New baby started today, will be 11mos this weekend.

Mom dropped off we talked for a min and she left, I went to put all her stuff away and there was no formula. I texted mom and said "There is no formula" she said "No formula, juice juice or water"

There was a giant jug of juicy juice in the bag.

I don't give children juice. Flat out, period. My 3 and 4 year old maybe get it once every couple months.

She said that the child gets 2 bottles/cups of "milk" a day one in the AM when she wakes and one to go to bed. I know for a fact she is on WIC so she gets formula...

Is there a link to something I can print saying how many ounces of formula they need before age 1? I know that cows milk is fine after age 1, but is it ok for her to only have water all day? She is here until about 4pm.

I have a 9 month old here who gets his morning bottle here and then a lunch bottle. By those calculations I would be giving the 11 mo at least 1 cup of milk a day since they leave at about the same time. The 9mo gets here a little earlier than the 11mo...

ETA: I breastfed my children, so formula is new to me

HELP!

Oh and she also has the 11mo forward facing in the carseat (she is 15lbs) but I guess that is another battle *sigh*

Sounds like another example of a young parent?

I would probably ask her at pickup to supply the formula tomorrow. She might put up a fight, but I would mention with a smile that "We do formula here until age ___, then we do milk. The juice is for age ____. I base it on pediatric dietary guidelines."

I would also remind her about the car seat. I cannot stand when people are ignorant like that. It's a safety issue, for cryin' out loud lady! (not you )

This is good, and if I were you, for the sake of this poor kid I would probably tell her that you do formula until 18 months. That child is seriously underweight and probably Failure to Thrive or suffering from malnutrition.

How are her milestones? Where's she at developmentally?

Here is the USDA Infant Meal Pattern http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/care/pro...l_patterns.htm

First of all WIC gives out juice and I had my son on milk when he was 12 months. It is our jobs to watch these children, not be their parents, and if her mother wants her on milk, or juice, I don't feel it is any of my business to do otherwise. I had my son on baby cereal mat 3wks, another no no to modern day drs. Call me old school, but I think all these new guidelines are for the birds! I also never breastfed, and was told if I didnt he would have all kinds of ear infections..hog wash..

My son is now 14 1/2, and never had 1 single ear infection his whole life, and is was off the charts as far as growth goes.

I just dont see how you can override a parents wishes for what they want THEIR child on, unless it is abuse, and giving milk over formula, or juice, is not abuse. Just my opinions..

15 lbs at 11 months is underweight, and the milk issue very well could be a factor. I wouldn't jump to malnourishment on the first day though.

My boys were drinking whole milk at 11 months with my pediatricitions approval, but the amount of juice vs. milk I would want to address. I would just sit down with mom and talk to her.

http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data...l/cj41c018.pdf

Are you part of the food program? Go to the USDA.gov, Food and Nutrition, Child nutrition, Child and Adult Care Food Program then Meal Patterns and your info should be available there. At 11 mo the child should only get 2-4 oz of juice per day and only for snack.

Umm....the 11 month old only weighs 15 lbs?!??! That's absolutely, positively, not okay! The weight is a huge issue, the juice is a huge issue, and only *then* do I think about the car seat issue, which I am normally a gigantic extended RFing advocate, but that's NOTHING compared to a 15 lb 11 month old! That is far, FAR below even 5th percentile! That must be 0th percentile! Please, PLEASE tell me you mistyped that number!

Honestly, given her size and the fact that the mom wants her to have juicy juice (um, ew?) all day long...I would be a bit tempted to call CPS and speak to someone. That is a ridiculously small child who is most likely NOT getting adequate nutrition. I'd say, certainly not getting adequate nutrition. Definitely not getting adequate nutrition. I'm not sure that's really something CPS can intervene on, but I would at least want to make the call.

As for the formula issue, if I were you I would totally blame your state's regulations, "I'm sorry but by law I'm required to give every child under 1 year at least 16 (or 24, or something) fluid ounces of milk while they're here with me. Would you like me to buy the formula for an extra $x per week or would you like to bring it? And then pump that child full of as much nutritive stuff as you can while she's with you. Poor thing.

