Food Diary

[samantha3]

Hello,

I have two younger children starting with me soon (and it has been awhile since I have had young ones!) and I am wondering how you record bathroom habits and food consumption. Do you use a diary? Verbal? Send home email reminder?

And my big question is how long do you do this for? Until they are two? What age do you feel it is ok to stop?

Thanks!

[Crayola kiddies]

I have communication books .... I do not go into great detail ... When they napped....when we went outside.... What they are for lunch ..... Also if the child normally poops here and doesn't or has multiple and are different I write that too so the parent can watch for possible illness.... That's all I also use the book to write if the child needs more supplies cause often at home time I forget..... It takes all of 5 minutes to write out

[gcj]

I do the same as Crayola kiddies. Basically it's what I'd want to know. What they ate, how long they napped for and anything out of the usual....good or bad. I do this for all the kiddies. It's a basic memo pad I use for each kid. Cheap and efficient.

[playfelt]

I used to do the reports but then questioned their value. If the parent trusts me to feed and care for their child then they need to trust that I did. Besides I can write anything in the book to please or should I say appease a parent and will admit I have. If parent said nap was to be 9:00 then that is what I wrote even though it was really 9:15 because when I was honest mom questioned me. I am not a nanny reporting to a supervisor and that is what I have always been made to feel like when doing reports - like I have to justify how I spent my time while on duty.

I speak to each parent at pickup and note anything out of the ordinary or comment on the day but that is all now.

After a couple of months it gets to be boring and routine and seems like a waste. Whether the child got changed at 9 and 11 or 8:30 and 10:45 has nothing to do with the child`s bowel habits but more with my play schedule that day so it is meaningless. Does a poop at 9 or 10 really matter? As stated above I note to parents things out of the ordinary to watch for as in didn't poop yet today or pooped already twice or didn't feel like eating much today. As for nap I let them know what time their child woke up for infants so it helps to determine evening routine but again we pretty much move from event to event and by a certain time infants are just woke up to finish the day before hometime so parent would be told if child woke up alone or if I had to wake them - simple verbal sentence.

[gcj]

I don't write diaper changes or toilet times. I keep it basic. I'm always blank when the parent comes...or distracted by my kids or dc kids, so I find it useful.

[Crayola kiddies]

Yes I don't write toilet times or diaper change times or anything like that ... But if a child normally poops here ( not all do thankfully) and they dobt on a particular day then I just write "no poop today" most days my pages are the same three headings " outside ... Lunch.... Nap. I don't post a lunch menu ... I'm more of a fly by the seat of my pants type person.... So I just write what the child had for lunch ... Most Parents can't believe what I get them to eat. I always have a quick chat at the door ... Such as we had a good day or we had to have a time out or we went in the pool today but that's about it. They are fast and I fill them out while the kids are eating their lunch.

[Dreamalittledream]

I use this one...http://www.thedaycarelady.c om/WhatIDidToday2.doc. I modified it a tiny bit to what I need and have a bunch in cheap duo tangs which travel back & forth. I started out with communication logs...it got pretty repetitive. So this is quick...just check, check a few times, voila. I do it for everyone, every day... no matter the age.

[Naftafia]

I have a white board at the front entrance which I use for everything. I write the menu on it daily for everyone to see and each child has a line for bowel or toilet training, eating and behaviour as well as an additional comment line if anything else needs to be addressed. I only log in bowel movements for the first few months unless the child has issues with regular movements, and/or if they have not had a movement for 1-2 days. I use this board to remember what needs to be discussed such as new words for babies, good behaviours for toddlers, new attempts at play or new successes at crafts etc....
Like others have written, without the board I tend to forget what I have to report.... even what we ate sometimes! :)
The board can also be used by the parents if they have something to discuss that I can not address at drop off, or if there is a change in the normal schedule.

[gcj]

yeah...a menu ahead of time is tough for me, too :p Parents always ask me this at the beginning and I tell them that if I tell you the day before...it's good. Usually I can do that because we usually have that nights leftovers the next day. But if we pig out at supper, I have to make something up...or BBQ season is tough, too. Leftover BBQ is dry :laugh:
I always find something to whip up!

[Inspired by Reggio]

I used to do the reports but then questioned their value. ....

