Providers On The Food Program...

[midaycare]

Remember gluten free also pertains to art material for some children. Especially playdough. They should only use gluten free playdough.

Oh my goodness - you learn something new every day! Thanks!

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I actually have had parents who have wanted their child to eat gluten-free as a life choice. There was no medical need. They just thought it was a good idea for me to do it. They themselves did not eat gluten-free, but that is how they wanted me to feed their child. I did consider it a bit of a fad, or a way of making their child more special, or something, not exactly sure how to classify that
They could not provide documentation of medical need, so the best I could come up with was that they could decline the food program. We are told we must offer it, but a parent can decline it. Then I asked the parent to provide the food.
In the end, it did not work out. Not the food part, just the over-all expectations of these parents. They ultimately wanted to be sure that this child was more special than any other child in care, and that was just not okay with me.

[Luvnmykidz]

I didn't even think about the playdoh needing to be gluten free. During the interview he was offered playdoh or wooden blocks, he chose the play doh first. Mom stated he loves play doh and has so many different colors and often he sneaks a bite of it. He put a piece in his mouth during the interview and I explained its for playing not eating and put it away. She just laughed and said that's Jim he samples all sorts of things.

[midaycare]

I actually have had parents who have wanted their child to eat gluten-free as a life choice. There was no medical need. They just thought it was a good idea for me to do it. They themselves did not eat gluten-free, but that is how they wanted me to feed their child. I did consider it a bit of a fad, or a way of making their child more special, or something, not exactly sure how to classify that
They could not provide documentation of medical need, so the best I could come up with was that they could decline the food program. We are told we must offer it, but a parent can decline it. Then I asked the parent to provide the food.
In the end, it did not work out. Not the food part, just the over-all expectations of these parents. They ultimately wanted to be sure that this child was more special than any other child in care, and that was just not okay with me.

So do as I say, not as I do? I had an interview on Friday and I could tell the parents were going to be obnoxious. Their little snowflake needed the best of everything. And he wasn't even born yet! I passed.

If someone told me how to eat, I'd be furious. Oh wait, my doctor already does that. Boo! No holiday card for him.

[midaycare]

I didn't even think about the playdoh needing to be gluten free. During the interview he was offered playdoh or wooden blocks, he chose the play doh first. Mom stated he loves play doh and has so many different colors and often he sneaks a bite of it. He put a piece in his mouth during the interview and I explained its for playing not eating and put it away. She just laughed and said that's Jim he samples all sorts of things.

That's disgusting. Why is she laughing about her child eating playdoh?

[MissAnn]

I am gluten intolerant and I had a gf dcg for 2 years. I made my menus gluten free. We had brown rice, corn tortillas, gf cereals, rice cakes and gf oats. It was not hard at all. Now gf no longer comes here so I now serve gluten. I just substitute gf foods for myself. I never bought gf bread because it's very expensive and has a boatload of ingredients.

[SignMeUp]

I would agree that the gluten-free part was not too difficult, except for pasta - the kids just didn't like the GF pastas. The only one I used regularly was a rice pasta that I already used in a couple of asian-style recipes. If we had pasta in other recipes, I made a small amount of GF and regular wheat pasta for the others.
Midaycare, I was surprised to see the quote of what I said include something that I didn't say :: I'm assuming that your cursor just went where you didn't want it to go and you didn't realize

[CraftyMom]

The issue for me would be whether the child actually medically needs a special diet or if it is a preference.

If it is a medical reason supported by a doctor I would have mom bring ALL food

If it is a preference I would not accept this child in my care since that is not how I run things.

All children are served the same meal, I will not make more than one meal (per meal). I will not have parents bringing in food because their child does not like what I am serving. I will not have parents telling me what to serve. I will not have parents saying they "suspect an allergy or intolerance" to get around my rules (show me proof from the dr)

Children bringing their own food (in my experience) is like children bringing a toy from home. Everyone is interested in and wants what the other child has and causes an unnecessary upset at meal times.

My parents are told we use the food program. They can opt out, but I will still serve the same food so there is no point. Unless like I said there is an actual medical reason.

If parents are insistent on supplying food for any reason other than a documented medical necessity than my program isn't right for them.

[SignMeUp]

The issue for me would be whether the child actually medically needs a special diet or if it is a preference.

If it is a medical reason supported by a doctor I would have mom bring ALL food

If it is a preference I would not accept this child in my care since that is not how I run things.

All children are served the same meal, I will not make more than one meal (per meal). I will not have parents bringing in food because their child does not like what I am serving. I will not have parents telling me what to serve. I will not have parents saying they "suspect an allergy or intolerance" to get around my rules (show me proof from the dr)

Children bringing their own food (in my experience) is like children bringing a toy from home. Everyone is interested in and wants what the other child has and causes an unnecessary upset at meal times.

