Needing your options

[jec]

Hey ladies, it's been a while since I have jumped on to see what has been going on with ya all. I find summer sooo busy and the moment I get, needs to be mine with my tea :laugh:

I wanted to know your thoughts on my memo that I"m going to send out to my daycare families. I have been constantly throwing food out as little ones have been eating breakfast at home and then when I put what I serve for breakfast in front of them, they play with it. This morning for perfect example was scrambled eggs with ham and cheese in a wrap and a side of banana~ I had to throw it out :cursing:
Between my daycare families I have had to throw out breakfast 3 times this week and last week twice.
Not sure if you remember me posting before that I am busting through my budget all the time.
I'm not trying to come across as it's my way or the highway ~ having said that, I'm trying to work with them but in the end, I will have to do something to off set this always happening.




I chose to serve breakfast at my daycare for a few reasons. I’ve been that Mom on the run in the morning. Having to not only get our little ones ready but ourselves. Then make, serve and eat breakfast and all while being out of the door on time to reach daycare, then off to work. I used to like to have our girls sleep as long as I could, to get myself ready. However, they would not be hungry for breakfast right away and we had to leave to be on time. My provider didn’t offer breakfast and so I had to wake our girls up early to give them time to wake up and then have breakfast before we left. I can appreciate that some little ones need that extra ½ or so to wake up on their own. I have also been flexible to offer breakfast to everyone who arrives at different times.
Having said all this, I have to change how I offer breakfast. I have been wasting a lot of food as little ones have been eating breakfast at home and I have not been made aware. When I give them breakfast, they are not interested as they already have a full tummy. Again, knowing how crazy mornings can be, I understand why forgetting to mention to me that your little one has had breakfast gets forgotten.
Proper nutrition is important to me and the type of food I serve in my daycare is my largest expense. The truth is I bust through my food budget every month. I if continue to waste as much food as I am, I will have no alternative but to charge extra for those little ones eating breakfast at my daycare.
I currently have one little one in my care who needs to eat when they wake up, so eating breakfast at home is best for this family. I still offer a light snack instead of a regular breakfast, to sit down at the table with everyone else so they are a part of our group.
Breakfast will be served at 8am moving forward. The reason for this change is that being told every morning at the door if a little one has or hasn’t eaten will not work. Breakfast will have already been made and or I am in the process of making it. I ask that you please decide as a family if your little one would be best to eat at home and or at daycare. If your little one will start eating breakfast at home due to it being better suited to your family, I will of course include them with a snack when everyone sits down at the table.

[Momof4]

I worked outside the home when my children were small and I tell parents at the interview EXACTLY what you said about the reason I serve breakfast! I would rather have them arrive less stressed and feed them right away. However, I learned the lesson you are learning now and ask them every morning if the child had anything to eat. Sometimes they ate a bit a couple of hours earlier so they are hungry again, but I got really sick of throwing my food in the garbage.

Also, I now serve a lighter breakfast with fruit and cereal, or fruit and a pancake or a croissant with fruit or breakfast sausage with toast, etc. I serve huge lunches and they are always really hungry then. But I serve breakfast shortly after 8 and then lunch around 11:30 because we are outside from 9 to 11 every day (except today, we cut it short due to humidity).

If I made a breakfast wrap like you described I would divide it in 3 or 4 and give them each a piece. Then if they eat that I'd make another one and divide it again. We work too hard and make too little profit to be throwing out food!

[jec]

I am getting a few newbies joining the next couple of months and I think I need to change up my routine schedule too. I offer breakfast, snack and then lunch..then afternoon snack.
I like your idea of a big lunch and then cut out morning snack and offer lunch at 11:30 as well...then snack before home ( I always found my own kids were horribly hungry after daycare and a wee snack after their nap would have done them a world of difference to make it through until i picked them up and made dinner ...so I offer that to my daycare kiddies )

Thanks Momof4!! I think I need to revamp my schedule :thumbsup:

[jec]

Another provider brought up a good point to me ~ if I send this out I would be putting the parents against each other and or getting them up set. Now wondering if I should change it to single letters but then i want the new families to understand that if they happen to do the same, then it's going to just cost me money
ugh...breakfast is turning into a pain

[Momof4]

I also serve a snack after naptime between 3 - 3:30 and it's nacho chips & cheese & mangos today just to give you an idea. I agree with you that I want to give the children enough to tide them over until their busy parents have time to get them home and prepare the evening meal.

As for breakfast, I tell parents that if they arrive by 8:15 then I will serve their child breakfast, but if they arrive at 9 they must have eaten or be hungry until lunch. It is working great for me. The parents who don't drop off their child until 9 have lots of time to feed them in my opinion.

I don't think you are centering out any families if you send a letter to everyone. You are reinforcing your routines and rules and the way you run your daycare, period!

[Crayola kiddies]

I tell parents that if they send breakfast I will serve it .... So I have several boxes of cereal all labeled as well as instant oatmeal, bagels and waffles .... And if the child arrives before 730 then I feed breakfast ... If they arrive after 730 they must eat at home... I have never had an issue with kids wanting what the others have most are too young to even notice.

