Does your child have breakfast before or at childminders/nursery? (8am start)

Gillyx

I'd agree with Delain. From around 9 months old we done breakfast, no milk. He'd generally eat more that way too

fluffysox

I have an unusual best of both worlds package. My childminders are married couple who provide meals as part of the cost. I give DS breakfast if he wakes early enough but they always offer him some with the other children before the bigger children go to school. Usually he has some there even if he's already had some at home. He has a hot home cooked lunch with other little ones and sandwiches etc about 4 after big ones collected from school. I pay more than most local childminders charge but its still much cheaper than any nursery charges. And they are brilliant! My DS loves going there.

grey_lady

The OP is paying a professional childminder for an 8am start which she thought would include breakfast. For the CM to pull a face when she learned the LO hadnt' had breakfast would make me want to STOP paying for her services.

Kayalana99

It seems very mixed how people feel about this. I suppose I will just give him toast as others have said and see how he copes, personally think he is going to be a grumpy sod for her all day if I have to get him up that early but how can I fight she has other kids school runs to do which I guess is the main issue...

I think my main concerns is I just don't have a good feeling about her, she has taken 2 photos of our little boy (that we have seen) and in both he looks miserable..and on picking him up he always seems so tired out and unhappy at first.

I get the impression she takes him to this play center because its easier then having him at her house as he is a very active baby (as most are at that age) and is getting things he shouldn't..etc lol and she wasn't coping well with him thier.

Counting down the 7 weeks untill I am back off work...

As for giving him breakfast before bottle I like the routine we have & all babies are differnt so what works for you doesn't mean it will work for everyone else...He won't eat weetabix with forumla milk god knows why as he is quite happy with normal milk tho..one of the few things he actally spits out.

As for getting ready whilst he is eating this isn't an issue as I am quite happy to get up eariler its more of a case of waking him up eariler as he does take ages eating... he is being abit akward atm and will happily feed himself but if you put anything in his mouth that isn't on a spoon he will spit it out and look at it before putting it back in again himself! :-)

Gillyx

I wouldn't put anything in his mouth, it can cause choking. If he can't get it in himself (solid food) it shouldn't be in there. Stuff like banana are good quick foods I find.

If you truly feel he is unhappy there, I would be looking for something else. How long has he been there? I know when kids or babies start going to childcare in the beginning they can be pretty unsettled and definitely a lot more tired than what they have been with you and it can take 2-3 weeks to settle in.

Do you feel she has reneged on what she said she would do? Does he have a diary that she completes each day to tell you what he has eaten/activities done etc? I Know most childminders offer something like this as standard.

If you don't have a good feeling about her now, what pulled you towards her to hire her in the first place?

I hope I don't come across as harsh, only trying to figure out where it has gone wrong.

I will be looking for childcare for my son soon and the one thing that will put me off is school runs with a childminder. I hate the thought of him being ferried around but I appreciate that this may limit my choice of childminders, so it's something I'll have to weigh up at the time.

Kayalana99

Its 5 weeks now I belive, she does a diary but its very basic.. I had some of my breakfast and then went for a walk etc mostly misses alot of stuff off and isn't informative but that doesn't bother me that much.. lists the stuff he has had that day + nappies wet/times etc.

We had a good ref of someone we knew + another child minder had suggested 6 people and she was one of 2/6 that could do it.

She seems really nice, still does tbh but just not happy about a few things that had happened. Like I wrote a piece of paper about his routine and naps and she wrote in the book he had exactly the same naps to same times which never actally happens it was just a guideline and he was so tired out (which is understandable but it was like he hadn't slept bless him if he had actally slept when she said he had it would of been more then normal) & one of his t-shirts was stained brown which again - dont mind - but the diary she gave us didn't include anything that was brown and we reckoned it was choclate...

I think our main problem was not having the time to look properly. My work were a compelte !!!! about me coming back and I literally didn't know till mid week the week before I was returning what shifts I was doing...so we couldn't say to a CM we would need XX days untill it was sorted...and we had one I had been talking to for a while via Email and thought for sure she was the one but on meeting her and getting ref's it went complety out window.

