Meal advice

[patevans]

Having a bit of a dilemma at the moment, D finishes at 5.15 and Tea time is 5pm. I used to give him Tea when he was under 1 but it became too much for me as I couldn't do anything with the afterschool children!!

L started in Nov and she was 10 months, she finishes at 5.30 so have been getting her tea ready for 4.45 ish, well D's Mum said can you start giving him tea again at half 4 because by the time he gets home he's past the hungry stage, so I have done it for a while.

Now I have a new baby (hopefully) starting in jan and dont feel that I can do a full tea for D anymore because I will have new baby, 3 after schoolers and L, its too much for me before 5 and then he goes at 5.15, K goes at 5.20 ish, F goes at same sort of time then L goes at 5.30 and A between 5.30 abd 6 :eek:

I can offer a quick snack at 5 but no more. Do you think I am being fair if I give notice saying cant do it anymore? it restricts us going out after school too because I have to give him tea at 4.30 and its not fair on the after school children.

[marian]

I don't do tea anymore for the same reason.... it is quite restricting as like you mine have gone by 5.15 at the latest.
I do give them a quite substantial snack after the school run which tends to tied them over till they get home.

Marian x

[chaotic_space]

You have to do what fits in with you louise. Maybe bring the snack forward though because it might put them off tea when they get home if you give it as late as 5. The parents have to eat after all so there should be no reason why they cant feed their kids at the same time.

I do teas because there is a big age gap between my little ones and my after schools, 8 yrs difference and because I do lunch fairly early AND because my own kids eat early. It suits me to do it.

It's in the best intrest of your mindees that your not stressed to a frazzle :)

If it doesn't suit you then speak up!

[patevans]

You have to do what fits in with you louise. Maybe bring the snack forward though because it might put them off tea when they get home if you give it as late as 5. The parents have to eat after all so there should be no reason why they cant feed their kids at the same time.

I do teas because there is a big age gap between my little ones and my after schools, 8 yrs difference and because I do lunch fairly early AND because my own kids eat early. It suits me to do it.

It's in the best intrest of your mindees that your not stressed to a frazzle :)

If it doesn't suit you then speak up!

I do snack at 4pm when we get in from school!!

[patevans]

Just re-read my 1st message and its a bit confusing :laughing:

I do snack at 4pm for the after schoolers and whoever else requires it, I do cooked meals at 12 noon and and then sarnies, or wraps or pitta's etc with yog, fruit, etc etc etc in the evening but I just haven't got time from 4 - 5 to fit in snack and tea and after schoolers and nappies then new baby will require bottles and parents in and out, its too much for me.

[sarah707]

We do a cooked tea at 445 for anyone who is here.

If parents come early they have to wait... out of the way of the children so they don't disturb their routine.

They are told when they first start that our tea time is 445 to 515 and it's their choice whether to come before or after.

If they haven't told me they are coming before 4 I cook for their child.

Because I have a rolling 3 week menu, I just keep a bit extra food in the freezer in case of extras.

It fits in with my own children's eating patterns and means we can all sit together.

I do have a chef in the house 3 days a week though! :laughing:

[patevans]

I just cant do it anymore, at the minute he gets 3 meals and 2 snacks a day for £2.75 an hour.

How much notice do I need to give her?

[patevans]

I will now say tea between 5.15 - 6.00 pm I think, that would work out better for me :)

[patevans]

can anyone help me out with a draft letter please? dont know how to word it!! :panic:

[lorraines little treasures]

hi, i was going to give my parents notice as i am finding it hard, when i have afterschool children plus young ones,(who need watching all the time)i am making tea for them plus keep watching little ones. so its a rush all the time, but dont you get downgraded with ofsted for not providing meals afterschool.

[Chatterbox Childcare]

It is difficult and I appreciate your predicament.

What about preparing tea whilst the little ones are asleep? or keeping food from the previous evenings meal (yours!) as this wouldn't take long. It can all be reheated then.

If mum is saying he is past hungry when he gets home - are you leaving her much option if you say "No" cannot do it anymore? Will she be happy? Will she look elsewhere?

Not wanting to sound negative, but I do seem to when reading this, who are you accomodating? You, the current children (and parents) or the new children (and parents)? Who do you want to keep?

I find it is just a case of being organised but at the end of the day you have to do what is right for you, your children and your setting and if it goes wrong, use it as a learning curve.

[patevans]

It is difficult and I appreciate your predicament.

