Mom wants all organic

Hey all!
BackStory: I am full with 5 kids, (3x2 year olds, 1x3 year old, 1x4 year old) one of them is moving and a new space will be open July 16th. I am not DESPERATE to fill as I wouldnt mind having a light summer ahead of me.
I found a replacement a few months back when an aquaintence of my husband asked if I have opening in June. When I told them not till July the jumped at it and sent kid to another sitter for a few weeks waiting for this spot.
They have a little boy who just turned one.
He seems pretty good, crawling, not yet walking though, and she SAYS he is napping good at this temporary daycare. I agreed, because I do know the parents, they seem easy going, nice, have stable, good paying jobs, and the hours were doable.
After months of me asking her to return my contract and the deposit money, she finally makes it over last night.

NOW: I start going over the regular spiel, they all nap in the same room, the ages of others, P/U and D/O hours, payment every other week etc.
She then tells me she is Vegan and the she wants him to eat only organic. She will not feed him cows milk, he is still on breast milk and formula. (And only 20lbs too btw). She will supply Almond milk when he starts on that. No juice also. Nothing canned.
She doesnt want him to have ANY processed foods. and get this - she doesnt want ANY of his food to have ever been in a microwave!!!

I do not boast an organic daycare, my kids eat canned beans, processed cheese slices on grilled cheese, and we microwave my pre-cooked home made spaghetti sauce.
We dont have beefaroni, alphaghetti, or any of that canned shit for sure, but I do serve canned corn time to time, hell, the kids had frozen chicken fingers with plum sauce and canned corn just yesterday!
Instead of microwaving things, she suggested leaving it on the counter and he will eat it at room temperature. ummmm wont that cause bacteria growth?

She could sense my feelings as I was honest about what we eat here, and sometimes they do have cheese strings, goldfish and other processed foods.
She says he likes applesauce and yogurt, then I told her I am not feeding her kid all the time, she understood
She asked if she could bring her sons lunch, I said that could cause issues with the other kids wanting what he has etc.
He is still on two naps (and I have a baby daughter who is also on 2 naps) so I suppose I could just give them alternate feeding times and feed him when I feed my daughter. But sometimes I like my 'break time' just me and my daughter, not having to entertain another child during the others' nap.
But argg, when I heard a 13 month old, I pictured a walking, one-nap-a-day, self feeding, little boy. Now all this info is just weighing on me.

It wouldnt bother me a whole lot if I backed out with them given all this new information, they are not close friends of ours. But I am thinking just to give them the benefit of the doubt and do a trail with him. Maybe take him for the summer, then suggest she find an organic daycare somewhere else.

WWYD?

NEXT ! It would be best for her to find a care giver that matches her food beliefs. You are only going to resent her. The next thing will be what toys he plays with, what laundry soap you wash your wash cloths in etc....

Well, I think if she is not asking you to supply any of these special foods or do any extra work in any way, I would be okay with it. I have one starting in the fall and her mom has said that on days when i serve meat, she will supply a vegetarian option (I send my menu out in advance anyway)...i was okay with this. I don't think the other kids will be wrestling her for her tofu ;) In fact, in a way, you are getting a good deal as you don't have the cost of feeding the child. I do understand that if everyone is eating different things though it can get difficult, so it all depends on how you feel about that. I've had a little one only on purees and he brought his lunch and none of the other kids seemed to mind. I see it from the parents' perspective as I am a freak about healthy eating as well and I used to send my childrens' lunches to daycare:laugh:

NEXT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!

She is NOT a good fit. You will resent taking this family on every.....single.... .day. Just say NO and move on.

She did go on to say that the ODD time he has a frozen pizza or something and she will put veggies on it, but NEVER NEVER would she give him McDonalds. (I sad the same when my kid was little lol). She coudl really sense my uneasyness about it and said a little bit here and there would be so bad, but I know she would be stressing all day at work what her kid was eating.
As she was leaving she told me to promise not to worry about the whole food thing, but still, now I know.

My 2 and 4 year old don't even know what McDonalds is...and I will keep it that way for as long as possible, so I know how the mom feels. I am not fanatical at all and we do eat out sometimes and I do bake cupcakes etc...but the thought of my child eating processed foods every day would stress me out too. Again, I think as long as she doesn't expect you to provide anything special for her child or do anything differently, it would come down to whether or not you are comfortable with the child coming with his own lunch. If not, then definitely tell her to find someone else, but if you are okay with that, then it may not be an issue. Just make sure you have a trial period so that if you are feeling unhappy with the arrangement, you can get out.

I agree that she is asking for something you do not OFFER and you are under no obligation to offer ~ I have a no outside food or drink unless there is a MEDICAL requirement that I cannot accommodated ~ so no would not allow her to send food from home based on a 'lifestyle choice' you eat what is served here that is my policy and if she is not ok or comfortable with that than this is not the program for her and YES I would encourage her to find alternate program that is more in line with her 'lifestyle' and parenting views around nutrition!

I am not sure about your neck of the woods but in my city there are lots of providers who are taking this focus in their programs ~ they charge more as a result because organic eating is costly ~ however if she truly wants to have these options for her child she should be willing to invest in them!

I always tell parents that this is an interview for them and for myself. They want to see if I am a good fit for them, but I also need to do the same for me and my daycare. I serve many veggie options as my son is vegetarian so I am very familiar with making balanced animal free dishes and all my food is natural, ABF and organic when available without having to sell one of my organs :)

If I was in your shoes I would say that while you would love to care for her child, this is the way you run your daycare and it seems like its not what she is looking for. I think if you acknowledge the fact that as a mother she shouldn't have to make allowances for her beliefs and if she wants her child to eat a certain way, then she should find someone who is able to accomodate this requirement. She should do that rather than making sacrifices that she wouldn't be completely comfortable with. I think she will respect you more for it and may very likely refer you to others knowing that you are kind and caring and that your number one priority is for the child even if it means they don't come to you. This is what I would do.

As for the microwave, you dont need one. You can put everything in baking dishes to reheat in the oven on low. My microwave broke about 4 wks ago and I've just managed to adjust to not having one. Sad but true :)

I wouldn't take the child on. It isn't fair on you or her. Definitely not a good fit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bright sparks

.... As for the microwave, you dont need one. You can put everything in baking dishes to reheat in the oven on low. My microwave broke about 4 wks ago and I've just managed to adjust to not having one. Sad but true :)

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This is true ~ I do not microwave the kids food either even though I have a 'glorified popcorn maker' above my stove!

"But argg, when I heard a 13 month old, I pictured a walking, one-nap-a-day, self feeding, little boy. Now all this info is just weighing on me."

In my 10 years plus childcare career I have never ever seen or heard of any 13 month old kid feeding themselves or has 1 nap walking yeah maybe. And how come did you think that this baby will have one nap only where your own daughter naps twice?

I would never give processed cheese or food to any child. The only canned food they get here is either Tuna or Salmon.
Regarding microwaving the foods, I try to avoid but if we came from outside late and I have no time to reheat the food then I use it otherwise, foods heated on the hub.

According to your post, I don't think you and this particular family will get along well. You don't offer anything for her needs/wants so it is best that you say goodbye and look for another family I think. And she should look for another dayhome which can cater for her needs/wants.

Hope it helps.