Dehydration Update

[daycare]

Last week I posted aboutthe DCB that will not consume any form of liquid while here. I made the parents sign a document stating that the child has to be bottle free and able to consume liquids while in my care and that I will work with the child for the next two weeks. If we cannot reslove it, then care will end.

I started thinking and this may sound bad, but I am starting to look at it a little different.

I am required to offer liquids to the child, which I do. At least 5-6 times a day. the child refuses to drink. You know the old saying. you can lead a horse to water, but you cant make them drink.....

Well I am thinking that since I am going my job, does this become thier issue? Meaning I offer the liquids, the child refuses. The parents are not caring that the child does not consume liquids while here and I am getting to the point where I am tired of stressing about it. I feel like tihs is there problem not mine...They are obvioulsy not working on it at home.

What do you guys think about this and am I in the wrong to think this way? I honestly don't know what to do. It's getting hotter by the day and it gets to be over 110 degrees here in the summer. I really don't want to term over this, but am feeling like I am making an issue for myself.... UGH

[JenNJ]

Its not something that the parents can fix. So I wouldnt make an issue of it.

I would watch him closely on hot days and keep a log of drinks offered and refused to cover your butt. My guess is that when he exerts himself outside on a hot day, he will drink.

What does he drink at home? Maybe throw some fruit slices in his water?

[MarinaVanessa]

I wasn't around to read the other post so my advice may or may not suit you but if this were the case for me I'd treat it just like food. I am obligated to serve it but it is up to them whether they eat it or not. The only difference between your situation and mine is that I always have water available at all times for the kids. In any case if they don't drink it then they just don't.

[daycare]

Its not something that the parents can fix. So I wouldnt make an issue of it.

I would watch him closely on hot days and keep a log of drinks offered and refused to cover your butt. My guess is that when he exerts himself outside on a hot day, he will drink.

What does he drink at home? Maybe throw some fruit slices in his water?

the issue is that mom and dad claim that he is off the bottle at home even though bnig sis busted them on that one... So he is on the bottle at home and sippy here....

They don't want me giving him the bottle. I said then you need to also not give him the bottle at home. They said they would work on it. Then I find out today from big sis that even after we "agreed" no more bottle at home or DC they are still giving him one. Oh but only at night sippy during the day. They claim he drinks from the sippy at home.

I have tried everything you can think of in the sippy cup. even things I wont even give my own child. Like choc milk, straight juice, fruit smoothy, and etc. NOTHING works, because mom and dad are lying and they still have him on the bottle...... BTW the boy is 2.......

[daycare]

my concern is that with the heat coming, that this child is going to end up with heat exhaustion or dehydration.... Of course the parents will blame me for it and say that i was not properly doing my job. Maybe I am thinking the worst and shouldn't.... i just really want to cover my butt...

Oh also, the boy is not producing wet diapers or only one wet diaper in a 9.5 hour day. He is always getting sick and I wonder if this could be why....UGH

[SandeeAR]

I have a 12 mo, dcg that eats everything, but MIGHT drink 2 oz of milk a day, nothing else. She is healthy and Mom knows it.


I have an almost 3 y/o that refuses to eat ANYTHING I serve at lunch. She eats breakfast, but no lunch. And she knows, she gets no snack unless she eats lunch. At snack time, when the others get goldfish, cookies, crackers etc, she is offered her leftover lunch each day. Parents know it and don't care. Seem to think it is a phase.


I offer the food and drink, what they do with it is up to them. Not my problem. I did my job by offering.

[daycare]

I have a 12 mo, dcg that eats everything, but MIGHT drink 2 oz of milk a day, nothing else. She is healthy and Mom knows it.


I have an almost 3 y/o that refuses to eat ANYTHING I serve at lunch. She eats breakfast, but no lunch. And she knows, she gets no snack unless she eats lunch. At snack time, when the others get goldfish, cookies, crackers etc, she is offered her leftover lunch each day. Parents know it and don't care. Seem to think it is a phase.


I offer the food and drink, what they do with it is up to them. Not my problem. I did my job by offering.

so I am starting to think right finally...lmao

[cheerfuldom]

I have one here that only eats a small lunch, no snacks but plenty of drink. I have another that eats a very tiny lunch (like two crackers, one cube of cheese) and maybe a few crackers later. They just don't eat here. It doesn't bother me as the parents are both aware of it and there is only so much I can do. I would not terminate over this. I would offer the child whatever everyone else is offered and if he doesn't want the sippy, oh well. You can't force a parent to wean if they really don't want to. Unless it is causing specific issues like obvious signs of dehydration, than I would leave it alone. However, now that you said something, this could be an issue. If you back down now when you had a meeting about it and they signed whatever you agreed to, it might cause them to lose faith in your word and stance on policies since you gave on this.