My parents are told we use the food program. They can opt out, but I will still serve the same food so there is no point. Unless like I said there is an actual medical reason.

If parents are insistent on supplying food for any reason other than a documented medical necessity than my program isn't right for them.

I have had tons of vegetarian kids over the years, and I have always flexed my meals for them.
The GF diet can be more expensive though, when you are getting in to the pastas and breads they are more expensive than wheat products, at least it is that way where I live.
I used basically the same method for GF as I did for vegetarian, though it is a bit trickier for some meals.
My method of accommodating a vegetarian diet depends on how many days per week the child attends (I have all part-time children).
For a 2-3 day child, I will just go all-veg on the days they attend. We can have other proteins when they are not here.
But for a 4 day child (my max # of days), I do it differently. Most items will be the same, obviously: fruits, veg, grain, milk. But I can do a vegetarian chili, for example, and then add ground beef for the non-veg kids, or vegetarian spaghetti sauce, with a ground beef or grated cheese option. I give each child a choice of veg or non-veg, since the items meet the nutritional components either way.
For a pea soup, I will make it all vegetarian, and then use a choice of "toppings": chopped green onion, ham or celery, or croutons. The vegetarian children won't use the meat option, but they have other options.

That's just the way I have chosen to do my meals - not saying anyone else should We just have a pretty diverse group of eaters around here ::

[midaycare]

[QUOTE
Midaycare, I was surprised to see the quote of what I said include something that I didn't say :: I'm assuming that your cursor just went where you didn't want it to go and you didn't realize [/QUOTE]

That's what happens when I stay up too late - sorry!

Edited: fixed!

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[QUOTE
Midaycare, I was surprised to see the quote of what I said include something that I didn't say :: I'm assuming that your cursor just went where you didn't want it to go and you didn't realize

That's what happens when I stay up too late - sorry![/QUOTE]

No problem ::::::

[SignMeUp]

So I see my quote didn't work right there :: Or else I did something wrong ::

[Luvnmykidz]

Based on the fact that no issues were reported when I called to check up on him this weekend I am assuming its definitely a preference and not a medical need. Also the fact that this child was in a previous daycare two months ago, She should have current documentation if it is a true medical issue. My own children have a range of medical issues but there is supporting medical documentation to go with the diagnosis. It annoys me when people make up things to just be in control and look for attention sympathy or whatever and I kind of feel like that is whats going on here. She was referred to me by my child's doctor and someone from the EFMP (Exceptional Family Member Program on base). They stated they knew her but not on a personal level but that she was seeking a provider that had experience with food allergies and special needs as he's going to be evaluated for Autism in August. I am seeing lots of red flags from this family and lots of "My child is special" type behaviors. I don't really need the family (income wise) and am truly considering terming because I don't feel she was honest with anything during the interview as there is no medical documentation for anything she said this child has.

[Leanna]

I was that mom, while I worked in the same daycare my daughter went to. I worked there over the summer, while my husband was home with my daughter. I saw what they ate and there was no way I wanted my daughter to eat that way every day. We eat primarily organic, although there are times we have things that are not. We also avoid gluten as a family (my husband has autoimmune issues and does best with it) as I want to avoid triggers to affect my children's health. Let me say, yes, there are times my child does not always eat this way, but I just couldn't let her everyday. The food they served were poptarts, honeybuns, cinnamon rolls, muffins and so on for breakfast.... no fruit or protein. Lunch was usually a processed chicken nugget, pizza, or other prepackaged easy to warm up item. When the school year started and my husband returned to his teaching job, she started at the daycare. They insisted she had to be on the food program. I discussed this with her doctor and he wrote a note, stating that she was on a special diet, so that I could avoid it. They had me bring her own food, but they still claimed her on the food program :confused: There are several providers that believe that all children must be a part of it.

Just have his mom bring his meals and do not claim him on the program.

Here we MUST enroll everyone or not participate at all. ONLY infants under one year old are given the option of "opting out." There is NO option for children over the age of one to not enroll. This is why I provide meals to accommodate allergies and dietary restrictions.

[SignMeUp]

Here we MUST enroll everyone or not participate at all. ONLY infants under one year old are given the option of "opting out." There is NO option for children over the age of one to not enroll. This is why I provide meals to accommodate allergies and dietary restrictions.

That's so interesting, because here we are told that we MUST OFFER the FP to ALL families or it is considered discrimination. We are specifically NOT allowed to not offer it to infants. Only families are given the opportunity to "opt out". If we don't offer it to a family, we are out of the FP.