Gillyx

Hmmm, I'd just try to have a word with her and iron out any misunderstandings you are having, for the sake of 7 weeks. My LO will never nap as well outwith our house (even in a cot) than he would here, it's just how he is, I'm not sure if your LO is the same or not.

The chocolate thing isn't acceptable imo, and if you don't want him to have it, tell her that, and obviously if it then continued I'd be annoyed.

If you do want to know just casually mention, could she write down EVERYTHING he is having to eat as you're having some issues with dinner times at home or something?

Omitting the truth isn't always a bad thing, but when it comes to childcare, I'd prefer to be told the whole truth, even if it isn't always what I wanted to hear. Maybe mention he looks tired, has he been having his naps etc?

scotnan

It’s possibly been initial lack of communication (on both sides to be fair) you say that breakfast “…was never discussed before hand ….I just assumed he would as his normal breakfast routine is 9am….” because what may be normal breakfast time at 9am to him is possibly later than she would assume that young children would eat breakfast.


“…she has taken 2 photos of our little boy (that we have seen) andin both he looks miserable..and on picking him up he always seems so tired outand unhappy at first …”

If he has previously been used to getting up/having breakfast later, then this could be the real reason he’s tired, just not being used to this earlier start to his routine.


“I get the impression she takes him to this play center because itseasier then having him at her house as he is a very active baby (as most are atthat age) and is getting things he shouldn't..etc lol and she wasn't copingwell with him thier.”

Could this be the real crux of the matter, is she finding that she just can’t cope with him. ls she used to having older (school age) children. Maybe she was ok with the breakfast thing at first but if he’s a wee bit of handful then maybe she’s now finding that she’s rushed getting the kids to school.



To allow your son to have a little while longer in bed, is it possible that your OH could give him his milk on the journey to drop him off at work then the only thing cm would have to do is change his nappy (surely she can’t object to that.) and she could feed him a snack when she arrives at the play centre she takes him to.



Or if you’d rather he kept more to his normal routine of nearer 9am then could you suggest to her that she could take the children to school and then come back home and give your son his breakfast then, before going to the play centre. Obviously she has to get the schoolchildren to school on time but it’s not really as important that she gets your son to the play centre for bang on 10am.



A great big hug to you as it’s not easy going back to work after having a baby and having to juggle your whole life around. Whatever you decide to do I hope it all works out ok for you. .

quidsy

You probably would have been better with nursery tbh as it sounds like the flexibility of the cm is bothering you.

A cm has children of mixed ages & their routine is flexi as not all the kids go every day. They do tend to go out & about more, a nursery with 20+ kids just can't do trips out like a cm can.

I personally preferred to have my son with more one to one care & the flexibility was a bonus, he had a similar routine to if I was at home with him, not stuck in all day but my cm was strict about being home by lunch & had great communication. It can take several weeks for a baby to adapt to a new routine but tbh, from the sounds of it could be grumpy cause he is hungry, missing breakfast every day will do that to a baby

Talk to your cm & iron out these concerns but tbh, she sounds like a normal cm in terms of her routine, it is up to your to fit into her established schedule rather than her changing all her plans to fit you. Between you & OH you could surely get some breakfast down your LO before leaving the house or as other said in the 15 min journey to OH work.

flea72

No, my childminder wouldnt give breakfast to kids on an 8 am start. They are too busy welcoming kids/parents and getting ready for the school run.

If i didnt feed my kids before leaving home, the earliest she could feed them would be getting on for 10am, which would then interupt the morning routine and mean they ate a full meal, too near to lunchtime

The CM already has an established routine, that your child neds to fit into. She has tried to feed your child breakfast, but from her viewpoint its not working. I agree with some other posters, at 10m i would be giving breakfast first and then milk later. Do you give the milk first because it fits into your tight schedule, as food is more time consuming?

It does sound as if the routine of a nursery would have suited you better as all the children follow the same schedule and the day isnt structured around school runs. But i suppose until your child goes into childcare, you dont realise the implications of having a 9am breakfast.