What about preparing tea whilst the little ones are asleep? L doesn't sleep whilst here and has to be given a bottle then I do an activity with her and will have baby here in Jan tooor keeping food from the previous evenings meal we have sarnies or wraps etc (yours!) as this wouldn't take long. It can all be reheated then.

If mum is saying he is past hungry when he gets home - are you leaving her much option if you say "No" cannot do it anymore? Will she be happy? Will she look elsewhere? I cant physically manage to do snack for the after schoolers at 4, feed D at 4.30, keep an eye on other children, change nappies, feed L at 5, and see all parents between 5.15 onwards its too much for me, he goes at 5.15 so I dont see wy she cant feed him when she gets in!

Not wanting to sound negative, but I do seem to when reading this, who are you accomodating? You, the current children (and parents) or the new children (and parents)? Who do you want to keep? I am trying to accomodate all but I cant please everyone, i cant fit all of these things in in the short space of time, tea time has always been 5pm but because he came from a baby I followed her routine he is 2 now

I find it is just a case of being organised but at the end of the day you have to do what is right for you, your children and your setting and if it goes wrong, use it as a learning curve.

I try to be as organised as possible but theres not just him here, I dont actually do anything with the afterschool children because I am busy doing snack then 2 lots of tea and nappies etc I have always follwed her routine and done everything she has asked but there are other children here too!!

[patevans]

If I made them when I got up and kept them refridgerated would that work? :idea:

[tulip0803]

I try not to offer tea and never have. I give a substantial snack when they get in from school. We eat as a family after 6pm. So if mindees were here after 6 they would have tea too but I do not do it before 6. I have rarely had children with me after 5.30 so this has never been a problem. All the parents I have had up until now want to eat with their children, perhaps I have been lucky. I used to include a cooked lunch in my fees but even then parents provided lunch for their children.




p.s. my cooking isn't that bad:p

[butterfly]

i say tea is at 6 as well - at the moment i don't have any mindees after 5.50ish but all parents are told tea is at 6 and then they decide. i would assume anyone here after 6 would have to have tea as otherwise they would get home too late.

[miffy]

I can see how you're trying to fit too much into too short a time!

If the after-schoolers have a snack at 4pm then they won't want their tea at 4.30pm and you won't get a break.

I'd either cut out the snack and have tea (for everybody) ready as soon after 4pm as you can manage or explain that you are no longer doing cooked teas but that a snack (like you're already giving) will be available for all the children.

£2.75 an hour for 2 snacks and 3 meals seems very cheap to me.

Miffy xx

[wendywu]

We have a cooked meal at 4 soon after we get in from school. They say they are all starving by this time.:eek:

The ones who have a snack also eat at the same time. Then they just chill and catch up with each other while i stack the dishwasher.:)

[Chatterbox Childcare]

If I made them when I got up and kept them refridgerated would that work? :idea:

Sorry I thought you were talking about a fully cooked tea - confused me....

I would go for the making sandwiches and putting it in the fridge. My kids have theirs made for school in the morning and I quite often make the mindees ones at the same time.

You have solved your own problem!!!

Sorry if I sounded severe before.

[chaotic_space]

I dont do a snack after school because I serve tea early 4-4.30 at the latest and if parents arrive early then they wait in the other room out of the way. If their child cries because they have seen mum or dad then they take their child home, Im not having them disrupt everyone else.

All my mindees have tea at the moment but in the past when a child has just had a snack I served it at the same time. Everyone eats at the same time. What do I look like? A short order chef? :panic:

And at that time I wouldn't attempt to do any kind of organised activity. It's free play only after school. Then after tea the kids do their own thing, chatting, playing... while I wash up and wipe down the table, change the baby etc then we have quiet wind down time like story reading or curling up watching a DVD. The 10yr old might do her homework.

[mandy moo]

Hi, just thought Id add my my two ****** worth:blush:
The children I mind even LO who ive had since he was 9mths, hes 16 mths now, all eat at the same time anywhere in between 12-12.30 for lunch and 5pm for tea. My two kids eat at the same time.
We have a snack at 10-10.30 fruit or a home made biscuit or whatever parent provides and a snack very similar to the mid morning one at approx 3.30 - 3.45, nothing more otherwise they dont eat tea.
LO goes at 5pm so I tend to give him a yogurt or a puree pot of fruit at 4ish that mum provides to keep him going till he gets home and has his tea there.
My almost 5yr old mindee, mum works very odd shifts, so mum provides both lunch & tea when shes here after 5pm,
And the parents provide all meals, Ive got really good at cooking 2 meals at once:laughing:

[Michelle M]

I dont tea well only light tea/snack and state that on the contracts, I do a main meal at lunch time then something between 4 and 4:30, some children go at 4:45, 5:00 and depending on traffic 5-5:30, its just easier for me, or I say to the parents if they would like their child to have a cooked meal they can provide it and I will heat it up, one of the two year old sometimes comes with a plate covered over for me to heat up for his lunch as he wasnt hungry when Dad did lunch.