I was thinking the same thing. My kids were 10lbs at birth so a 15lb one year-old is a huge concern unless there is an underlying medical issue. If you are licensed, I am sure that your state requires a physical exam and shot records right? . Does the pediatrician have any notes on there about this child's weight? I wouldn't call CPS today, but I would definitely discuss with mom. Tell her that you REQUIRE formula for infants under a certain age and that you only make exceptions if you have a doctor's note. Print off something that shows her information for recommeded infant feeding patterns to support your policy.

I can't understand why she would NOT buy formula if she is on WIC.

Sorry, but some kids are just small. Not saying that this child doesn't have issues because of the weird diet the mom has the child on. But my own child was 16 pounds at a year old. Perfectly healthy! I myself was tiny, and completely healthy. This is why I HATE broad statements like this. My children were teeny tiny, but completely healthy, and I would have hated to have people judge me because of it! How judgemental and wrong to call CPS on someone JUST because their children/child is small! That is just stupid!

I know that some kids are just small, BUT, if you look at a growth chart, 15 lbs at 11 months is far, FAR below the lowest percentile line...with is 5th percentile. I KNOW that some kids have to make up the bottom of the percentiles--but as a provider I need to know why the child is so very FAR below normal--if there's an underlying issue, if it's genetics, etc. You being tiny and then your child being tiny--that's fine. As long as there's not an underlying issue.

It would be very alarming to me as a provider--in charge of the child for the majority of their waking hours--to have such a small child PLUS a parent telling me not to give formula and to give instead nutritionally devoid juice. I would bring it up to the parent, definitely. I would also be *thinking* about CPS--just to cover my bases. As providers we are mandated reporters and as far as I know, that includes neglect, too. IMO, not feeding a proper diet/not following up with the doctor on such drastic weight loss in such a short time are both forms of neglect.

We aren't parents, but we are care providers. We are required to provide proper care for these children, and sometimes as providers we are going to be the only ones who know something's not right.

If this mom is on WIC, they will be on top of her child's weight ALL THE TIME-to the point of going overboard. I also had one child of my own that was small, and even with a note from the Dr. saying she was ok, they still got on me about it EVERY TIME I picked up my coupons. WIC really tries to make sure kids are eating what they are supposed to, and mom's need to answer a TON of questions about what their babies eat. She does get juice from WIC, so she's hearing from nurses that it is a healthy option if it's 100% juice. You could let her know you think her child needs more formula, but I certainly don't think her child is being neglected in any way. By 11 months, most of the child's calorie intake should be from solid foods anyhow.

But to jump to, let's call CPS, is a joke. We are here to provide care for the kids, not bring unjust investigations on the parents.

I don't think two pounds of weight loss is that big of a deal. It is quite common when young children go from crawling, to walking/running, that they lose a bit of weight. I could understand it being a concern if it was a significant amount of weight, but two pounds is very minimal.

On the milk issue, without knowing all of the facts, you cannot really assume that the parent is not properly caring for her child. Her pediatrician may very well have recommended or approved the child to move to cows milk. The juice may be to provide additional calories. If the juice is causing the child to not eat, because she is filling up on juice, then that I would be concerned about, but otherwise, if Mom wants to give juice, then that's her choice. That doesn't mean you have to provide/offer it to her at daycare, but I don't think it is neccessarily something to be concerned about.

Now, it is certainly okay to discuss this with Mom, in a non-confrontational way. Let her know, based on your training, that you feel her daughters diet is lacking in some areas and you are a bit concerned about dcg diet and would like to better understand her reasoning for the milk and juice.

On the carseat issue, why not pass out a flyer to all families about proper usage of carseats? This way, it's simply providing information for all of the parents, without seeming accusatory. You may even be able to have the highway patrol come to your program to provide a carseat installation demonstration and they will properly install all of the children's seats in their parents cars. You can do that here, not sure about where you live though.

Don't assume that the weight is a huge problem. My daughter was only 14lbs 14oz at her 12 month appt. She was very small (obviously) and has hypotonia, but no reason was ever found for her extremely low weight. She is now 22 months and just now 20 lbs. Drs are not worried. So, as long as mom has a physical on file and knows that a doctor is aware of her weight and monitoring it, then no reason for daycare provider to be concerned.

