Bad foods for infant

[amom526]

So I have an in home daycare and a new family started end if last year. The baby was 8 months old and didn't like to eat foods. No problem some kids don't like baby food some kids take a little longer to be able to figure out people food. He also deals with constipation and was on medication for that. The problem I have is I keep introducing simple fruits and veggies, steamed little pieces and mushed up but the mom keeps sending me stuff I don't think he should have. When they first came she said he doesn't eat food, but he does like ice cream and French fries. Couldn't believe it!! Now she sends sugar filled yogurt, ritz crackers with cheese, honey graham crackers, etc. nothing good for him at all. I get that they want him to eat foods but I think they should be trying healthier options. What can I say? I know a baby shouldn't be started out with foods like that.

Honestly, none of these things sound too horrendous to me that it is worth saying something. Plenty of kids eat sugar filled yogurt, and no it is not great, but it's not the type of thing a daycare provider should comment on. I would think crackers and cheese is also a perfectly fine snack for a baby, if the baby will eat it. My 8 month olds were not eating much of anything at all...isn't he mostly still drinking milk anyway? I would feel differently if she was actually sending ice cream or twizzlers, but even then, I'm not sure how you mention it. I remember one time I was shocked when I picked ds1 up from playgroup during snack time, and there was a little girl not even 2 eating a fruit roll up. But now that I have 2 kids, its very possible ds2 will be eating junk food way before ds1 was allowed to touch it.

[Gracemom]

I think that child care providers can be a great source of information. My kids weren't in daycare, but in preschool I received lots of good handouts, like ideas of things to pack for lunch, etc. Could you find handouts on the internet that you could print out and hand out to all the parents, so this mom is not singled out? You could do a new info sheet every week or month, including car seats, child development, etc. Most parents will be happy to have info or will already know the info and toss the sheet. You would feel good knowing that you tried to help.

[TwinFoxes]

I think that child care providers can be a great source of information. My kids weren't in daycare, but in preschool I received lots of good handouts, like ideas of things to pack for lunch, etc. Could you find handouts on the internet that you could print out and hand out to all the parents, so this mom is not singled out? You could do a new info sheet every week or month, including car seats, child development, etc. Most parents will be happy to have info or will already know the info and toss the sheet. You would feel good knowing that you tried to help.

I think this may be the only chance of you not coming across as a buttinsk...in general I agree with Boolady, you're running a business. I don't think it's your business. Also, nothing you mentioned is the worst. What's wrong with graham crackers vs Annie's? Or cheese and crackers? Our coop preschool was NAEYC, and cheese and crackers was one of their snacks. I buy TJs organic yogurt, it has sugar in it, the girls eat it a couple of times a month.

I would not be sending those things in my 8 month old's lunch, but you are running a business. While I understand your intentions, unless you can phrase it as 123luckymom suggests, as an offer to broaden the baby's palate, I would not tell them that they are not feeding the child "bad foods."

You are running a business, and although you think they shouldn't be feeding him those things, you are paid to watch him and feed him the food his parents send. We might agree that those aren't the choices we would make, but it's certainly not neglectful behavior. As your business continues to grow, you're undoubtedly going to run into clients who don't do things the way you would, but that's not really what your job is about. I think to cross the line into telling them what you think they're doing wrong may be a very bad business decision, unless it's a hill to die on for you, including losing potential future references from them and/or continuing to make that your hill.

ETA: I think you might also have to consider whether you're getting into a gray area in general. Is it the brand of items that bothers you? I ask because I think lots of parents think Stonyfield yobaby yogurt is just fine, even though it certainly qualifies as sugar-filled, and that Annie's honey graham crackers are a better choice than Teddy Grahams, or that cheese with Late July butter crackers is a better choice than cheese with Ritz crackers. I think there's a fair amount of disagreement about the examples I gave even on this board, and that's perfectly fine. Is your feeling that they're "bad" because they're not just fruits and vegetables, or because it's conventional yogurt v. organic yogurt, just as an example? This is where I think as a childcare provider you could be getting into a gray area it's best, at least for business, to stay out of.

[melrose7]

I don't have a problem with crackers in general. Believe me, we have our share of bags of goldfish in the house. It is more of the issue of I think the parents see no problem with these foods as his first foods. They just really want him to eat something and he doesn't like baby food so it is easier to give him a cracker than steam some carrots.

I do provide food for the kids I watch so this is just something they have gotten him to eat and send along. Most often I try not to give it to him and offer something healthier which he may or may not eat. I was more worrying about the nutrition he is getting. He will be 1 next month and has 3 bottles when he is with me and a couple bites of food. They are in no hurry to get rid of the bottle. I am afraid he won't eat the better foods if he not given them.

I have never done handouts but it is something to consider.

[123LuckyMom]

Well, at 8 months, I wouldn't worry too much about the nutritional aspect of his solids. His nutrition is really coming from the bottles. The food is more about getting him used to different flavors and textures. He absolutely doesn't need to eat baby food. (You could recommend the book Baby Led Weaning.)

Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods - ... http://www.amazon.com/dp/161519021X/..._DPAitb1FGJ7AH

Maybe if you urge the parents not to worry about his solid food intake but to concentrate on exposure to different foods without worrying about what he actually eats it would relieve them of the stress to get him to eat something, anything, even if it's ice cream!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Back in the day, I used to like the Earth's Best website for feeding info.
http://www.earthsbest.com/resources/...uld-babies-eat
http://www.earthsbest.com/resources/...r-feeding-tips
http://www.earthsbest.com/resources/...lines-for-baby

[JBaxter]

all babies are different. My 2nd refused all foods until 8 months. I would not give more than a couple crackers more then once a day. As for bottles all mine used them until at least 18 months Jack breast fed until 24months I was in no hurry to take my boys away either. Bites of fruits & veggies just to get him to try them. I did YoBaby yogurts for mine I know they had a ton of sugar.

[almostmom]

My kids went to a home daycare and I learned SO much from the provider. Not about food, but about so many other things. It was invaluable! And though we eat very healthy and conscientiously at home, and my kids at young ages ate all kinds of fruits and veggies, they are super picky eaters now and I wish someone had told me to feed them even more variety when they were little! I think if you state it as, "This is what I have seen works with kids who aren't that interested in food..." she will take your advice. Whenever my provider said that kind of thing, since she had SO much more experience than me, I trusted her.