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Working Moms
KyPonyMom
member
Daycare food plans - advice for the "granola" mom
KyPonyMom
member
in Working Moms
Hi all--longtime lurker, first-time poster.
My 10-month-old DD has been in daycare since 9 weeks. We're generally pleased with the arrangement. However (and you know there's always a however) ...
We're getting close to 1-year transition time as far as the meal plan goes. We started purees at 6 months, and she's now picking at some small, soft table foods--usually just fruits and veggies. But bottles (currently slowly weaning off pumping to formula) are still the main nutrition source.
(I recognize that everyone has different preferences, but we make an effort to minimize processed foods and preservatives when possible. We try to maintain organic, grow veg, raise our own chickens, etc.)
So DC is pushing to get DD on the "regular" food program in advance of her move-up. The menu is, of course, totally in accordance with federal guidelines ... but I think that leaves a lot to be desired. Basically, I don't want her going from breastmilk to eating soft pretzels and (heavily processed, chemical-laden, neon-orange) artificial cheese sauce.
They also require she be totally on whole cow's milk as of 1 year, when our pedi said we should start introducing WCM at 1 year.
So ... Anybody else get a little philosophically stuck at this point? How did you handle it? Do I need to just get with the program? Take a big ol' chill pill? Seek an in-home that allows us to provide our own food?
Talk me down, please, mamas.
My 10-month-old DD has been in daycare since 9 weeks. We're generally pleased with the arrangement. However (and you know there's always a however) ...
We're getting close to 1-year transition time as far as the meal plan goes. We started purees at 6 months, and she's now picking at some small, soft table foods--usually just fruits and veggies. But bottles (currently slowly weaning off pumping to formula) are still the main nutrition source.
(I recognize that everyone has different preferences, but we make an effort to minimize processed foods and preservatives when possible. We try to maintain organic, grow veg, raise our own chickens, etc.)
So DC is pushing to get DD on the "regular" food program in advance of her move-up. The menu is, of course, totally in accordance with federal guidelines ... but I think that leaves a lot to be desired. Basically, I don't want her going from breastmilk to eating soft pretzels and (heavily processed, chemical-laden, neon-orange) artificial cheese sauce.
They also require she be totally on whole cow's milk as of 1 year, when our pedi said we should start introducing WCM at 1 year.
So ... Anybody else get a little philosophically stuck at this point? How did you handle it? Do I need to just get with the program? Take a big ol' chill pill? Seek an in-home that allows us to provide our own food?
Talk me down, please, mamas.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Daycare food plans - advice for the "granola" mom
Is there a PTO where you might get involved and make changes for the good of all the children?
Just talk to them. If you're allowed to bring your own foods, then it shouldn't be a problem. We get the menu a month out and they really do a good job putting together balanced, healthy meals at DD's school. If not, I wouldn't be happy at all.
Sure, she gets her once per week pizza, but there is no way I'm denying her that. Are you certain they eat the crap you mentioned in your child's 1 yr old classroom? Processed cheese? Are you sure? That sounds excessive.
That being said, you need to find out how much leeway you have with your daycare. Are they 100% against parent's bring in outside food? Are they fine with you providing meals/snacks? If they are willing to work with your desires then I see no reason to look for alternate care.
I don't love all of the meals/snacks our daycare provides - corn dogs, cookies for snack, etc. but not all the meals/snacks are bad and we eat home cooked healthy meals at home so I'm fine with DS eating the provided food.
Definitely talk to the director in a non-confrontational way - more like you don't know how it works and are curious. See how they handle it and go from there.
I posted a thread on this a while back which you can probably find if you search my history. Agree with PP that transitioning LO to WCM by 1 year is a little extreme when most people don't start the transition until that point. What will happen if you delay the transition? Would it delay her moving up to the next room?
At DS's daycare, in order to move to the 12-18 month room, he needed to be on table food and whole milk because that class eats in the cafeteria with the other kids. He ended up moving at around 15 months not because he wasn't ready but because a space didn't open up until then.
I am also a little similar to you in that I try and be careful what I feed my DS. When he was on baby food, I made some of his food myself and tried to only buy organic baby food. I am also not crazy about the DC food but mainly because they feed him canned fruit instead of fresh fruit. However, my DS is a picky eater and consistently 1% in weight. He consistently eats well at DC but eats very little at home. And honestly, it was too much work for me to pack his lunch every day. I have finally just given up and accepted that he will eat processed stuff etc. at DC and at this point, I am just happy if he eats anything.
Since food is so important to you, I would ask about bringing your own food and if they don't allow it, you will have to decide if that's a deal breaker for you.
That being said...alot of the reason they prefer children to eat the food they serve is because of the vast range of allergies out there. Our school is nut free...however, most parents dont realize that things that dont have nuts in them can actually still have nut exposure due to where it is made and that can seriously harm other children. As a parent, I wouldnt expect those who dont have to deal with allergies to think of that...but I personally know we pay very close to attention to labels (for example we can use Betty Crocker when baking but not Duncan Heinz, although DH recently did change their labels). So i would just be sensitive to that. if you arent ok with that, maybe it is time to look for a nanny or a smaller in home where they are more flexible.
Before reading the rest of the responses... Part of my decision in where DS was enrolled was the food policy. They have a weekly meal rotation, but they do allow parents to bring food from home. So we're at the point where I send a note to DS' teachers every day. Some days he can eat the meal the center provides (like when they have fish sticks and broccoli), and sometimes he eats what I send with him. It's kind of a hassle, but it's better than knowing he's eating stuff that I would never feed him - or myself - at home.
And yeah, the milk thing is ridiculous.
They serve Kraft Mac n Cheese as a side at DS' daycare. Most of their meals are pretty balanced, but there are things like that also on the menu.
I brought organic milk until my kids were about 2 1/2. At that point, they really drank very little milk at school (neither one really likes it all that much) so I stopped bringing it and I serve organic at home when they want milk. The food at our DCP is ok, much better than a lot of them even though there are things I could do without but not something I'm too worried about. They serve fresh fruits & vegetables and whole grain items and also some similar processed items that I also give my 4 yr olds (eg goldfish) so I'm obviously not super conscious of that anyway.
On the CM thing, you can still give bottles at home before & after school/daycare so it isn't that they're saying your child has to be on 100% CM all the time, just in their setting. If you were plannign to transition anyway, then maybe view it as they'll be helping you w/ that transition by giving it to LO during the day but you can still feel ok about supplementing at home w/ whatever else. ? just a thought. And if LO rejects the CM at school at first, you know s/he is getting some at home, and also, they are not going to be malnourished if they don't drink milk b/w the hours of 8 & 5 for a couple weeks, assuming LO is eating/drinking something else during that time...just my .02 & how I approached it when my kids refused sippy cups around age 1, I would still give them a bottle at night and know they were getting something, but at some point they would make the transition & that time period was not going to cause any sort of major harm to them.
GL!