Snack Time

[CountryRoads]

AM Snack is at 8:30. As in at 8:30, the kids who are here are sitting down eating snack. I have several kids who come around 8:40-8:50.

Do you feed snack to the ones who come a little later? We start our next activity at 9:00, so I put everything away after fixing the plates for the ones who are here and at 9:00 we are on to the next thing.

It drives me bonkers when I have finished dishing out food for the ones who are here just to have 2 more kids arrive after I put it away

[Blackcat31]

I require kids to be in attendance 10 minutes prior to beginning of snack/meal time to be ‘eligible’ for that snack/meal.

8:30 snack time requires kids to be signed in NO later than 8:20 NO EXCEPTIONS

Child care schedules are tough as we juggle multiple kids and tasks so you gotta draw the line somewhere. Parents can adjust accordingly.

[Cat Herder]

My mealtimes are set and I don't serve outside of them. Breakfast is the only one that some try to push but I cut it off at exactly 8 am. If they sign in by 7:59 I do serve them, though. It does make it easier that I don't allow drop-offs after 9 am and morning snack isn't until 10 am, though.

No food from home regardless of time. I have had several who tried to drop at 8:00 with breakfast in hand as if that somehow fixes the problem. So irritating. :: I send them back to the car to drive down the road to the park to eat together. Blocking the driveway for others is not an option, either.

[Meeko]

I serve breakfast to kids here by 8:30am. Kids arriving at 8:31am don't get breakfast. No exceptions.

[CountryRoads]

These were my thoughts, too!

I just didnt know if it was considered unacceptable to not give a child snack while others were eating at the table at drop-off, kwim?

I sent out a daily schedule a couple months ago, so all my families know snack is at 8:30....if they looked at it

[Mariposa]

I have a window of time that is "acceptable" and once food is away it is away. Plan enough for expected kids. But they have to hurry if they are cutting it.

[Jo123ABC]

I have this problem too. Breakfast is served from 8 to 8:45. If they show up after that they should be fed prior to drop off. I had a parent once get REALLY mad at me because she dropped off at 9:15 and I didn't serve him breakfast. She said "I don't want him to be hungry". Obviously neither do I but it's the parents responsibility. We were all outside playing when she dropped off! We can't all go back in to watch him eat some people!

[Cat Herder]

I have this problem too. Breakfast is served from 8 to 8:45. If they show up after that they should be fed prior to drop off. I had a parent once get REALLY mad at me because she dropped off at 9:15 and I didn't serve him breakfast. She said "I don't want him to be hungry". Obviously neither do I but it's the parents responsibility. We were all outside playing when she dropped off! We can't all go back in to watch him eat some people!

She would have been SUPER mad at me, then, because I would have sent her home to feed him then return.

Don't let them take out their own stress on you. :hug:

[Ariana]

I serve snack at 9:30am after everyone has arrived. Makes it much easier!

[Ariana]

I have this problem too. Breakfast is served from 8 to 8:45. If they show up after that they should be fed prior to drop off. I had a parent once get REALLY mad at me because she dropped off at 9:15 and I didn't serve him breakfast. She said "I don't want him to be hungry". Obviously neither do I but it's the parents responsibility. We were all outside playing when she dropped off! We can't all go back in to watch him eat some people!

Wow who doesn’t feed their kid until 9:15am?? My kids are fed as soon as they wake up.

[Former Teacher]

At my former center, snack was 8:15-8:45 with circle time starting immediately at 9:00 am. If they were there prior to 8:45 they ate. Once it's put away, oh well.

On a side note, I remember the menu that was posted. It said Breakfast, Lunch, Snack. That always bothered me because it wasn't breakfast. It was a snack. I brought my concerns to the director, only to be told that it was my OCD (I didn't know I had it : talking and if we said Snack, parents wouldn't know what we were talking about.

So one day I was chatting with a parent. She asked me what was for breakfast that morning. Now on the "menu" it was listed with things like cereal, pancakes, waffles, etc.

So I told her the truth, it was Cheese Toast. She asked what else? :confused: Ummm? Juice? What else? That's it.

She was under the impression that the breakfast was a BREAKFAST....just like how my OCD saw it. happyface

I had to explain to her that no, it was a snack. Just something to get little tummies held over until lunch. Then the afternoon snack was something until dinner. So she hadn't been feeding her daughter in the morning because she assumed we would be feeding her.

I told her to say something to the Director/Owner because I was sure other people noticed it as well.

Sure enough, not long after, the menu was changed to AM Snack, Lunch, PM Snack

[Cat Herder]

My bet is that it was about the difference in write off amount in breakfast ($1.33) and snack ($0.74).

[Former Teacher]

My bet is that it was about the difference in write off amount in breakfast ($1.33) and snack ($0.74).

::::

Normally I would agree with you but we weren't on the food program so who knows?

Then again she (Owner/Director) ALWAYS ALWAYS liked to contradict me. Once we were driving to where ever and I saw a UPS whip around a corner. I mean seriously...it was like top speed.

I said oh my goodness!! Did you see that?!? He took that corner way to fast! She said oh no that's how the trucks do it. I am like...I have seen trucks go around corners before ...this was NOT the case... She told me bluntly "I don't know what you saw but that truck was just fine"...Whatever ::

[Cat Herder]

I don't do the food program, either, but I do deduct all my meals at the end of the year. Usually good for around $6000+.

[Jo123ABC]

I did give him a muffin after she left if he said she didn't feed him and we usually eat lunch between 11 and 11:30 so he didn't go hungry. It still annoys me when parents think I should stop everything and mess up my schedule and plans for them after they oversleep or whatever.