[momatheart]

All you have to do is offer it. Can't force it. He will eventually come around.

[Meyou]

Normally I would agree with others who said treat it like a food strike. I have one who is refusing meals regularly right now because he thinks if he holds out long enough he'll get pizza. I just offer him his lunch at snack when he doesnt' eat. Some days he doesn't eat lunch at all and I save his lunch for the next day. His parents have agreed to this btw.

BUUUUUT it really concerns me that your dck doesn't have wet diapers. Plus the parents are messing around with you IMO by agreeing to your plan and then contradicting it at home. If it was me and things weren't getting better I would term. I would not want to deal with dehydration issues all summer in the heat. The potential for a dangerous situation is too great for me.

I also have a couple of DCK that aren't big drinkers. There is a difference between not being thirsty and refusing beverages because of the cup. One is to do with the needs of that child's body and the other his will power.

[kidkair]

Have you tried a regular open cup? Maybe he just doesn't like the sippy. I'd try an open cup outside with water and see if he likes it and how much of a mess he'll make with it. (I train all my kids to use open cups outside with water to lower the amount of mess inside.) I'd go ahead and just have water in a bottle for him all day if that's the only thing he'll take because the fight over the bottle is just not one to pick when it's starting to get hot and he really needs fluids. I'd also be sure to give lots of liquid type food like apple sauce, smoothies in a bowl, soups, and popcicles to keep him hydrated.

[nannyde]

the issue is that mom and dad claim that he is off the bottle at home even though bnig sis busted them on that one... So he is on the bottle at home and sippy here....

They don't want me giving him the bottle. I said then you need to also not give him the bottle at home. They said they would work on it. Then I find out today from big sis that even after we "agreed" no more bottle at home or DC they are still giving him one. Oh but only at night sippy during the day. They claim he drinks from the sippy at home.

I have tried everything you can think of in the sippy cup. even things I wont even give my own child. Like choc milk, straight juice, fruit smoothy, and etc. NOTHING works, because mom and dad are lying and they still have him on the bottle...... BTW the boy is 2.......

They are probably asking you to not give bottles because they have realized if he doesn't drink all day at your house that the bottles he gets at home are his peace and quiet offering to them. They want him to want bottles because that buys them a LOT of time at night when he leaves them alone and doesn't fuss.

I've seen this MANY times. The fact that they are lying to you about it means it's paying off in spades at home. They lie to protect what they have now. They've realized that when you switched him to cups that he would do a lot more **** bottle time at home which gave them so much more time of not having to deal with him. They are most likely putting him to bed with a bottle every night and giving him bottles in the middle of the night when he wakes up.

Is he showing any kind of deydration other than only one wet diaper? If they are loading him up on liquid bottles from pick up thru the middle of the night then he would go during your time without drink.

I would give him bottles but that's just me. I wouldn't put him to bed with one but I would let him sit and drink bottle until they completely switched him to cups. I wouldn't allow them to have me pay during the day so they could have peace and quiet at home. I would just tell them that he is not going back and forth between the two and we need to switch this around. He has bottles at my house and cup at yours. That way you guys can make sure you get enough liquid in him when you have an adult just for him.

[daycare]

They are probably asking you to not give bottles because they have realized if he doesn't drink all day at your house that the bottles he gets at home are his peace and quiet offering to them. They want him to want bottles because that buys them a LOT of time at night when he leaves them alone and doesn't fuss.

I've seen this MANY times. The fact that they are lying to you about it means it's paying off in spades at home. They lie to protect what they have now. They've realized that when you switched him to cups that he would do a lot more **** bottle time at home which gave them so much more time of not having to deal with him. They are most likely putting him to bed with a bottle every night and giving him bottles in the middle of the night when he wakes up.

Is he showing any kind of deydration other than only one wet diaper? If they are loading him up on liquid bottles from pick up thru the middle of the night then he would go during your time without drink.

I would give him bottles but that's just me. I wouldn't put him to bed with one but I would let him sit and drink bottle until they completely switched him to cups. I wouldn't allow them to have me pay during the day so they could have peace and quiet at home. I would just tell them that he is not going back and forth between the two and we need to switch this around. He has bottles at my house and cup at yours. That way you guys can make sure you get enough liquid in him when you have an adult just for him.

nannyde you have it down like no tomorrow.

DCM comes in this morning and tells me that he drank 3 bottles before bed and woke up 3 times throughout the night to drink as well. Then DCM went on to tell me that it seems like he can hold his pee well now because he also only had one wet diaper. UUUGGGHHHHH he's dehydrated you dummies............

So anyways, yes nannyde, I am just going to not listen to them and keep her on the bottle here as well. i can't have him here for that many hours, playing out in the hot sun and then only producing 0-1 wet diapers a day. This is not goign to happen on my dime anymore.