Do you provide alternative meals??

[adele1985]

I provide breakfast (toast, cereal or friut)

2 snacks a day (yoghurts, bread sticks, carrot sticks, fruit)

Lunch - all home made (stews, casarols, spag bol, chilli, roasts)

tea (crumpets, toast, pasta, sandwiches, tea cakes, pizza)

My question is if mindees dont want whar you are offering each day do you give them an alternative

My oldest mindee (9) didnt want crumpets today so i offerd toast - she gave me a mucky luck i said ok them thats all there is she soon said she would have toast

[marnieb]

no I dont - I hate food waste and I've worked with a LOT of fussy eaters in my time - now everyone eats the same, no other alternatives. But at breakfast I dont mind doing toast for one and cereal for another.

[munch149]

If I knew they had never eaten it previously (didnt like it) then I would avoid cooking it days I had them or with tea I may offer something else to avoid waste. But if I had dished something up and they didn't want it then no chance as enough food gets wasted by the children in my house as it is. I am constantly trying new things to find a menu that fits all the children I work with but some are just so fussy it's impossible to please them so they don't get much say in what gets dished up. I have tried some things tho that noone has liked so obviously don't do those meals again

Oh and beware offering another child something else can cause problems as then everyone else wants it. One child I have used to bring her own lunch but eats so much better now she has the same as everyone else.

[Twinkle-Toes]

In short.....No!

From the sounds of it you are providing plenty of snack choices and lovely nutritious home cooked meals, that's perfect!

[FussyElmo]

Only if I had prior knowledge of the child not liking it or if it was a new food

[adele1985]

the only alternative i offer if for tea and thats either what im preparing for everyone else or toast

If they dont eat their lunch then they dont get a sticker and they are offerd fruit as pudding and thats it


If they do eat it all (or have a good attempt) then they get a sticker on their chart and they can choose from yoghurt, fruit or cake for pudding (the cake is normally thier choice as its only once in a blue moon they get offerd it same goes for crisps and biscuits

[singingcactus]

I do. I remember my whole childhood being forced to eat food I didn't like just cos my mum didn't care whether I liked it or not. I can't do that to someone else.

We don't waste much food here at all. I serve small portions and the kids can have additional helpings. Then when my own children get home from school they will consume/devour whatever is still in the pot. If the kids don't appear to be enjoying the food I have chosen to serve them then I will offer something else. The foods I like may not be to the taste of everyone...in fact since I like such spicy foods then most people don't like what I do lol.

I just couldn't force someone else to eat food just because I like it, or alternatively go hungry.

[loocyloo]

i don't offer alternatives. ( unless i know a child doesn't like it, or it is a new food, but even then they have to TRY it, at least one mouthful! )

i may cook a selection of different veggies to accompany a meal, depending who eats what. but generally everyone eats the same meals. i have a veggie mindee, and so sometimes she has something a bit different, but i usually mange to make her something the same, or in fact, we frequently eat veggie meals anyway!

snack is usually a selection of foods to help themselves to.

i have a LO who, came to me eating a very limited diet, and with encouragement, LO now eats a wide range of foods from all around the world! still not good on meat that requires lots of chewing, but we are getting there!

[Tealady]

I do. I remember my whole childhood being forced to eat food I didn't like just cos my mum didn't care whether I liked it or not. I can't do that to someone else.

We don't waste much food here at all. I serve small portions and the kids can have additional helpings. Then when my own children get home from school they will consume/devour whatever is still in the pot. If the kids don't appear to be enjoying the food I have chosen to serve them then I will offer something else. The foods I like may not be to the taste of everyone...in fact since I like such spicy foods then most people don't like what I do lol.

I just couldn't force someone else to eat food just because I like it, or alternatively go hungry.

Just out of interest, what do you offer as an alternative? do you cook re-heat an entire meal or just offer a filler i.e bread and butter.

[blue bear]

Only children with allergies get an alternative. I think we have too much food nowadays and children dont appreciate it, by always feeding them what they like can produce a very narrow diet.

[waterwaybabies]

unless a child has a real genuine dislike to a certain food [not just being fussy] i would encourage them to eat the same meal at lunch.
wouldnt ever praise for an empty plate or first to finish though as i think its acceptable to leave a little. [and old habits die hard . with the current obesity problems overfilling tummies might not be the best start for them]xxx

[JulieA]

I cook one meal and it is served to everyone. They can choose the accompaniments such as salad, peas, carrots, etc. If I have a veggie (or allergy) in that day then I cook for that child's needs and everyone else has the same. I think you get to know genuine dislikes over time, and then I remove these items from the menu. If meal is not eaten then dessert is not given - I have had too many in the past leave the main course and just eat the pudding, and these are the rules for my own children. Parents are made aware of this as well, and if they choose to provide a packet of crisps as soon as they have left my house then that is their choice. Personally I would rather my child ate a good, home cooked meal.

[kellib]

I do if a child is trying something they haven't had before and don't like it then I'll offer something I do know they'll like.

If they are just messing about though then no I don't offer anything else.

[singingcactus]

Just out of interest, what do you offer as an alternative? do you cook re-heat an entire meal or just offer a filler i.e bread and butter.

I usually have some cold cooked meat in the fridge that I can put with some potatoes, or pasta. Or I will quickly make up a veg stir fry. Something like that. I plan my menu for the week and prep enough stuff so I am only cooking twice a week for work. Like I will cook lots of potatoes, and a couple of meats on the sunday so I don't need to cook main components again until the wednesday. On the wed I will cook maybe a casserole, or baked dish and again, enough meat and potato to get me through till the Friday. So I keep plenty of options in the fridge. If it was a friday when they didn't want what was on offer then yes, they'd be offered a ploughmans/mixed platter affair.
I tend to find though, the kids will just eat whatever I serve, so I don't often have to offer alternatives. I was expecting to today, cos I made fish pie for the little guy. He wolfed it!!!! (it was gross, bleh) Kids are weird!

[miffy]

No I don't offer an alternative although I do try and make sure children have something they will all eat.

Miffyxx

[crazyXstitcher]

Only if I had prior knowledge of the child not liking it or if it was a new food

Otherwise they eat what they get or they go without. 99% of the time they eat it (eventually)

[Chatterbox Childcare]

I give choice of toast or cerals or yoghurt or fruit or all of it if they would eat it.

cold - a choice of sandwich fillings
Hot - what I make (taking into consideration that they may not like something when I prepared it last time)

[The Juggler]

no, once I know what they all like I might ask in advance what they want but choices would be similar to yours - toast or crumpets and dinner (when I made it) was one choice