Louise_Oaktree
11-06-2009, 10:35 AM
I am have been minding for 2 years now and initially I included lunch but charged slightly more. I now have different children as one was temporary and the other's Mum finished work to stay at home with new baby.
When the new children came along they were babies so the parents provided all food and milk - I found it much less stressful not having to prepare meals so when they continued to provide food through weaning and beyond I kept quiet :blush:
Now one child ages 15 months is refusing to eat what they send..today he has 1 babybel cheese and 2 small yogurts which he will eat - he also has some corned beef hash and some grapes which I know he won't eat. Yesterday they sent the same and he ate the cheese and yogurt then at tea time I made a cottage pie and he ate a bowl full of it.
I relayed info and concerns to parents and they have said they don't have time to prepare his food and do I feed the other children :panic: I said I could do it but that it wouldn't be a "cooked" meal every day and that we often have sandwiches, spaghetti, ravioli, cheese on toast etc at lunch time but that I wasn't happy being in the kitchen cooking for such a long period of time, nor was I happy making special meals for each child (previously I was cooking 3 different things for 2 mindees and my own son).
I just don't know what to do...I know OFSTED would have me preparing 3 course meals with 5 a day etc but it just isn't do-able.
My after school children are on school dinners so they have sandwiches, fruit and yogurt. If I make a hot tea sometimes they have the same - it depends what I am doing for tea that day.
I am sure he would eat better if he was given the right things...but they send the same food every day which he doesn't like :rolleyes:
What do you do?
When the new children came along they were babies so the parents provided all food and milk - I found it much less stressful not having to prepare meals so when they continued to provide food through weaning and beyond I kept quiet :blush:
Now one child ages 15 months is refusing to eat what they send..today he has 1 babybel cheese and 2 small yogurts which he will eat - he also has some corned beef hash and some grapes which I know he won't eat. Yesterday they sent the same and he ate the cheese and yogurt then at tea time I made a cottage pie and he ate a bowl full of it.
I relayed info and concerns to parents and they have said they don't have time to prepare his food and do I feed the other children :panic: I said I could do it but that it wouldn't be a "cooked" meal every day and that we often have sandwiches, spaghetti, ravioli, cheese on toast etc at lunch time but that I wasn't happy being in the kitchen cooking for such a long period of time, nor was I happy making special meals for each child (previously I was cooking 3 different things for 2 mindees and my own son).
I just don't know what to do...I know OFSTED would have me preparing 3 course meals with 5 a day etc but it just isn't do-able.
My after school children are on school dinners so they have sandwiches, fruit and yogurt. If I make a hot tea sometimes they have the same - it depends what I am doing for tea that day.
I am sure he would eat better if he was given the right things...but they send the same food every day which he doesn't like :rolleyes:
What do you do?