Cooked Meals

[happyhome]

I have been speaking to two different childminders regarding cooked dinners, one of them says that its not worth doing them beacause its expensive and you cant cook dinners and watch the children at the same time, the other said that she does provide them and its not really a hasstle, What do you do and how do you find it.

Thanks

[CH1957]

I dont find it a hassle as I batch cook at the weekends, divide it into child size portions and then freeze. I can just take out what I need for that day once the children have arrived, so no need to cook while they are there, it just gets reheated. I also dont charge for cooked meals for under schoo age LO's, I just do an all inclusive rate. I would charge for any after schoolies needing a cooked meal though as they eat so much more.

[AliceK]

Yes I do it and Yes I find it a hassle. The only reason I do it is because I have to feed my own 2 children and if I'm working until 6pm that's too late for them to eat so I feed everyone at 4.30. I hate cooking dinners for everyone though

xxx

[The Juggler]

i used to do it for 6 years, but then stopped and now I see how hard it was Supervising children outside whilst entertaining the babies safely whilst I cooked was not easy. Now I do a snack and play with the kids - much easier.

[loocyloo]

i provide lunches and teas, lunches are either hot or cold such as sandwiches, soup, beans on toast, ommlettes etc and tea is pretty much always hot - spaghetti bolognese, casserole, shepards pie, fish pie, risotto etc, mainly meals that i can either batch cook and take out of the freezer and reheat, or i can put in the slow cooker to cook all day, and then quickly cook some pasta/veg etc when we get home from school. if i need to cook during the day, i cook after lunch whilst everyone has a rest or quiet time. if i have a LO that doesn't, then they tend to do some drawing or activity on their own at the kitchen table.

i've always worked like this, ever since i started nannying 25 yrs ago!, so its just how i do things. i don't find it a problem at all. the children generally eat tea around 4.30 pm, so those having a snack, have snack whilst we have tea, but i prefer everyone to have the same meal. i include all meals in my fees.

i have some schoolies whose previous CM didn't do teas, and when they came to me, mum was so pleased as it means they eat a proper meal when they are hungry, and then they have time to do things as a family at home, rather than mum rushing around trying to cook tea with grouchy hungry children.

to be honest, i don't really think about the cost of providing meals! i look for good deals and buy cheaper cuts of meat etc, but these are better for slow cooking anyway! i put all costs of food through my accounts as an expense, but again, as i've always done it, its just something i do!

but you need to do what you are comfortable with.

[Ambersmum]

I did warm dinners for 3 years then decided to switch to cold sandwich lunch type dinners, think I find it much easier and quicker to prepare lunch now and children seem to enjoy it. I vary the sandwich fillings and give variety of different types of bread, wraps etc, veg sticks, salad & houmous type things, then fresh fruit or yogurt and sometimes a homemade pudding ( just made a plum pudding with one if my 3 year olds, smells luurvley!)

[mrs robbie williams]

i cook evening meal for 18m mindee, i just give him whatever the kids are having his mum is pretty easy going and lo loves veg so he tends to have what mine have plus lots of veg - likes frozen mixed veg as he can easily pick it up. I dont find it a problem as im feeding mine anyway. I seem to be in the kitchen after the school run until meal time anyway have safety gate and can see lo playing plus my own children are here to play with him. The only bit i hate is that he isnt collected until 630 so after ive tidied up and sorted my dinner its not til 7ish and then im knackered and just want to go to bed

[mushpea]

I used to cook for 8 children and much of the time I used a slow cooker, if they couldn't behave while I was in the kitchen then they would have to come in there with me

[funemnx]

I used to provide an evening dinner but gave up a few years ago - it was the best thing I ever did! I didn't mind the cooking - I like cooking and used to batch cook somethings for ease and economy BUT the children's behaviour made it far too stressful - there wasn't one meal that they all liked! It's so demoralising to put a meal on the table and 4 out of the 8 would say 'I don't like, Brocolli, chicken, rice, potatoes or those kind of potatoes, I don't eat peas, I hate this dinner' this list is endless......

The parents were unhappy though...

[TNT]

I provide all meals and snacks included in my price, which is the higher end round here. I do sandwiches or simple things like soup and beans on toast for lunch and then as others do batch cook everything so it just needs warming up for dinner which i serve at 4.30. I have my own 3 children to cook for so it made sense for us to do it this way plus I only mind 2 children at the moment who leave at 5 so it suited us.
Luckily I have never had any really fussy eaters (although have had a few try to tell me they dont like this or that, they always end up eating it though when they find out I dont provide alternatives)

[busybee_mummy]

I provided all 3 meals for all the children, included in the £3.50 price. I have previously had a family who brought their own but it caused so many problems, as it didn't fit with healthy eating policy, was just crisps, sandwich and chocolate bar, and wasn't fair on other children. My own daughter once said 'why did she have to eat slop, whilst they had crisps'

Breakfast is cereal and toast, lunch is picnic type lunch, (cooked lunch for under 12mnths), and evening meal is spag bowl, cottage pie, mild curry, homemade pizza, stew. Etc

I find out if there is anything they don't like and work round it, but if they dont eat it, I try not to offer alternative and I'm often heard saying 'this isn't a cafe, you know!'

