food paperwork

[Xiou]

What information do you give to parents about the food you have given to their child whilst in your care?

[ja-lula-belli]

I just pop it in their daily diary . I list the food so they can easily tell breakfast, snack, lunch etc They know the types of food I provide and ingredients I use so they are all happy with the way I do it x

[jadavi]

I write on their daily diary what they ate .

[loocyloo]

I write on their daily diary what they ate .

Me too.
My menu for the week is on my notice board (subject to change). Parents know what and how I cook and as I know what all of the children can and can't eat I work round it.

I used to have a mum who was allergic to melon. Her children were fine. If I gave it to them it had to be a couple of hours minimum before she picked up and I always needed to let her know.

[moggy]

Same here- daily diary.
Note on notice board with basically what each evening dinner will be that week ('fish', 'sausages', 'pasta'- just the basics, no details as I decide on the day exactly how and what I will cook), but actually no one looks at it!
In my portfolio is a typical menu so parents know the kind of thing I cook.
No allergies here but any would be noted in Child Record forms.

[FloraDora]

I provide a menu in advance of the week, so the parents can plan their own evening meals, I say it is a draft and they can discuss but in reality they always accept it. In their daily diaries I write what they have eaten of the meals.
I was thinking of doing a rotational menu, but we grow our own and try to eat seasonal and our butcher may have an offer so I have stuck to weekly. A bit anal but we also plan our weekly meals - just makes life easier - and cheaper when you go shopping -though this is subject to change and fancies.- this month is based on eating out of our freezer rather than buying food and freezing it, then buying more!! Ready for all the mince pies and Christmas food preparation I will be doing next week.

[Xiou]

Thank you. Just as I thought

I was talking to a nanny at a toddler group today and we got onto the subject of how much paperwork childminders do. She said "It's crazy that you have to list every ingredient in every meal for every parent isn't it?" I said that I didn't do that and she said that I should be.

I just wanted to check that I was doing everything I should be doing

[moggy]

Thank you. Just as I thought

I was talking to a nanny at a toddler group today and we got onto the subject of how much paperwork childminders do. She said "It's crazy that you have to list every ingredient in every meal for every parent isn't it?" I said that I didn't do that and she said that I should be.

I just wanted to check that I was doing everything I should be doing

Ah, that is to do with the new Allergens regulations from the Food Standards Agency which comes in in Dec. No, we will not need to list every ingredient, or even every allergen. BUT we will need to be able to tell parents what allergens are in the children's food IF THEY ASK US. It has been all over the CM Facebook pages with CMers panicking about having to list everything but that is nonsense and scaremongering. We need to have the information (from packet labels for example) and I have informed parents that any of the 14 allergens could be in any of the food I provide, none have allergies. You do need to read this and check you are meeting the requirements in a way that you are happy with.

See:

Childminders | food.gov.uk

[Simona]

Agree with Moggy...although I have not met any panic from CMs on this issue and not sure what is on FB

The allergens leaflet is widely available
It may be a good idea to print one and put it in the parents info pack so parents are aware of allergens themselves in case their child reacts to food cooked at home.
This is not just for children with known allergies ...it is also for those who may 'develop' an allergy at any time

Sad to hear nannies giving so much unhelpful information and passing judgement on cms....funnily enough even they need to be updated on the allergens as many are required to cook for children
I welcome the day when they too need to be registered...not just to allow parents to draw c/vouchers but to come in line with the rest of the sector.

[KateA]

hi I writing in daily diary as well but don't provide meals just the food the parents supply .