Losing Kids For Disliking School Food

[daycare]

Please tell me I am not the only one.

I cook all meals, home made and organic when possible. I am on the food program.

Our rule about food, eat what you like, leave what you don't.
No stress, positive talk and positive behavior all throughout meals. I always eat with the kids. BUtttttttt.................

I have lost now what is going to be 4 kids in the last 12 months due to the fact that the children will NOT eat while they are here, ZERO ZIP NOTHING. They want JUNK. I don't serve junk. Most kids they start out like this will eventually adapt to our program and learn to enjoy the food.

What will end up happening is that the child will go hungry all day and of course can't help but have behavior issues from lack of food. Some felt down constantly at the drop of a hat, some act out, some close down. These children are also the ones that get sick most often too.



I just lost another child last week, because I can't get these kids to eat anything. The child arrived at 7:45am and refused, breakfast & morning snack. I don't and won't force anyone to eat. I have a two bite club book and video we read constantly to encourage eating, but these kids don't care. So with this kid, by 11am, she was throwing herself down on the ground, freaking out and we couldn't calm her. This is what she was doing every day and I know it was because she was hungry.I do feel horrible for the child, but I run a preschool program and on the food program, so it's not like I can just start having meal time here, there and every where. I offer water, but we know that's not calories/fat they need to give them energy to move on. I don't want them here to survive, I want them here to thrive.


BUT I refuse to give them junk. I have had to chalk it up to not being a good fit. It's not like I am serving liver and onions, I am serving child friendly food, it's just homemade.

Any suggestions? Am I the only one who has lost kids for this reason.

This new era of over emotional parenting is getting to me, sorry that sounded sooooo judge mental, I just can't help myself right now.

[NillaWafers]

No I haven't lost kids but I don't think it's ridiculous to feed wholesome, good food.

Really it's the parent's faults for not providing good food at home too. Kids learn real quick they can hold out for home and then they get all the potato chips and candy they want.

I have one kid who won't eat here, but I think that is due to cultural food differences (asian) so he's not very used to the types of food I serve.

[lovemydaycare0912]

I don't think you are doing anything wrong. I agree with Nilla that it's kind of parents fault for what they serve at home. I have a drop in dcg who is 13 months and doesn't eat anything until snack time at 3pm. It's terrible. I asked dcm about eating habits and she says she eats yogurt at home. Yogurt. Like that's it????? keep doing what you can

[Ariana]

Is there any way you can serve them something they will eat every day? I totally agree that this is not really your problem but you are losing income from this! I have never seen a kid refuse a nice high protein banana muffin or a high fat high protein smoothie with berries. There must be something they would eat.

[LysesKids]

No I haven't lost kids but I don't think it's ridiculous to feed wholesome, good food.

Really it's the parent's faults for not providing good food at home too. Kids learn real quick they can hold out for home and then they get all the potato chips and candy they want.

I have one kid who won't eat here, but I think that is due to cultural food differences (asian) so he's not very used to the types of food I serve.

I do a lot of Ethnic cooking & I tend to get a lot of international or adventurous parents because of it... I don't do what is considered typical American kid food or anything Pork and I have had a few families walk away from interviews because of it. Today all our meals were traditional Tanzanian (it's actually easy to make & the kids ate most of it ) - my Brother & his family live there so getting authentic recipes was easy

[Unregistered]

Can the "two bite club book and video" being read constantly possibly be making eating into a power struggle. You are showing you want her desperately to eat when you do that - maybe. So, she is maybe responding by digging in her heels. But, yes, also she is used to other food I think.

And what do you mean about over emotional parenting?

And, my last thought more directed towards lovemydaycare, is that normally we are always taught "food before one is just for fun". That makes me question why just being used to yogurt, one month into eating solids, is so shocking. I wonder what yogurt it is- if it is legit or sugar yogurt. Normal yogurt is great nutrition!

[LysesKids]

Is there any way you can serve them something they will eat every day? I totally agree that this is not really your problem but you are losing income from this! I have never seen a kid refuse a nice high protein banana muffin or a high fat high protein smoothie with berries. There must be something they would eat.

I have a kid who literally can't eat bananas, apples or berries much less milk, mushrooms, tomatoes, eggs and the list goes on; she was diagnosed after she was tested by an allergist & some were her favorite foods to eat
her baby brother has shown issues for 2 of the same foods already & he just turned one last week so I have some fun ahead . Thankfully he could eat all of the Tanzanian Lunch

[lovemydaycare0912]

Unregistered;

I have a fulltime dcb with her same birthday who eats everything. I don't think just yogurt for breakfast lunch and dinner is good. This child is sick everytime she comes to me and her parents seem off. I found out through my own shopping dcd was caught with possession some years ago but he still looks as if he uses. I could be wrong.

[LovetheSun]

Some children were very difficult with us, but what helped a lot is sending the food of the day home with the parents which they will serve for diner (so that there are no escaped to eating the healthy food!). You need cooperative parents for that but within 3days they usually eat everything like the rest of their friends.