[jec]

I think some times I create something into more of a problem than it needs to be :o
Moving forward I think I'm going to just serve a light breakfast....maybe I'm the one who served all these big breakfast meals and the kids got used to eating them. Maybe giving them this letter will just make them have more to worry about- where as I can lessen the amount of breakfast and then serve early lunch at 11 and then snack again after nap

Then my other thought- not telling them -isn't that like lying and or am I just meeting the needs of the group.

[Inspired by Reggio]

It is a balancing act for sure ~ personally I prefer to encourage my families get into the routine of offering breakfast at home because it is the most important meal of the day and something that if a habit in childhood is more likely to carry forth into adulthood plus sadly as much as we do not like to think about it in a few short years they will be getting up to go to school instead of daycare and schools do not have breakfast programs ~ at least not in my city ~ so if they have not established a strong morning routine between ages 1-3 to promote time for breakfast it will be a challenge come turning 4 and rushing for school buses and so forth to squeeze it in and well trying to 'learn' on an empty stomach is not ideal :(

However, establishing healthy habits aside, I do get that some children do not always cooperate with eating 'a full breakfast' as soon as they wake up ~ so even if offered they might only nibble at some fruit or yogurt and be hungry again in an hour or so ~ which is why I provide a morning snack that is a 'light breakfast' in nature which can serve as either a 'snack size' or 'breakfast size' depending on how hungry they are ... so some days they only eat a tiny bit if they ate well at home and others they will eat several servings depending on if they ate or if they are in a growth spurt ... this is 'normal' IME and it is really hard sometimes to 'guess' how much food to prepare for children!

To combat waste I serve 'small servings' to them and if they eat that than I give seconds and if I make more of something than is eaten I can just 'save' what was not served as leftovers for my spouses breakfast next day...he will eat just about anything 'left over' even scrambled eggs, pancakes, waffles so it does not get 'wasted' ;)

If they are particularly hungry one morning and they all eat everything I have 'guesstimated' to need with the prepared food and are still looking wide eyed with hunger I keep my fridge stocked with fresh fruit I just add another option of that to the snack.

I do agree that over 1/3 of my weekly revenue goes towards the children's FOOD each week ~ feeding children healthy options is an investment for sure!

[sunnydays]

I used to serve breakfast to those that arrived before 8:30, but it was almost always oatmeal, which is healthy (it's what I serve my kids every morning) and economical. I no longer serve breakfast because demand for it wasn't there and then I removed it from my new contracts as I realized it was extra work and money that I really didn't need to do! I already feel like i spend half of my day serving food or cleaning up after meals!

[jec]

I don't find I'm spending more time in the kitchen ~ really preparing the night before for next day is just what I do for my own family so it's only a few more minutes to shred some cheese and or cut up some ham. I have a container on my counter top that once I am finished with dishes from breakfast and lunch, wash them off and then put them in the container, when everyone is down for nap- load the dishwasher and done!
However...the money is going down the drain with all the food I"m serving. Smaller portions are key I think. Changing up the schedule as we have little ones joining us soon will be best for everyone. Thanks ladies to letting me chat it out!!

[jec]

I think moving forward with new clients, not offer breakfast and start phasing it out but offer a light snack instead

[playfelt]

For the most part we are dealing with toddlers and young preschoolers that would rarely have had more than a bowl of cereal and toast at home if they had eaten so that is what I offer for morning snack. I serve it at 8:30 and it compensates those that didn't eat and tops up those that did since my first kids come at 6:30 having had breakfast so no excuse in the grand scheme of things. But I learn quickly about appetites so they get a dish of dry cereal mixture with raisins or craisins added in some days. They may have a second scoop of just the cereal mix if they wish. They get a small piece of fruit and a drink of milk. Other days it is toast and jam, fruit and milk - very simple, very cheap items. Again with time I figure out who gets a whole slice and who gets half a slice. Lunch is served at 11:30.

[Cocoon]

I don't offer breakfast but when parents about to leave I offer kids Cheerios just to distract them which is working perfect!:) and I ask each parents about their kids night. If they slept well and ate their breakfast etc.? We all have busy life's and we can forget things and also I would like to know my stuff so that I can prepare for the day.

Beside, my dck's comes at 8am and I know they normally wake up between 6-6:30am so they all had their breakfast before they come here.

You can either ask each parents like I do or make small portions so that you don't have to throw food. I like your intention though.

[Inspired by Reggio]

My morning snacks are generally 'breakfast like' ... a carb, protein and fruit


Cold cereal – rice crisp, shreddies, corn bran, alphabets, mini wheats with fruit
Pancakes / Waffles / French toast with fruit
Warm Oatmeal with fruit
Toast/Bagels/English muffins with PB or Cream Cheese or Cinnamon with fruit
Eggs … mini quiche, scrambled in mini pita pockets, hard boiled, Omelettes, A bird in the nest (toad in hole) with fruit
Cereal Bars with fruit
Yogurt / Cottage Cheese with fresh fruit
Mini Muffins … Pineapple coconut, peanut butter banana, apple raisin, pumpkin raisin, carrot raisin, raisin bran, cranberry lemon etc. with additional fruit on side
Cheese cubes and fruit

[jec]

Great ideas Reggio