You do what fits in with you. :)

[PixiePetal]

I am happy to do tea at 5 if child stays till 5.30 or later. Will do a snack with my two (12 and 14) when they get in from school otherwise.

Family don't eat till later most evenings.

[patevans]

Looking into buying a slow cooker, what can I cook in one? Also what litre should I go for?

[marion123]

i have a slow cooker they are great the size ive got is a large one, in the morning i put everything in meat veg gravey then its all ready for 4pm/5pm best thing i ever bought :) i do tea for my mindees but they have it with my kids when they get in from school collage at about 4pm

[miffy]

I've got a slow cooker too - great at this time of year!

Only drawback - makes you hungry smelling all that lovely food cooking :laughing:

Miffy xx

[mushpea]

if you are running out of time to make sarnies and are providing a hot lunch then why not explain to the parent you dont have time to make sandwichs for tea anymore but if she would like she can send him a pack lunch which he can sit and eat at yours. this way he is fed so mum is happy and you don't have to worry about making time to do food.
Before i go out for the school run i leave a plate of biscuits or fruit or another simple snack that the older children can help themselves to when we get in while i take the little ones out of the buggy. by the time the little ones are seated with their snack the older ones are off and playing, when the little ones have finished i clear the table then put somthing out that they can do with out much help like drawing, colouring pages, playdough, fuzzyfelt etc the children then have the choice of that or playing with toys, reading, tv or playstaition. at 4.30pm i take the younger ones in the kitchen with me (its open plan so acts as dining room too) and find them some toys to play with so i can watch them whilst cooking tea. some nights we use the slow cooker which leaves me more time to do different activites with the older ones. tea is served at 5pm because i have to cook tea for my children at this time most nights due to their after school activites so might aswell bung on extra for the other kids, if somone dosent have tea withme then they either have a snack or a much smaller portion so the don't feel left out.
In the slow cooker i cook--stews, sausage casserole, sausage stew, bolanise sauce which is also used to make lasagne ,chilli, roast meat, currys, .its one of my best buys and most used thing infact i have two , one big one so the kids can have thier tea and ours stays in it till later and a smaller one for just doing ours (cant be bothered to cook ours when the kids go home!).

[Michelle M]

My next door neighbor/assistant has a slow cooker she says its great, I am thinking of it and she said not to get a small one. oohh I am hungry just thinking about it now :)

[patevans]

I have just been and brought a 3.5 litre one for £10, now what to cook in it???

[marion123]

any meat veg potatoes and gravey or cass mix just brown your meat then put it in the slow cooker with your raw veg and potatoes with your gravey or cass mix just make sure you cover the food with the gravey put them in the in morning about 7.30 then about 4pm to 5pm its ready brill they are use my alot :clapping:

[mushpea]

i put the left over chicken from the roast in with carrotts, onions, courgettes and peas,just covered with water, left it in for about 6hrs and served with herb bread from the breadmaker, you can do this with uncooked chicken too.
I also buy a cheap cut of beef like stewing steak and put that in with veggies and cover with water. then for the last 3/4's of hour i put dumplings on top to cook and thicken it with gravy granuales.
you can put whole joints in like chicken, lamb (scrummy), bacon etc, i don't put any liquid in as it cooks in its own juices and because the slow cookers dont loose moisture the meat comes out very tender, i put it in about 8am and serve about 5pm but be careful when you take it out because it just falls of the bone!! i useusaly put mine on a cooling rack over the cooker to drain for a couple of min's before de-boning. the only thing is you don't get a crispy top like crackling on pork and the skin on the chicken is pale but i lieave mine on when cooking as it keeps it moist.
you can also cook mince dishes like chilli's and bologanaise, i then use the bolognaise with spagetti and for lasagne.
I also do a curry using chicken and pataks paste , the recipe is on the jar.
there are also lots of recipes on netmums.com
definatly one of the best things i've ever bought

[loocyloo]

i do a snack when we get home from school , about 4pm-ish, after everyone has spent 10-15 mins doing reading/spellings/hwk once we have got home from school, and then tea at 4.45pm. those children that are not having tea, usually sit at the table doing craft! on occasion when more children are having tea, or we have to have tea early ( to get to a school event/etc ) we wait for snack, and all eat at the same time, be it tea or snack!

