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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>What Are Your Meal Time Rules
WImom 04:36 AM 09-02-2011
What rules do you have at meal time regarding eating, manners, leaving the table, etc? Also what are your dc kids ages?
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pixsydust 04:50 AM 09-02-2011
My two biggest rules are they have to sit on their fannies in the chair instead of their legs or feet and if they get down from the chair during meal times they are finished (except potty breaks). The kids would use any excuse to get down before I started the last rule. Meal times would take forever if I let them continue to get down. Of course the normal rules also--chew with your mouth closed, no yelling at the table, no banging silverware,etc.
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AnneCordelia 04:55 AM 09-02-2011
Well, all my babies are strapped in, lol. I have 2 3yos though and the rules are:

1. No talking with your mouth full
2. No saying "I don't like this." We say "Thank you Emily but I don't care for this." I just got sick to death of hearing "I don't like" and so I banned it. Parents tell me all the time that they get compliments on their children saying "Thank you but I don't care for this." LOL!!!
3. You must ask to be excused but not until everyone is done their 'firsts'. Also ask to be excused to use the restroom.
4. If you make a mess of your meal or throw food then you are finished eating and go to nap.

I don't have any rules about what you must eat or anything. Eat what you like; food won't be served again until snacktime.
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countrymom 05:05 AM 09-02-2011
def. no potty talk
you sit in a chair
you use your manners
"I don't like this" don't work here either
when your done, you bring your plate into the kitchen sink (I get alot of parents saying there kids do this at home)
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pixsydust 05:55 AM 09-02-2011
Definitely no "I don't like this" here either. It starts a chain reaction then all of a sudden the kids that loved what is served don't like it either.
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Preschool/daycare teacher 08:51 PM 09-02-2011
Maybe I'm too strict. Here is what I expect from our 3-5 yr olds (and schoolage):
*They sit in their chairs at the table until everyone is finished and dismissed,
*If they do get up (and if I know they remembered they have to wait to be dismissed, but did it anyway, and then won't come back to the table when reminded) they still have to come back to the table but if they ask for seconds on food, I tell them, "by getting up, you showed me you were finished eating".
*They may not say, "I don't like that". They don't have to eat it, but they can't say they don't like it.
*Due to Food Program: "It has to be on your plate, but you don't have to eat it."
*No seconds until at least one other food is finished and we have finished passing out firsts.
*When dismissed they take their plates and cups to the kitchen and dump out un-eaten food in the trash. (it's messy, but the benefits to them and us both outweigh it )

Wow, I sound really mean... Maybe they're not too far off when they tell me I am...
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GretasLittleFriends 11:42 AM 09-03-2011
*No talking with your mouth full.
*Use your silverware when appropriate.
*Ask for an item to be passed (do not reach).
*Remember please and thank you.
*Stay seated on the chair on your rear.
*Sample one bite of each thing on your plate. (Be polite, take a bite.)
*Ask to be excused from the table. (Whether finished or bathroom break.)
*After being excused from the table, they take their dirty dishes to the counter by the sink, stopping by the trash can if necessary.
*Go wash their hands and face after lunch (unless they're little then I wipe them).
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Hunni Bee 06:43 PM 09-03-2011
*If you don't like it, dont eat it. (My kids can chant this by heart). It has to go on your plate, but you dont have to eat it. No "ewww" or "I don't like this" allowed.
*You have to clean your plate mostly to get seconds.
*Finish chewing your food before you talk.
*If you play with it, it goes away.

*Only meal-appropriate topics allowed (somehow lunch is usually when the puke/bathroom/butt conversations come up)
*Clean up the table and floor around you and yourself when you finish.

By the way, I have three to five year olds. Mealtime rules are non-negotiable for me.
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Solandia 06:51 PM 09-03-2011
My normal kids are all under 3yo, with an very occasional 4 or 5yo.

*talk calmly (no goofing/ being silly at the table. We don't need a reason to choke on our food)

*Don't like it, don't eat it. (No complaining. I make an effort to have a least one item that everyone will eat. No substitutions)

*Swallow your food before leaving the table.

*If you leave the table, you are done. We do diapers/potty right before lunch, so there is no potty excuse.

Anything else isn't all that strict. They can leave the table when they are done,naptime is straight from lunch. So eating fast or wanting to leave the table just means you go to nap earlier. The napping area is essentially in the same room as the kitchen (open floor plan), it works well this way.
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nannyde 07:25 PM 09-03-2011
Everyone sits together at our kiddie table. Anybody that doesn't want to eat is welcome to go play. I don't care whether they eat or not. They can have as much as they want. If they don't like what we are having I have extra single serving sizes of previous lunches I can nuke for them. I don't mind nuking a different stew for them if they don't like a new concoction I have come up with. I rarely have to do this.

