I have heard of some Nursery's and Pre-Schools who insist.......?

Question

that children eat the snack provided for them, and one i have heard of even insists that the child drinks all of their milk before the snack. Am i the only one who thinks this is wrong? Shouldnt children be able to decide for themselves if they are hungry? I worry that this could make food an 'issue' rather than an enjoyment, what do you think(any evidence to support/oppose this would be good).
Thanks

Answer 1

In my experience as a daycare teacher and now an in-home daycare provider, many kids don't eat at snack time and then 10 minutes later complain that they are starving. So what I do is remind them that if they don't eat snack now, they have to wait a long time until lunch or dinner, so they should at least try to eat a little bit. If they are adamant that they aren't hungry or don't like it, I just tell them OK, but don't complain about being hungry until lunch time. It works pretty well for me and I don't feel like it forces kids to eat when they don't want to.

Answer 2

I have done day care out of my home for the last three years and many times I have had problems with children not wanting to take time out of playtime to sit down and eat. Sometimes children don't realise they are hungry or that they even need to get a drink so I always have the children sit at the table with their food and drinks in front of them. Most usually they will get what they want on their own but sometimes it does take prompting to get their mind in the right area. In almost every circumstance though they will at least take a bite or get a drink since noone else is playing and they are informed that when snack or mealtime is over they will have to wait. I would NEVER make them eat something they just don't want though. That seems to me like more of a punishment than snacktime. Also it's a really bad idea to make them drink anything, especially milk before they eat because that alone can make them feel full and then when they don't eat their food they will be hungry again before it's mealtime.

Answer 3

I think should at least taste the snack/lunch/food. Often kids say they don't like something because their friend said that or won't eat because they cannot wait to get back to work time or an activity. This is why I ask them to at least take a drink and try one bite if then they want to be done that is fine. At lunch I also do have a rule that you must first eat your "good" food before the sweet stuff (this may be a type of force but is also about choice). I do not think a child should ever be forced to eat if he/she absolutely refuses something. You are right this could cause lifelong eating issues.

Answer 4

You say you have heard of this, but have you ever actually experienced this first-hand with your child?

My daughter's preschool doesn't insist my child eat anything - they put food in front of her, if she doesn't eat they write it down on her daily report and let her get down from the table hungry. So I, as a parent know what she's eaten (or hasn't eaten) and can address the issue if needed.

We are also allowed to provide snacks for our children if we want - it isn't military boot camp, it's preschool!

Answer 5

I can see both points of view. On the one hand, at my house the kids are provided with their food/snack, and if they choose not to eat it, fine. On the other hand, there ARE times when I, as the parent, know they they HAVE to eat something or they will be miserable (and so will everyone else) so I insist that they eat--two examples would be before my daughter goes to gymnastics (she is usually too eager to go to want to bother with a snack, but she CAN'T make it without crying and being tired if she doesn't eat first) and before church (same scenerio). So I can see the teachers knowing that the kids NEED to eat something before they go play; if they let them skip it they will have a bunch of hungry crabby monsters on their hands. I would let it go. As a parent, you need to trust your child's school and their judgement.

Answer 6

yes in some cases this is true. just like making them lay down at nap time true some children still do take naps at this age but for those children that do not should they be made to? no but they are made to any way

but that goes along with tattle-tail should they tattle I think this is a very good thing because if your child is hit then they hit back they are in trouble but if they do tell on some one they are in trouble any way so thats kind of mixed signals don't you think

if the children do or would tell maybe some of the abuse would get stopped before it end in death or the child is terribly dammaged BUT IF YOU TATTLE IN SCHOOL YOU ARE PUNISHED FOR IT

things keep changing and alot of it is for the worst of our children not for the better people need to remember they are our future

Answer 7

Where my daughter goes, they all have to eat the snack provided for them. Usually they are so hungry from playing, they eat it up. But they don't make them eat all of it. The only thing that annoys me is sometimes they aren't the healthiest choices. I would rather my daughter have fruit than crackers, but hey, you can't complain.

Answer 8

Personally, if they pull that, I pull my kid out of there care. You are paying for that service.