i have a little one who is now going to have tea with us, but i told parents if they wanted child to have tea, they had to extend hours from 5pm to 5.30, as no way i could feed their child before 5!

actually, i would prefer it if all children had tea with me, as i'm cooking anyway for my children, and i feel so sorry for the one child whose parents do tea at home, but it must be 6.30 by the time child has tea, and child is usually falling asleep when collected from me at 5.45! i have suggested providing tea, but they want to eat together!

i have also thought about bringing tea forward to 4.30, then i have a chance of some children finishing BEFORE their parents arrive and hang about cluttering up the house! ( i used to send a previous dad home when he arrived early ... he finally got the message! )

i'm taken with the idea of a slow cooker too! i make lots of casseroles, but all in the oven. thanks for the recipes!

xxx

[Michelle M]

i put the left over chicken from the roast in with carrotts, onions, courgettes and peas,just covered with water, left it in for about 6hrs and served with herb bread from the breadmaker, you can do this with uncooked chicken too.
I also buy a cheap cut of beef like stewing steak and put that in with veggies and cover with water. then for the last 3/4's of hour i put dumplings on top to cook and thicken it with gravy granuales.
you can put whole joints in like chicken, lamb (scrummy), bacon etc, i don't put any liquid in as it cooks in its own juices and because the slow cookers dont loose moisture the meat comes out very tender, i put it in about 8am and serve about 5pm but be careful when you take it out because it just falls of the bone!! i useusaly put mine on a cooling rack over the cooker to drain for a couple of min's before de-boning. the only thing is you don't get a crispy top like crackling on pork and the skin on the chicken is pale but i lieave mine on when cooking as it keeps it moist.
you can also cook mince dishes like chilli's and bologanaise, i then use the bolognaise with spagetti and for lasagne.
I also do a curry using chicken and pataks paste , the recipe is on the jar.
there are also lots of recipes on netmums.com
definatly one of the best things i've ever bought

Yummy, sounds fab, I think I need to invest in a slow cooker

[patevans]

Right my mind has been made up!! Have changed the evening meal time to 5.30 - this will work best for me and I have to do whats right for me!! I know I am supposed to take into account the parents views etc, but I cannot physically manage how I was doing it b4 :panic:

How does this read??

Dear Parents,
I have had to change the evening meal times to 5.30 pm – 6.00 pm. When we get in from the school run at 4pm we have a snack which brings us to 4.15/20 I then have to complete nappy changes, get bags ready for home, make sure diaries are completed, make the tea etc and it is too much for me to fit in, in such a short space of time. The majority of children in my care leave between 5.15 and 5.30 and I have to speak to each parent about their child’s day with me which restricts me supervising the children whilst eating so I have decided that having our evening meal at 5.30 is a better option for us, sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

Have updated m,y policy too - see attached, Please let me know what you think.....bad or good!!

[madasahatter]

Not sure if my answer will help, but I have never provided an evening meal except in exceptional circumstances. Since my son was a baby we always had our family evening meal at around 6.30 after my husband had returned from work. As I never had any intention of cooking two meals on an evening I have always provided a substantial snack at 3.30ish after school, with a selection of fruit followed by sandwiches, toast, crumpets, cake etc. (enough to keep them going until they eat with their own family.
I suppose I'm lucky in that most of my current children have all gone by 5/5.30pm so it is not really an issue and I can cook our family meal after they have gone.
By not cooking a meal you will be able to do so much more with the children in the short time they are there:thumbsup: And Louise2613, you really need to think about putting your rates up £2.75 per hour is very very cheap especially when you include so many meals.

[patevans]

And Louise2613, you really need to think about putting your rates up £2.75 per hour is very very cheap especially when you include so many meals.

The 3 minders I am closed too charge £2.25 per hour and 1 charges £2.00 so compared to them I am expensive!!

[Hannahlg]

we do teas for children who are staying till 5pm of after my mum normaly mkes tea for about 4pm and there all eat well and most of the time we are all done by 4.30pm but you see me and mum do it togther

my mum cooks the tea (hannah cant cook teas)
i get them all ready sat a table the afterschool children set the table (there ask if there can so we let them)
i then wash up while my mum sits with them while thier eat

but their is one child who we wont make tea for as he dosent like most of the stuff what the other children like the only think he has eaten is fish fingers and chips we just give him a snack about 3.30pm