meal times

[Delly]

Do you think ofsted would frown on giving mindees different food to your own kids? do they prefer you all to eat the same.

My mindee is a vegetarian and I've been making all these home made meals, lasagne, pasta bakes etc.. but my own ds will not eat them, I've been trying to get him to eat them with her but its getting bad now and he's ending up not having any lunch.

I don't blame him to be honest as I don't eat pasta, but have tried to get him to join in with her.
He kicked off today again and I've had to give him something different, do you think I can do another dish for us and give the mindee a vegetarian option?
What do you reckon?

[angeldelight]

It is up to you

Your business your rules you dont have to explain

If you are giving the kids a good variety and healthy meals then why worry ?

Angel xx

[sarah707]

Why not say in your menu planning that you aim to offer a vegetarian and meat option at most meals?

That would give you the flexibility to give each family / child what they enjoy, fulfil parental wishes etc... :D

[fionamal]

I would go with what Sarah has said.

Im lucky as mine are all meat eaters, at the moment anyway

[ma7ie]

I'm a vegetarian and so is my dd Poppy. I state in my health eating policy that I only cook and serve vegetarian meals but if parents wish to provide a meat based meal then they can. I know this is slightly different to your problem but so long as you are giving them a healthy balanced diet, nobody can critisise you.

[Delly]

Why not say in your menu planning that you aim to offer a vegetarian and meat option at most meals?

That would give you the flexibility to give each family / child what they enjoy, fulfil parental wishes etc... :D


yes that sounds like a good idea, I have another mindee starting next week, so will see how it goes doing 2 options

Cheers all x

[susi513]

I often have children eating different things - some bring their own meals, some book mine for a start. There is no reason why your own child or other mindees should have to go along with what one particular child is eating. There may well be times when you have to offer different meals or menu choices to ensure you meet the differing (and sometimes conflicting) requirements of each family - cultural needs, allergies, personal choice all make for complicated menu planning.

If a child is allergic to something then it makes sense to exclude that from your menu entirely when that child is attending, just to be on the safe side. But otherwise its up to you whether you exclude things from your entire menu or just from one child's plate. For example I have one child whom I'm not allowed to give kiwi, but she's not allergic to it. And another child like myself detests bananas. But there's no reason why I should exclude these from everybody else's meal. I just put it in the bottom of the dish and cover it with what the others are having, so as not to draw attention to the difference. If they do query why they've got different things its another opportunity to discuss how every person is different, we all have different favourite things etc

TOP TIP - have a chart on your fridge/kitchen wall listing the children and what they're not allowed to have, especially allergies & cultural things.

[christine e]

By providing different meals you are meeting individual needs so serve your own child a meat based lunch and mindee a vegetarian lunch.
Christine

[Tickles]

Hi, i often have kids eating different meals too. some of them bring pack lunches, some meals that need cooked & some that i prepare.

with the ones that i prepare, all children are different & though it would be easier to prepare the same thing for them all, they all have different likes , dislikes & tastes. as long as they are all healthy balanced meals, i diont see their being a problem.

Joanne

[miffy]

I wouldn't worry about this at all - as long as the meals you provide are healthy and balanced then it's nothing to do with Ofsted who has what

miffy xx