Cruel and Unusual Punishment??

[Unregistered]

Here's my take. There are only TWO things a child can control. What goes in their mouth, and when it comes out (as in poop or puke).

I've served that lunch at snack - many times. I gave up. I think it made the child even more stubborn. And the other children's response to seeing the child sit there again wasn't what I wanted to foster.

I serve "adult" food except for the occasional chicken nuggets. If they are hungry before snack, I just say: darn, you should have eaten lunch.

Now, I don't serve the sweet snacks very often. But, they are sometimes the "second helping" at lunch when I have a challenging food. I don't cook much of the challenge food, if a child eats everything on their plate, and I don't have seconds of what they want, I "scrounge around" and oh, look, all I have is a cookie for seconds today. More will eat the challenge food then.

[Daycare Mommy]

food that has been touched by tiny fingers, possibly bitten off of, etc. grows bacteria. That is gross.

Oh well, yeah maybe. I was thinking specifically of the kids that boycotted their entire meal and refused everything. I have never had to use this tactic (bringing out lunch again at snack) despite picky eaters. I don't think I would ever try it unless they flatly refuse everything. I don't see any issue with doing this if it's an untouched meal.

[misol]

food that has been touched by tiny fingers, possibly bitten off of, etc. grows bacteria. That is gross.

I don't think that anyone just leaves it sitting on the table until snack. It would go in the fridge until snack time and then get reheated. How is this any different than bringing home a doggie bag from a restaurant and reheating the food to eat the next day???

[Crystal]

I guess it's a personal preference, and I think it's gross.

And, if I knew my provider was doing that with my child I would be livid.

[MarinaVanessa]

If you're licensed then you should talk to licensing and ask them. I'm in CA and here we can't force any of our kids to eat. I was specifically reasured today (I had a surprise visit today from my licensing) that our jobs here are to provide healthy meals and that is all. It is up to the child to eat or not. If the child is in your care for a long time and eats absolutely nothing talk to the parent and let them know. If they eat junkfood at home and that's the reason why they wont eat with you, they have to know. The way I figure is if they don't eat what I serve, they must not be that hungry. They won't starve to death.

[mac60]

I agree, but just don't expect me to give them the fun snack 2 hours later when I just threw away a plate of food they sat and stared at for 40 minutes. Snacks are a priveledge, something that you have to earn in some respects, and throwing your lunch away is not the way to earn one.
Bk at 8:15, lunch at 11:30, start going home around 3. Nobody is going hungry or starving here.

[Unregistered]

I don't do many "fun" snacks.
Fruit is my typical afternoon snack because that's what I want my child eating when she comes home from school.
If it's no fruit then it's some sort of protein like cheese, yogurt, or hard boiled egg.
I try to view food as more functional than as a treat.
I try to keep emotions out of the equation. Try, not always successful.

[originalkat]

I agree with alot of the providers here.....choose your battles, and food is not one of them.

That being said, here it is against regulations to make a child eat anything. It is alos against regs to withhold food.

As far as re-serving a meal for snack....that's just gross.

I agree! I would be very upset if I were a parent and I found out that if my child did not eat their lunch then they would re-serve it hours later as snack! What is the point?? We need to serve each meal individually and offer nutritious choices. If the child eats then great...if they dont then oh well...they will get another healthy food choice at the next meal/snack time. I am against re-serving a lunch for snack.

[[email protected]]

I agree, I would give smaller portions to the child I knew wasnt going to eat, I would divide it onto another plate, so he could get the same amount, but I didnt waste it and could offer it to another child if he refused to eat. He would still have available a full serving, but not all at once.

[TGT09]

I agree, I would give smaller portions to the child I knew wasnt going to eat, I would divide it onto another plate, so he could get the same amount, but I didnt waste it and could offer it to another child if he refused to eat. He would still have available a full serving, but not all at once.

This is what I do, especially whenever I get a new child and are unsure how much he will eat. They can always have seconds so I don't feel bad about giving them smaller portions. I also do this when I'm trying out a "new" food that I haven't served to the kids before to see how well they will like it.

[Janet]

I'm the Switzerland of Food Wars!!!!

I just refuse to fight about food. I serve pretty healthy, while still kid friendly, meals and snacks. Some kids are just picky eaters and nothing usually can change that. I don't have the time nor the inclination to make an entirely separate meal just because a kid doesn't like what I have made. I offer the food to the kids, but I can't legally make them eat, and even if I could do it legally, I still wouldn't make them eat. My daughter was aa kid that would have periods where she would barely eat. Once I made her eat some of her food. It was mac & cheese and I told her "just 5 more bites and you can be done". After the 5th bite, she puked everywhere! Mac & cheese in puke form sucks to clean up! It's all pasty and chunky! Yuck!!! Now, if a child won't eat, then that's fine by me, but I make sure that they understand that food won't be offered again until the next meal or snack and I ask them to be sure of their choice. I always give them water whenever they want it, but like with any other food or drink, it has to be consumed at the table. To try to keep my grocery bill down, I've started with smaller portions and just given seconds when asked. I found that I was wasting a minimum of 1 gallon of milk a week! And I buy the hormone free kind so it adds up! I usually don't do the "fun" snacks, but when I do, I make sure that I give a supplement to the snack that is on the healthy side. Example, I had a kid with a birthday last week so we had cake, juice and apple slices and celery sticks, ! I just don't want to argue with kids over food, and I make it clear to the parents that I'm not a short order cook, so we all eat the same meal unless there is a medical or religious reason not to. Then I will make exceptions. I also don't allow outside food to come in at all. I will either have the kid give it back to the parent at drop off or I will put it away as soon as they come into the house. But no stressing out over it. If a kid gets hungry enough, the kid will eat. I just choose to be neutral. I don't care one way or the other, because it's their tummies that will be growling, not mine!