Its easier for me though because I work with my mum and dad, and dad is chief cook and bottle washer!

[VeggieSausage]

I over make what we are eating as a family and feed the lo's it the next day for lunch or freeze it....for tea I was fed up with older ones not eating what I cooked and told parents I would now provide a packed tea - they were fine. Problem is my own DD who wants to eat with them but I want her to eat a healthy meal that is not like a packed lunch type meal. She has a packed lunch at lunchtime and we eat a very healthy diet....its difficult.

[izzy23]

I don't, never have, nor when I have used a childminder have they and I never had a problem with it. I'd A: much rather provide a meal of my choice and B: that my minder was focusing her attention on supervision and care rather than being in the kitchen cooking. Thats not to insinuate that minders cannot multitask safely, its just my own opinion and preference. I could provide meals but I'd much rather not have my time consumed by that, I have no probs with parents proving main meals to be heated here if necessary and I do provide healthy snacks like fresh fruits, veggies, wholegrain breads, healthy homemade baked things...banana muffins etc.
Providing all the meals wouldn't work economically for me, I'd have to shoot my rates up and then wouldn't be competitive with others in the area.

[happyhome]

Thank you all for your coments. Im not too sure what to do, the best thing to do is to see what the parents say. I think I would prefer to do sandwiches.

[leeanne910]

I dont. Only as i really believe that at least one meal a day is a family time.....

[vals]

I only do evening meals if I really have to. Children leave at all different times so it would be really awkward. I can't be cooking, looking after the children, answering the door to parents etc etc. As my own are older now we can eat at anytime so it doesn't really interfere with family meal times. I know some minders that serve dinner at a set time including for their own children.
The children I cook for at the moment, which is only twice a week if they come, have big food issues including a child with autism that will only eat two things, so it would be a nuisance giving him one meal and the other children something more healthy.

[toddlers896]

When I first started i offered lunch in with the price but Ive since changed it to they have to provide a packed lunch.
I got sick of throwing food in the bin, they dont eat anything. Half of it goes on the floor aaahhh. Never again.

[AliceK]

I provided all 3 meals for all the children, included in the £3.50 price. I have previously had a family who brought their own but it caused so many problems, as it didn't fit with healthy eating policy, was just crisps, sandwich and chocolate bar, and wasn't fair on other children. My own daughter once said 'why did she have to eat slop, whilst they had crisps'

Breakfast is cereal and toast, lunch is picnic type lunch, (cooked lunch for under 12mnths), and evening meal is spag bowl, cottage pie, mild curry, homemade pizza, stew. Etc

I find out if there is anything they don't like and work round it, but if they dont eat it, I try not to offer alternative and I'm often heard saying 'this isn't a cafe, you know!'

Its easier for me though because I work with my mum and dad, and dad is chief cook and bottle washer!

I say that all the time here too.
xxx

[ChocolateChip]

I used to work until 6pm and do cooked teas (no extra cost as all meals are included in my fees) but last year my customers needs changed and I grabbed the chance to stop doing teas with both hands! I was quite busy for a period, sometimes having eight round the table including my own, but as funemnx says it was so frustrating just throwing away plate after plate of good food because of all the fussy eaters- and don't get me started on the lack of table manners! What made it worse was finding out that parents would just let their kids go home and snack on crisps and sweets so really there was no point me even trying to give them a healthy meal as they knew it wouldn't matter if they ate it or not
I was just so glad to not do it any more, even if I charged extra it would not be worth all the waste, moaning and the negative effect on my own children's manners.

[Lilylulu]

We have an inclusive price for our preschoolers that includes all meals. We have vegetarian lunches so that all children's various dietry requirements are met - Hindu, Islamic, and vegetarian families. We all sit to eat together and even the pickiest eaters have been won round. We batch cook lots and freeze surplus for busy weeks. We use the slow cooker when we are going out in the mornings as it has the lunch ready to serve as soon as we get back in.
It does mean extra work, but its a service that benefits the children so much - well nourished children function so much better than if they survived on the junk food we have seen in pack ups. Having said all this, we work as a team, 2 childminders with an assistant, it might be more difficult as a sole cm.