They all get desert which is usually some stewed fruit or fruit sauce and home made bread. They can have seconds on that too.

NO drama at lunch. My kids are starving by lunch and they all eat a ton and love the food. I don't have any picky eaters or kids who act up at the table.

Mealtime is my fave part of the day........... second only to nap time of course. I love feeding kids.
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Crazy8 07:27 PM 09-03-2011
mine are usually 3 and under, with the occasional 4/5 year old. I have never even had to really give them "rules". They all sit no problem when I say its lunch time. They bring their lunch from home so I've never really heard an "I don't like this" from them. If they finish they can get up, go to the bathroom if they are trained, and then come back and sit on their mat till everyone else is done. When everyone is on their mats I read a quick story and then its nap time.
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Unregistered 06:04 PM 09-05-2011
Sit on your bottom all the way in the chair
you may talk quietly while eating
use your fork/spoon
try everything on your plate
dont ask for seconds until you've eaten some of everything
let me know when you're done so you can get a wipe for your hands and mouth
dont get up from the table until you are dismissed (unless you ask to go potty)
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daycare 04:30 PM 09-06-2011
Originally Posted by GretasLittleFriends:
*No talking with your mouth full.
*Use your silverware when appropriate.
*Ask for an item to be passed (do not reach).
*Remember please and thank you.
*Stay seated on the chair on your rear.
*Sample one bite of each thing on your plate. (Be polite, take a bite.)
*Ask to be excused from the table. (Whether finished or bathroom break.)
*After being excused from the table, they take their dirty dishes to the counter by the sink, stopping by the trash can if necessary.
*Go wash their hands and face after lunch (unless they're little then I wipe them).
mine is exactly the same as this!
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Sugar Magnolia 05:41 PM 09-06-2011
Haven't had time to read all the posts, probably a big repeat, but here's my list. In order of importance. I don't provide food, they bring their own.
For kids:
1. If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it. Please tell mommy you don't like it, not me.
2. You will stay in your seat until you are excused or I will assume you are done and your place is cleared.
3. Do not touch other kids or their food while they are eating. No sharing/trading food.
4. Messes made on purpose means you are done. Accidents happen and that's ok.

For parents:
No candy, no soda, no "red" (Hawaiian punch, Koolaid, gatorade, or anything in commercial packaging really). Real fruit juices or milk or water ONLY. No chocolate milk. Must contain a protein, fruit or vegetable, grain and dairy. I tell parents: if it has a logo on it, I'd rather not serve it. Absolutely, positively never ever "I forgot his lunch so I will swing by with a Happy Meal at lunchtime'. (We are 1 block from McDonalds and Taco Bell) Substitute lunches available IN AN EMERGENCY but you must replace my stockpile.

What I will and won't do:
I will heat something in the microwave, I will not COOK something in the microwave (this stops frozen TV dinners) I will assist toddlers with eating, but I won't spoon feed them their entire meal. To enroll, a child must be able to self feed to some extent. I will allow a child to not eat, I will not give them a substitute lunch simply because they refuse to eat what their parent provided.
I will let your toddler self feed themselves spaghetti, yogurt, applesauce and I will put a bib on if you provide it. I will NOT try to keep Toddler Susie's little cute white dress clean if you choose to send Little Susie to school with spaghetti. I will not bathe little Susie if she puts said spaghetti on her head either! She will be wiped down. In other words: put messy in lunch box, receive messy child at pick up. Or send a bib, and that's no guarantee.

Personally, I know how important nutrition is, but I am not the Nutrition Police. I do enforce the protein, dairy, fruit or veggie, grain, because if I get inspected during meal time, I will get dinged if every child doesn't have a complete meal. However, if they choose a canned fruit over a fresh fruit, I'm not going to comment on that. These parents know what their child likes, the guidelines and what I will and won't allow. Beyond that, its up to the parents.
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wdmmom 06:04 AM 09-07-2011
I serve the food on school lunch style trays once they are all seated.

Kids must remain seated during mealtime.

They must say they are done. The tray will be taken away and they will be washed up. They are then allowed to leave the table.

While other children are eating, they must play quietly.

I try to do all bathroom breaks before and after mealtime and not during but sometimes you can't avoid it.

I also ask that they try everything on their tray. My kids are usually good eaters although I have one that will NOT eat any kind of fruit whatsoever!
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Blackcat31 07:07 AM 09-07-2011
Sit on your bum
If you get up, you are done
You get what you get and you don't have a fit
Use your manners and your silverware
No drink until half way through your meal
No seconds until plate is mostly clean (dependant on each individual child)
Everything goes on the plate; eat what you want
Bus yourself and area when you are done (I am not your waitress..I don't get tips)
Wipe yourself up

Go play if you choose not to eat

My kids are 14 months to 4 years. All sit at the table and follow the same rules
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Tags:meal time, meal time - rules, rules
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