It shouldn't be so hard

"Little Timmy is really enjoying Little Johnny's snacks of Goldfish, bananas, graham crackers, whatever. Could you be sure to pack those in this lunch? Or, Little Johnny's mom would be happy to shop for both kids, if you will contribute $10 a week so they can have the same thing."

Or Host Mom can email that directly to the other mom. Don't the families talk to each other or have some kind of relationship?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never 3!! How fricking cruel to put your nanny in the position to deny a little kid food!

The drama! No kid is going to die if s/he doesn’t get a snack. Heck, a kid won’t even go hungry if s/he misses a snack. Stop being so dramatic, please!

NP here and do you want to be the caregiver dealing with a crying toddler who doesn't understand why the other kid gets to eat but he doesn't? Have you ever been around very little kids?

Did you read the OP? Telling the nanny the snacks were off-limits was suggested as a means to get nanny to tell other family to provide snacks. If one kid doesn’t have snacks, the host family kid could go without snacks (which is what I would do as the nanny - not feed one in front of the other. But that didn’t occur to you, did it?).

I also have young kids. Yes, they sometimes get upset if they don’t get what they want, but our job as adults is to teach them that they don’t always get their way. At least, that’s what I’m doing with my children.

Some children need snacks, Einstein. A healthy snack between breakfast and lunch and another between lunch and dinner is the healthiest way to eat for a growing child. The hose child should not have to go without a healthy snack if he/she needs it.

Do you really let your poor children cry when they are hungry? I feel so sorry for them.

Thanks, Einstein. Attacking someone else’s children, yet you feel badly for me and my family? I think you should worry more about your bad attitude and less about my kids.

Who set up the share? Did the parents set it up and hire the nanny together, or did the second family join and arrange everything through the nanny?

If it's the first, then OP should reach out to the other parents. If it's the second, then OP should tell the nanny that snacks are not included in her hosting duties, and the nanny should discuss this with the other family.

There are several options:
1) Family B can pay some small fee for snacks.
2) Family B can send their own snacks along with their child's lunch.
3) Family A and Family B can work out a snack rotation.
4) Family A and Family B can decide to go to a "shared food" model now or in the near future, with the nanny fixing both lunches and snacks, and a procedure for buying the food and divvying up the cost.

I could see how this would be annoying. My kid is a snacked and I always have fresh and wholesome snacks. It takes time and money to buy, wash, and chop fruit. Pre-packaged things like applesauce are convenient but expensive. The little fresh cheddar cheese snacks are expensive. I just paid $5 for a pack of blueberries that my kid ate in one sitting. I would not want to be sharing with another kid. Let the other family know their kid enjoys similar snacks and tell them to provide.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is this such a thing? Just let the other mom know that her kid has started wanting snacks during the day and ask her to send whatever snacks she wants her kid to eat along with her regular food. An additional concern other than the cost is that the other mom may not want her kid snacking at all or having the snacks the nanny is giving her but is completely unaware her kid is getting this food.

+1. Really, I think it’s the nanny’s responsibility to let the parents know the kids are snacking and ask them to provide food (otherwise, without OP happening to be home, how would either parent ever know?). But, since nanny isn’t following through, just talk to the other mom and ask her to provide snacks. No, it isn’t your responsibility to finance the snacks. But the adults could agree to alternate weeks/keep a tab to ensure that the kids are eating the same thing, if you so desire.

+1 Plus, I would want to know what my child is eating.

Im a nanny and if A wants some of B’s food, I tell her no. Now, she’s sneaky, so sometimes I turn around and she is snacking on B’s Cheerios but I talk to her and let her know that this is B’s food and then I’ll get her a snack (but most time she’s just being greedy- if you allow her to eat and eat she will eat and eat and never say no. She’s 19 months). I then told the mom the she really likes Cheerios and always taking B’s, so the mom went out and bought a big box for both A and B to share.

I definitely think it’s important to make sure parents are okay with their child eating certain food. I would ask the nanny to inform the other parent (if you and the family are not friends) that her child really likes cheese, do you mind bringing some for her to have here? I can see how it may bother you because that stuff adds up.

Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never 3!! How fricking cruel to put your nanny in the position to deny a little kid food!

The drama! No kid is going to die if s/he doesn’t get a snack. Heck, a kid won’t even go hungry if s/he misses a snack. Stop being so dramatic, please!

NP here and do you want to be the caregiver dealing with a crying toddler who doesn't understand why the other kid gets to eat but he doesn't? Have you ever been around very little kids?

Did you read the OP? Telling the nanny the snacks were off-limits was suggested as a means to get nanny to tell other family to provide snacks. If one kid doesn’t have snacks, the host family kid could go without snacks (which is what I would do as the nanny - not feed one in front of the other. But that didn’t occur to you, did it?).

I also have young kids. Yes, they sometimes get upset if they don’t get what they want, but our job as adults is to teach them that they don’t always get their way. At least, that’s what I’m doing with my children.

Some children need snacks, Einstein. A healthy snack between breakfast and lunch and another between lunch and dinner is the healthiest way to eat for a growing child. The hose child should not have to go without a healthy snack if he/she needs it.

Do you really let your poor children cry when they are hungry? I feel so sorry for them.

Mention something about sharing snacks. Ask the other mom what her kid likes as snacks. If they don't offer to reciprocate, then you may have bigger problems... but don't make it the nanny's problem - you and the other family should figure that out.