This is my feeling as well - I kept those logs in CENTRE care because communication was a challenge for parents ... they dropped off to one caregiver in the morning and picked up from another and in the midst of the day 2-3 more caregivers might have assisted in their care ... the communication logs about 'what I did today' in regards to the eating, sleeping and pooping was as much for PARENTS as it was for PROVIDERS sharing the duties ;)

At home - it is just me and 5 kids I am able to 'remember' the day pretty well and tell parents verbally quicker than I can 'record it. That said I keep a personal log for MY EYES because there are stuff I need/want to have a written record of for tax reasons or 'recollection' if a challenge arises ... so yes I do 'track' these things however I only share it with the parent if I have a CONCERN otherwise my frame of mind is if they are happy and healthy at the end of the day than yes they ate, slept and pooped as they needed so lets focus on conversations on things that are IMO more valuable to know ;)

I honestly tell clients when they ASK for something like this "in the grand scheme of 'memories' you want cherished from his/her childhood would you rather I spent my time creating a How I ate ,slept and pooped journal or would you like me to use my energy and free time to plan an awesome experience for your child each day and snap some photos and do a little journal about what MATTERS 20 years from now .... who they WERE as a child, the things they enjoyed, the triumphs they had and so forth because YES that I will do ;)

[bright sparks]

yeah...a menu ahead of time is tough for me, too :p Parents always ask me this at the beginning and I tell them that if I tell you the day before...it's good. Usually I can do that because we usually have that nights leftovers the next day. But if we pig out at supper, I have to make something up...or BBQ season is tough, too. Leftover BBQ is dry :laugh:
I always find something to whip up!

Without offense, but how do you go on having enough leftovers to feed your dck?? How many do you care for and how much food do you cook in the evening to possibly have enough leftovers unless say you only have 2 dck's?? I much more prefer to cook once every 9 weeks, which gives me a 3 week menu plan, 3 times, which yes is a HUGE production over the course of usually a day and a night to make 15 meals x 3, but ensures that the kiddies eat extremely well, and that I dont have to prep and cook everyday. I couldn't fathom being able to find the time to cook a well balanced healthy nutritious meal at the same time as watching the kiddies. Maybe I'm just not that good at multi tasking but I couldn't chop veggies, prepare meat, watch the food cook safely while attending to the kids, unless I plopped them in front of the tv for an hour. It would take forever and I'd probably just end up feeding the daycare kids processed foods as I could open packages and just throw them in the oven. But thats not what I do.

[gcj]

Well, I have to cook dinner for my family, anyways....so, if I make stir-fry, I just make a BIG stir-fry. If it's spaghetti sauce, I make a lot of sauce. I cook for my family every night, so for me there's not much difference if I make enough for one meal, or take advantage of the fact that I'm already in the kitchen, so get more out of it.
I have 5 dcks. And I even make enough for husband to take to work and my son to take in a thermos to school.
Works for me. Reheat and serve the next day :D

[gcj]

dcks leave by 5...I make dinner after.

[bright sparks]

That must be a big pan of spaghetti sauce lol It makes sense though. My kids have stuff on nearly every night with scouts, guides, dance, computer animation, hockey etc etc so for me I make enough for us and I'm flying out the door. I dont have time to cool it, then pack it up and throw it in the fridge. AHhh, how I do love this time of year when I have no taxiing around to do after work :)

[Judy Trickett]

I don't do journaling. One, it is rarely read. Two, most of it is asked verbally by parents at the door. And three, it takes too much time from my day.

If you want to do it, go ahead. But most providers who start doing it give it up pretty quickly.

[Crayola kiddies]

Gcj ... I do exactly the same as you ..... Last night I made 8 pork chops instead of 5 and extra rice and veges and the dcks had that for lunch today and tonight is spaghetti soooo guess what's for lunch tomorrow???? My hubby also works eveni fs so I have to have something for him to pack for his dinner. If there is no leftovers then I do something else .... Fish... Sandwiches.... Soup....deli plates.... Whatever....

[ladyjbug]

For the really young ones I take (12-18 months), I usually do a quick phone call/email right at the start of nap. It is just a check in as I have found most anxious parents like to hear my voice right at the start of things and it makes them feel better to hear that they are sleeping. I don't usually mention diaper changes unless they had like a big bowel movement or seemed blocked up. I know they trust me to take care of their littles, but sometimes it is just nice to hear that they are fine. I do this until it seems like I am bugging them at work and then the phone calls/emails taper off. If they asked about it, I would start up again but so far no parent ever has. By about a month-ish, they seem to get the picture about the day and are happy to wait until the end of the day for us to chat.

[Momof4]

I don't have any paper for the parents, but each child has a notebook that I call my log books with all food, naptimes, diaper or potty times with bowel movements noted. It is for me not for the parents. For food I keep track of when they ask for seconds and what they will not eat because it changes over the years. For naptimes I can track the times if I need, especially for newbies. For diaper changes and bm times it helps me know their habits when they start to toilet train.

Also, if I'm ever audited my grocery receipts match the food notations in my log books. I like my system a lot.