Yes, it is a concern that mom is recommending juice all day, but it's more of an 'educating the parent' issue and not a CPS issue. Hopefully OP has a physical on file and knows that a doctor is monitoring.

I agree with what you said about using state regs to indicate how much formula the child needs to be getting.

Is it possible she's still breastfeeding any doesn't want her to have anything else until Mom can nurse her?

I had a drop in 11 mo a couple months ago and when I asked if there was formula in the bag Mom looked shocked and said "no, just feed her regular food and water"... I was like ... ok ...

Then when she picked up I heard Mom say to her "I bet you're dying for a milk cuddle aren't you?"

Also, when I weened my dd at 9 months she wouldn't take formula. Absolutely wouldn't. She wouldn't even take breast milk from a bottle or cup. She got into one of her little friends' bottles with milk in it and just loved it so we put her right on milk at that point. No, it's not the greatest thing int he world for them at that point, I realize that, but as long as she doesn't react badly to it I wouldn't worry. They say in a lot of places between 9-12 months is fine to start introducing cow's milk.

Nvm I just noticed how late I came in lol ... sorry! Off to read the thread lol

After re-reading the original post....is it possible Mom means formula when she says "milk" and is perhaps weining her from formula and only wants her to have water or juice during the day? Just curious, as you didn't say she specifically stated that she doesn't use formula. It seems a parent who is receiving WIC benefits would be educated about proper nutrition. Or, at least they should be, that IS the point of the whole program.

Most likely explanation is that she is not getting enough formula cans to cover the child's needs over the month. This begins to happen around the six to seventh month. There is a surplus of formula during the first six months and too little the last six months.

The Mom is either keeping the formula to use when she has the baby (it's easy and it is filling to the baby) and doesn't want to spend money to buy the cans to cover her during day care OR

she's switched her to milk and is selling the formula. If the baby has had a period of months with milk instead of formula she may have pernicious anemia. It's important to find out exactly WHAT she is drinking and how much. At her age, tall stature, and low low weight she should definitely still be on formula and her diet needs to be planned accordingly to make sure she is getting the upper limits of the ranges of each food group as long as she will take them (poster says she eats well).

If she is getting WIC she is getting formula until and thru the month of the first birthday. The only exception would be a breast feeding Mom who is taking the WIC food for the Mom instead of the formula. If she is doing this then she needs to supply the breast milk.

Either way it's breast milk or formula for the next five weeks at least. An extension on the formula could take her into month twelve thru fifteen. If she attended here I would ask the Mom to ask for the extension now and if WIC didn't provide or couldn't provide due to budget constraints then I would offer to purchase it myself with a Dr's reccommendation. It would be worth it to me to make sure she got the most caloric dense foods and liquids until her weight came at least within twenty percent or so of her height.

This is really getting out of hand...nobody said this baby has lost weight...now people are accusing the mother of selling her formula for money..that she doesnt have any money for formula so she is replacing it with juice..Since when is juice POSION?? The OP is asking her clients friends question about their financial status...I mean come on, some of you are crucifying this Mom!! I can't believe stuff like this goes on! I am soo glad I never had to use a DCP, because I would hate to think that the person I was PAYING to watch my son, was controling what he ate & drank without knowing OUR BACKGROUND and disregarding MY RULES for MY OWN CHILD. Serously, who do you think you are? How many of you follow the recommedations for oyurselves? Who drinks 8 full glasses of water per day, 3 servings of veggies per day etc etc..Most of you have stated that you are even to busy to eat linch, an dyet you want this mom to follow everything precisely the way govt suggests??? My son was a VEY PICKY EATER and still do this day will not eat veggies or meat. He is extremely healthy. Just because th s kid is getting juice and milk does not mean this mom should be reported! Get off you high horses and mind your own business. You are being paid to watch their kids, not be their nutritionist and certainky not to judge someone else who does things differently than you would. I had my son on a sippy cup at 7 months...I'm sure if he had gone to you, you probably would have poured his drink into a baby bottle because YOU didnt agree! You are not the parents of these kids and I really think you ar eover stepping your boundaries. If I was that mother, I would drop you as my DCP immediatley!