meal times

[Helen79]

I'm getting really stressed about meal times.

Lunchtimes, my mindee won't eat anything I make.
The after schoolers all like different things, 1 doesn't like any veg, the other is really picky about which veg he eats. They all like different kids of potatos.
One likes pasta but it's got to be the right shape.

My 2 will eat anything I make except for curry so I'm having difficulty making meals that everyone will like.
both mindees are here over dinner time so I can't not give them dinner.

I've given all parents a questionnaire to fill out with which foods they like or dislike but none have returned them. One mindee has a nut allergy & even his parents haven't bothered to fill out the food form :panic:

I've asked the children what they like but when I made it for them last week they said they didn't like it :(

Any advice on what to do

[sarah707]

I have a 3 week rolling menu for the household, which includes my children and up to 6 mindees on a busy day.

I will not give a child something they actively dislike but I will give them a little of everything if they don't have medical problems or allergies.

They are asked to sit at the table together and gently led back if they get down.

If they do not like something fine, they leave it on their plate, we don't make a fuss.

Pudding is milky or fruit so they all get offered that.

My current menu is chicken and something Monday, fish and something Tuesday, pizza / pasta and something Wednesday, beef and something Thursday and sausage and something Friday.

Yes it's a constant compromise but nobody goes home hungry.

If the children are fussy to the point where you cannot cater for them then you need to ask parents to supply food.

hth :D

[Helen79]

Thanks. I was going to do a rolling menu once the parent's had told me what the children like but so far have had no feedback from parents.
All I know is 1 likes spaghetti bolognese & the other likes fishfingers.

With my own children, if they don't eat their dinner they don't get pudding which is usually fruit or yogurt. Poor dd is pretty annoyed that mindees are having pudding without eating their dinner but it's not fair for them to go hungry if I've cooked something they don't like.
She's started playing up at mealtimes now aswell

[mushpea]

are they old enough to tell you themselves? you could maybe sit and do a little questionaire with them then they have no excuse not to eat what you give them.
I have a menu each week which , due to a fussy son, is more or less the same type of thing each week, one day one mindee will eat it then the next its i dont like that, i know she likes it cause shes eaten it already so she dosent get pudding.
prehaps you could explain to the parents that due to the huge waste of food each day you will stop providing meals for their child until they have completed the questionaire.

[Mouse]

I think you need to explain to parents what you've told us here.

Say how you're wasting your time & money by making meals that the children won't eat and that you would appreciate their help in producing a menu that caters for everyone. If they still don't return your questionnaire, I'd consider saying that you'll no longer provide a cooked evening meal. The children will get a snack after school and will have to have their evening meal at home.

With the daytime mindee, ask parents to provide lunch.

[Helen79]

are they old enough to tell you themselves? you could maybe sit and do a little questionaire with them then they have no excuse not to eat what you give them.

They're 4 & 7 so I tried that but all I got was 1 saying he liked fishfingers & nothing else & the other mindee said he liked nutella, he has a nut allergy so I know he's not allowed it & he said he was allergic to eggs so couldn't eat them. Totally untrue & he does actually like scrambled eggs.

I'm finding it difficult as I've never dealt with a nut allergy before so I'm being overly cautious with what I'm cooking anyway.

Think I'll be firmer with parent's tonight & say that they will only have something simple like a cheese sandwich while my own children have a cooked dinner if they don't let me know what they like as I'm wasting so much food & obviously I don't want them to be hungry cos they're here late.

[Bananabrain]

I think you need to explain to parents what you've told us here.

Say how you're wasting your time & money by making meals that the children won't eat and that you would appreciate their help in producing a menu that caters for everyone. If they still don't return your questionnaire, I'd consider saying that you'll no longer provide a cooked evening meal. The children will get a snack after school and will have to have their evening meal at home.

With the daytime mindee, ask parents to provide lunch.

I really feel for you. when I first started I was cooking for 5 big ones every night and it was agony!!!!

i tried everything,including food lists,food tastes with stars for those that tried new things.

It dawned on me that I was wasting my time cooking home made casseroles when alot of children are used to potato waffles and pizza.

I feel really sad to say that in the end I gave up and told parents I would no longer be providing a tea-time meal.

Now I only cook for one 2 yr old and all the older ones moan and say 'why can't we have dinner here? that looks really nice!!!!!'

The 2 yr old eats every scrap including cabbage,broccoli etc but he is the only one that eats 'real' food since I started minding!!!

[The Juggler]

I know what you mean. I now don't cook anything that anyone really hates and have found 5 or 6 meals that they all generally like and do this on a rolling menu.

If I do 'kiddy' food such as hotdogs or burgers I just make sure they are the healthy versions (low fat/wholemeal buns/home-made oven chips)

I have one who won't touch pasta, rice or noodles so sometimes throw a boiled potato on for him to have when the others have pasta but generally as I know they are not allergic and have eaten these foods in the past I know they like them and can eat them.

No one ever has to eat anything if they don't want but my rules for pudding are - some carbs can be left, some of the meat/fish but most of the veg must be eaten!

[vix84]

I now ask all parents to provide all food - I care for under 2's though so they just batch cook and freeze the meals. Not sure what I will do when they get older though