Good advice from Inspired by Reggio, but yes I understand that this is tricky. I agree that you do have to keep it as business advice for this parent. This is exactly why I provide a full breakfast at 8am every morning because I don't want parents to have to rush and feed their children junk to get out the door in the morning. I remember having to do that. I've said before that you have to know your audience, whether they want to hear your advice or not. In your situation this is a really important problem and you do have to address it for the sake of the child and your daycare and your sanity!

Lead by example. I stress our healthy food at daycare to the parents, since I serve about half organically grown foods, no sugar except for special holidays and birthdays we have little treats and I serve a bare minimum of prepackaged foods and all home cooked food. I have reminded parents of this and my rules now and then in my newsletter in the past but I am so very proud of the families I have in care now that I don't have to do that. I only have one family who gave their little girl koolaid and drink boxes and dunkaroos and all the things I don't allow at daycare. She was getting this kind of thing on the way here on the bus so I was honest with the Mom about my opinions about sugary pre-packaged products. I know they eat beefaroni and kd and other things I don't approve of and this little girl gets a large percentage of her vitamins and nutrition at daycare. I rhyme off what she has eaten when she is picked up every evening to let her Mom know how well she eats here. They have been with me for 3 years now and the Mom is finally getting it. This little girl now gets real fruit on the bus on the way here.

I take the time to have conversations with my clients or to send them emails when I am concerned. I am very careful not to judge or sound like I'm putting down their parenting skills in any way, that's important. But you do have to let parents know your rules and don't be afraid to point out in a nice way that they deal with one child but you are dealing with 5 children!

If I were you I would ask the parent in your situation to sit down for a talk or send her an email or letter, or a phone call, whichever makes you feel the most comfortable. I would thank her for co-operating when you asked her not to send food into daycare but tell her it is completely unacceptable for the child to have sugar in the morning and then bring him to daycare because you are dealing with the sugar rush and the child is not happy and it is affecting everyone and everything and must stop.

Never be afraid to enforce rules, add something to your contract for next year and stand up for your business decisions. We work so hard and we need good behaviour from the children AND from the parents!