booklet out to me when I first joined but I have since tossed it and reference this on-line file instead.

http://www.childcaregroup.org/images/Misc/Creditable_Non-_Foods.pdf

Hope that helps

OH WOW! THANKS!! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!! IM OVERLY EXCITED!!!!happyfacehappyfacehappyfacehappyface

[Margarete]

As a family, we drink almond milk. I would LOVE to serve almond milk exclusively to the dck's (right now I serve it at snack and they get cow's milk at meals).

I'm not on the food program, but I was considering it. I looked through my local sponsor's website and when I saw the list of acceptable milk alternatives I was really disappointed.

We don't drink cow's milk for several different reasons. One - between dh, ds, and me we all have different health symptoms that pop up after drinking it. We don't drink soy milk mostly because I'm uncertain of the hormonal changes it causes (we avoid soy altogether, but it's not easy totally eliminating it).

Anyway, all that to say that I just don't think I'm going to do the food program...

If you are serving cows milk at meals that works. You could still serve almond milk at snack time if you had 2 other components that meet the requirements.
How old is your ds? Is he old enough to reject the cows milk knowing what it does to him? Or if your state allows (I didn't know some don't) you could not enroll your son, which in our state you wouldn't qualify for reimbursement unless you met income requirements anyway.

[craftymissbeth]

If you are serving cows milk at meals that works. You could still serve almond milk at snack time if you had 2 other components that meet the requirements.
How old is your ds? Is he old enough to reject the cows milk knowing what it does to him? Or if your state allows (I didn't know some don't) you could not enroll your son, which in our state you wouldn't qualify for reimbursement unless you met income requirements anyway.

Oh, he's almost 7 so really he's not an issue ::

I've been thinking about it more today and I suppose I could serve organic cow's milk instead. I have many personal reasons why I don't think anyone should drink cow's milk (I think a PP hit on a couple of them above) and it's a simple matter of me just cringing every time I pour a glass for a dck. And I normally serve water with snack, but whenever we do want something more milky we do almond milk. I should have clarified that.

Anyway, I guess I'll end up working it out somehow so that I can be on the food program. There's just SO much that I see potentially wrong withthe food program that I'm dragging my heels.

[Margarete]

Oh, he's almost 7 so really he's not an issue ::

I've been thinking about it more today and I suppose I could serve organic cow's milk instead. I have many personal reasons why I don't think anyone should drink cow's milk (I think a PP hit on a couple of them above) and it's a simple matter of me just cringing every time I pour a glass for a dck. And I normally serve water with snack, but whenever we do want something more milky we do almond milk. I should have clarified that.

Anyway, I guess I'll end up working it out somehow so that I can be on the food program. There's just SO much that I see potentially wrong withthe food program that I'm dragging my heels.

There is actually a lot of flexibility with all but the milk requirement. You could even do kosher or vegetarian as someone pointed out, by using yogurt, beans, eggs or cheese as your 'meat' requirement for lunch or dinner. However the dcp have no official way of requesting any but medical changes. As a provider you can adjust what you feed them (within their guidelines) as you see fit, and can take parent/ kid preferences into account.