In the Refrigerator

[mamamanda]

Is it weird that the kids who challenge me the most always find their way closest to my heart? He's a little stinker at times, but oh how I enjoy him.

[daycarediva]

Is it weird that the kids who challenge me the most always find their way closest to my heart? He's a little stinker at times, but oh how I enjoy him.

SAME! The hardest kids, remind me of myself. My assistant says it all the time "Whhyyy is THAT CHILD your favorite?"

Because I understand rebellion and independence, duh.

[mamamanda]

SAME! The hardest kids, remind me of myself. My assistant says it all the time "Whhyyy is THAT CHILD your favorite?"

Because I understand rebellion and independence, duh.

:: love it!

[Annalee]

Health Dept Monitor requires us to have kitchen gated off due to the stove so my kids aren't allowed free will to the fridge and I have never even had a kid ask. I did come in from outside play once to find a parent in the fridge....needless to say she NEVER done that again!!!! ::

[Pestle]

We have a living room & family room, but both have newish carpet & my husband is pretty firm about no food out of the kitchen b/c of that.

That's your area of potential, then. You can't adjust where your walls are placed, but you do have control over your flooring and how you and your husband balance authority/submission in your marriage vs. your ability to do your job with integrity. If having access to the fridge is at all a danger to the kids, you need to prioritize their safety over keeping the carpet clean. I'd have a conversation about buying foam tiles to protect the carpet and setting up a children's dining area on it.

[daycarediva]

those large commercial plastic mats worked well over our rug in my former, former, dc space.

[HappyEverAfter]

I’ve had a baby unexpectedly wake and cry once I had the others seated at the table or in high chairs. How I handled it was my mobile kids had to get up and follow me to get the baby while the high chair kids stayed put and strapped in. No child will ever be allowed to help themselves to food at my house. If they ask for a drink, one will be provided. If they ask for food I let them know when the next meal or snack is. Even my SA nephew who I occasionally keep knows better than to help himself to the fridge or pantry.

[hwichlaz]

Really glad that’s not a licensing reg here. I don’t think my fridge has ever been empty enough to for a child to get in without dumping everything out anyway...it’d be obvious REALLY quick. We do have to lock empty fridges though...or remove the door.

[Baby Beluga]

I've never had a DCK try to enter my fridge or cabinets....I prob just jinx myself and it will happen in the next few days now ::

I do let DD get her own food though. I keep lots of fresh/washed/prepped fruits and veggies in the fridge. DD asks if she can have a snack and if I okay it she picks something. Same with the pantry. She has her own section of snacks she can pick from with permission. This lets her feel like she has some control.

I also have her help me when preparing meals. "DD, grab the butter, grab the green beans. Please put the sauce away, etc." It's the beginning steps to self sufficiency.

[jenboo]

We have breakfast, lunch, atter nap snack and dinner. ds usually isn't hungry outside of those times. When he gets older, I'm not sure how ill handle snacking. He is very independent. I had to ask to have a snack up until high school.

In your situation, i would have let the baby, served the food and then grabbed the baby. That way the kids at the table would have been engaged with eating.

[flying_babyb]

I second the fridge lock!

[MrsJ]

I feel like this little guy finds every potential loop hole in our environment. I should probably thank him for that. Some providers pay big money to have professionals come in & find their weak spots, right?

I have seen this w/ this age dck. Without one-on one attention it's hard to catch in time some days.
We also tried a snack basket but had to take it out as my DCP started going through it for aftercare snacks for the ride home when I wasn't looking They thought it was free snacks for all even when I clearly said it wasn't.
Moving to a separate area where they can pick from is nice at times but it's more mess at the end of day.
The fridge locks work well for a while to keep them out in case you've looked away for just a moment and they aren't a permanent thing. Just a sticky you can clean off later.

[Pestle]

We also tried a snack basket but had to take it out as my DCP started going through it for aftercare snacks for the ride home when I wasn't looking They thought it was free snacks for all even when I clearly said it wasn't.

[hwichlaz]

I have seen this w/ this age dck. Without one-on one attention it's hard to catch in time some days.
We also tried a snack basket but had to take it out as my DCP started going through it for aftercare snacks for the ride home when I wasn't looking They thought it was free snacks for all even when I clearly said it wasn't.
Moving to a separate area where they can pick from is nice at times but it's more mess at the end of day.
The fridge locks work well for a while to keep them out in case you've looked away for just a moment and they aren't a permanent thing. Just a sticky you can clean off later.

How’d your parents know there was a snack basket? Mine isn’t for daycare kids, it’s for my own children. This is their home...and it’s how they know what’s okay for them to eat without messing up my daycare menu.

[MrsJ]

How’d your parents know there was a snack basket? Mine isn’t for daycare kids, it’s for my own children. This is their home...and it’s how they know what’s okay for them to eat without messing up my daycare menu.

DCK brought them back inside the door. She knew I'd walked away back to dc area away from entry. This kid will take anything she can get. I have to check her little paws on the way out now and make sure nothing in pockets!
Parents (should) know better than this.