Organic Food? Sort of Vent

[TGT09]

I am semi-organic for myself and my husband. Very limited to certain things though i.e. milk and meat. I still eat McDonalds (I know, doesn't make sense). I know the downfalls of eating all the crap and don't care so much as I like to eat it. :-)

Well, I have a dc family (2 dc kids) that are completely organic fanatics. Fine, for home life but should they be expect me to keep it up at my house when they aren't paying extra for it? I did not think they were this strong-willed about it as we talked about it in their interview but I have been getting some berating texts from the mother. I have given into buying some organic so they don't have to pack their lunches and most of the time it isn't that much more expensive. BUT, it adds up and I'm finding it hard to keep on my grocery budget every week because of it. Everytime the mother sends me a text, I respond about something financial and she responds with we could start sending a few things a week. I have ALWAYS accepted that I would like for them to do that and they do it for a week and then not again until she "flips" about something else.

I would just like to my own defense say, I definitely go out of my way to make sure all the kids have well rounded meals and as "organic" as I possibly can. The other dc parents I have are not organic nor do they care to be.

Ahhh, I don't know what to do. I feel like this is really starting to become a bigger pain than what it's worth.

The unfortunate part is that the mother is the sister of one of my husband's best friends....although they are estranged. I am also "friends" with the grandmother and she is the one that recommended me to them.

[momma2girls]

I am semi-organic for myself and my husband. Very limited to certain things though i.e. milk and meat. I still eat McDonalds (I know, doesn't make sense). I know the downfalls of eating all the crap and don't care so much as I like to eat it. :-)

Well, I have a dc family (2 dc kids) that are completely organic fanatics. Fine, for home life but should they be expect me to keep it up at my house when they aren't paying extra for it? I did not think they were this strong-willed about it as we talked about it in their interview but I have been getting some berating texts from the mother. I have given into buying some organic so they don't have to pack their lunches and most of the time it isn't that much more expensive. BUT, it adds up and I'm finding it hard to keep on my grocery budget every week because of it. Everytime the mother sends me a text, I respond about something financial and she responds with we could start sending a few things a week. I have ALWAYS accepted that I would like for them to do that and they do it for a week and then not again until she "flips" about something else.

I would just like to my own defense say, I definitely go out of my way to make sure all the kids have well rounded meals and as "organic" as I possibly can. The other dc parents I have are not organic nor do they care to be.

Ahhh, I don't know what to do. I feel like this is really starting to become a bigger pain than what it's worth.

The unfortunate part is that the mother is the sister of one of my husband's best friends....although they are estranged. I am also "friends" with the grandmother and she is the one that recommended me to them.

I would have to tell this family, if you want to be organic, you will have to supply all the organic food, otherwise everyone eats normal food here at daycare. I once had a peanut allergy and milk allergy. The peanut family brought all snacks and the milk allergy brought all food and snacks.

[AfterSchoolMom]

I would just let her know that if they require "special" food for their kids, they need to provide it or pay you more to cover it, end of story. Otherwise, serve the kids the same foods that you serve everyone else. They knew what they were getting into when they signed on with you, right? Friend or no, I wouldn't let them dictate to me what I serve, especially if it was hurting my grocery budget!

[gbcc]

If a child has a special diet or allergy I make the parents supply all the food. I spend enough on crafts, food and supplies and I can't afford the extra cost. I respect their decision, but it is just that, their decision.

[TGT09]

The biggest problem of all is that I feel like it's cutting into my craft budget. In the planning stages of this daycare, I had so many craft ideas and fun things to do with the kids and now can't afford to do much.

In the interview I kept saying I do organic milk and such and wouldn't mind doing that for their kids. If you don't know, organic milk is like $4 for a half gallon and seriously wonder what I was thinking. That was all that was said though, I didn't say I would do all organic. They said that it would be soooo nice for them to not have to pack lunches and that was that. They kept saying they would send snacks and boxes of organic mac and cheese. I have gotten 1 can of soup and 2 boxes of mac and cheese.

I just don't know how to backpedal now even though I feel like there were some serious misunderstanding on their part.

[Persephone]

So I have a question for those of you would make the "allergy" family prove their own food. Do you give them a price break then since you are not paying for their food?

[Unregistered]

So I have a question for those of you would make the "allergy" family prove their own food. Do you give them a price break then since you are not paying for their food?

I would not give them a break if I had to prep the food due to the extra time that it took. But if the food was ready and their was no major prep might would knock of a about 5-10 Dollars.

[momma2girls]

So I have a question for those of you would make the "allergy" family prove their own food. Do you give them a price break then since you are not paying for their food?

No, they pay full price- I can't give them a break for their children's food allergies.

[mac60]

First of all,,,,,I would stop responding to her texts. Texts in my opinion are not businesslike and should not be used. Second, I would tell her that the children can either eat what everyone else does, or else she can pack their lunch and snacks, either way, the rate is the same. I can just imagine my own group wanting "what they have" and it becoming a big hassle.

[Persephone]

No, they pay full price- I can't give them a break for their children's food allergies.

But your not paying for their food.

[mac60]

I agree, whether or not the family packs their own food, the rate is the same. It is the families choice to do it. As a provider, I have rates that I must sustain to cover my business expenses, and give myself an income. I can not allow families to come in and dictate what "they" will pay. These are my rates and this is what I supply/how I operate/etc, if the family wants to deviate from that, like bring in organic lunches and snacks, so be it, but my rate stays the same. Having one family bring in lunches could be a potential problem when the other kids se what Johnny brought today and wants "that". I can definately see that happening. One thing I have learned, you can not let a parent dictate your business practices or your rate. If they don't like something a provider does (not organic food) and wants to bring in lunches, it will be at their expense, not providers.

[laundryduchess@yahoo.com]

I do not charge for meals. But my meals are sometimes meatloaf, sometimes chicken, sometimes pbj or sometimes cobb salad. AT SIGNUP,.. they decide,. their food or mine. if they choose to provide,.. it must be an every day thing. Not a ,.. I dont like what we are having today can I bring something type of thing. I have one vegan organic family now who provide everything down to the water. The rest of us eat family style lunches from my own recipes.

[gbcc]

In my opinion food and crafts are a bonus. Many providers don't include meals in their prices. They are paying for the SPOT only. Not the quantity or quality of care. IMO, it's like formula. Could you imagine the cost if we supplied formula??

[Persephone]

But really it's not the family choice to not eat your food, your saying that you will not provide if there are food allergies. When providing for food allergies is not all that different or hard.

My son has food allergies and it's not something I picked to do.

[gbcc]

In that case, it's not their choice unfortunately, it is something they have to deal with. Like if they needed an antibiotic while in my care, I wouldn't pay for half of it because they needed it while in care. Mom's don't choose to feed formula, but it has to be done and it's costly, a cost the parents need to accrue.

My reason for allergies is not so much the cost. For me it is a safety precaution. For instance, peanut allergy. There are so many crackers etc that have the oil for some reason. They have a dozen different names for the oil and I don't want to accidently give one to the child and have an episode. If it were reversed and I was the parent, I would supply my own meals to reduce the risk. I've never had a parent have an issue with this or decide to go elsewhere due to this.