Hi! So I have a new girl that just started at my day care Monday. She's a sweetie, but has some issues we are trying to work through. She's almost four years old. Every time her mom drops her off she screams and cries, and her mom takes about ten minutes to actually walk out the door. After she leaves, this girl has a full on tantrum and tries to escape out the door, lol, so I have to put her in a booster seat with a buckle and I sit with her and help her to calm down (while also looking after the other kids and making breakfast).

The biggest issue though is that this child will eat almost NOTHING I put in front of her. I have a really wonderful menu, approved by my child-care coordinator, but all this kid will eat is goldfish and berries.

I made pancakes the other day and she refused to touch them. Ditto with pasta. Same with mac and cheese, and every meal, breakfast or lunch, that I have given her. Today I wouldn't be surprised if all she ate was the apples that were part of her morning snack. I ask her to at least take a bite, but she throws an out and out tantrum and screams for her mommy for like, the rest of lunch time. There is no getting through to her. I've told her mom and all the mom says is, "Baby, you need to eat!" And leaves it at that (this is a very young mom).

I have a four-week trial period where any time during that I can tell the parents that it is not working for one reason or another. I'm wondering if after five days that is enough -- four actually, as she wasn't in yesterday.

Or should I hold out and hope it gets better? I don't want to assume but I'm pretty sure she is eating junk at home (her front teeth are rotting to the point where if I try to brush her teeth she screams in pain). So when she comes here and wow, all of a sudden there is real, healthy food (that my daughter and the other kids love) it's ike, ew, what is that?

Ideas/advice?