[Solandia]

What kinds of meals are you making, how to you prepare?

Just to be clear, I'm not putting on you. But over the years I've realized that that there are wildly different ideas on the implementation of healthy. And some w are a bit out there (like cooking with zero salt and no seasonings). Just curious. Because one kid refusing food is one thing, 4...I would be looking at what I'm doing and seeing if I've missed something.

I've always made "healthy" stuff, but still made sure there is one thing that everyone likes. For little kids, I rarely did casseroles or one pot meals, because they are still learning to expand their own tastes....and more opportunity to eat pieces of the meal. I also used divided plates for the kids because it was fun, made meals interesting & helped them learn how to make a meal (you can get plates that are proportional with label for the different food groups). Plus their food doesn't touch!

I don't cater to kids wants, but I occasionally needs to check myself...I tend to get a bit uncompromising over time. Like it really is no big deal to leave the sauce off something and serve it plain and encourage new tastes. Or only giving a teeny bit of something they don't like instead of a full serving of the stuff they hate. (Some kids get overwhelmed with new foods and shut down, so a bite of new food next to a full serving of a familiar food is easier to accept).

Good luck!

[Poptarts22]

I guess before I got to the point of parents leaving my care, I would find a solution. Maybe offer to let parent pack a lunch for the child. It wouldn't be the exact thing the other children are eating-but thats what we sometimes have to do. I used to be all about pushing healthy foods and snacks, but I guess I have just given up the last few years. If a parent wants their kids full of crap-that's what they are gonna give them. Me pushing veggies here is going to just be a waste when they stuff them with Zingers at home. I fed my kids healthy and they grew into adults who do the same for their kids-there is where my job ends

[Baby Beluga]

I don't think you have done anything wrong. In fact, if the children are accustomed to eating junk it is because of the parents.

Kids eat junk because parents give it to them:

https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/kids-eat-processed-food/comment-page-8/

(not affiliated with this blog, I just follow it and share similar opinions on food)

Are you asking about the child's eating habits and sharing your menu with parents during the interview process? If not, maybe doing so will help weed out the junk food families from enrolling in the first place.

I'm curious, did the parents site not eating as a reason? As a parent I would be embarrassed to admit that to a provider

[Blackcat31]

Is there any way you can serve them something they will eat every day? I totally agree that this is not really your problem but you are losing income from this! I have never seen a kid refuse a nice high protein banana muffin or a high fat high protein smoothie with berries. There must be something they would eat.

I have never lost kids due to my menu or because their child wouldn't eat here but I do think that implementing at least one food into the day that you know they will eat is a good solution.

I've also had great luck with involving the kids in the meal/snack planning. Find out what things they do like and tweak those to be healthy and nutritious for them.

What kinds of meals are you making, how to you prepare?

This is a great idea! Maybe you could post a week's worth of meals and snacks that you serve in care and we can help you tweak or amend your menu to be more kid friendly or just "different" since whatever it is now isn't working.

JBut over the years I've realized that that there are wildly different ideas on the implementation of healthy. And some w are a bit out there (like cooking with zero salt and no seasonings). Just curious. Because one kid refusing food is one thing, 4...I would be looking at what I'm doing and seeing if I've missed something.

hey.... I don't add any salt or seasonings to the food I serve my DCK's.

We eat clean; as clean as we can and don't add any condiments, salt or any unnecessary seasonings to the things we make and serve.

[sahm1225]

Blackcat - just curious -no seasonings at all? I don't use salt but I do use garlic and other spices.
I always make their meals with lots of flavor just in case there's left overs, then I eat it

[daycare]

Thanks everyone for your feed back.

I do have a monthly menu sent home with our newsletter.
I do not cook with salt, sugar or other process type foods

I use all natural cooking additives, like coconut oil, etc.

I make pasta, sauce is homemade, mac and cheese, 100%home made, grilled cheese and etc.

Example lunch yesterday: grilled cheese, carrot/celery sticks and blueberries.

I serve a wide variety of foods. But the kids I have will ask for pop tarts, box mac and cheese, lunchables, basically they want highly processed foods that I won't serve. I don't even know what some of those foods are to be honey with you.

When I enroll I talk in great detail about my menu. Funny thing is, is that most parents choose me because Of my menu. I tell them most kids really have a hard time adjusting to our menu if they eat a lot of highly processed foods at home. Parents always tell me they are on board with our menu will do whatever it takes.

The family I just lost considered those sugary fruit snacks as their child's fruit or vegetable. OMG. No joke

I think what I have realized is that of the families I have lost, Some of them have a Nanny because the parents work has unusual hours. One mom is a surgeon, she's hardly home it seems. The other two families just let their kids make all the decisions.

I tired to talk with the parents, but All of them said it's easier to just let them eat what they want. One parent told me that I was the only one causing stress with the food in their child's life, I should have just given in and made the hot dog.

I am not really losing money, I have a wait list and fill the spot the very day it opens.

I feel like I'm at a loss and a little sad. Thanks for listening.