CM: evening meals?

[PaulaMummyKnowsBest]

If you work as a childminder, what time do you "finish work" and do you provide an evening meal for any of the children? If so, what type of thing do you give them?

Do you feed your own children at the same time or do you eat with your own children once all of the minded children have left?

finish work at 5.30 twice a week

the parents provide meals for their children

mine eat after they've left

Close at 6pm except Friday
Tea at 4:30 - DD eats then & then again at about 8 after class DH & I decide whether to eat early or late depending upon meal/hunger etc

Finish at 6pm.

My children eat with the mindees at 5.15pm. Usual meals, spag bol, cottage pie, lasagne, pizza, roast dinner, jacket pots, pasta etc

I eat with DH when he gets in at 7pm and we eat as a family at the weekends.

Finish at 6, we all eat together at 5

Ditto NickNacks

We finish at the latest 6.45ish. The children eat at 4.30. My daughter who is 14 eats about 5 - 5:30ish. We eat mostly after the children have gone home or sometimes with the minded children. depending on who we have in.

We cook spag bog, sausage and mash, shepards pie, risotto, curry, Jack pots to name a few. We cater for dietary requirements ie vegitarian, religious etc.

We have a 3 week rota so it doesn't get too boring.

Afternoon snack. Finish at 6pm. Everyone eats at home with their own families.

Used to do tea, but then some wanted it and others didn't and couldn't have children eating in front of hungry children.I also like DD to eat with us as a family.

I dont do evening meals for the childminded children. My parents seem to like eating their meal with their children, so I give a snack (crackers, cheese, cucumber, buscuits or cake on birthdays) to all the children at 4pm, and if theyre still hungry theres always the fruit bowl!!

I finish at 6.15.

Oh and my boys being that bit older at 10 & 13 eat with DH and I at 7pm ish

6pm finish. Some parents provide snacks for their kids. I provide snack for some. My kids tend to have snacks around the same time.

We Usually have dinner later.

Due to busy schedule and varying taste buds I do not provide dinner for the cm kids.

Finish at 5:30.

Kids have dinner at 4:30.

It is a light dinner as they have their main hot meal and pudding at lunch time. Sandwiches, wraps, frittatas, quesadillas, pizza. I also serve salad type things with it, cherry tomatoes, cucumber etc.

No children of my own unless you count DP (who is a big baby sometimes), we eat our meal around 6:30-7pm.

I finish at 6 normally but also do lates and overnights. Dinner can be anything from beans on toast if we have gone out after school and are short of time, right up to 3 course meals that the children plan. We include international foods - sushi, chinese, sadsa, anything we fancy or that our conversations have inspired. We have so much variety that I sometimes have to make a point of remembering to include the odd fish finger which acts as a comfort food for the fussy eaters. Children quickly adjust from being fussy to being selective to being open to new tastes. It doesn't cost a bomb as I'm always looking for bargains and make good use of our freezer.

I used to provide evening meals and then the parents started arriving later than 6 (when I close except on fridays). I now close at 5.30 and provide light snacks such as toast, cereal, fruit, cheese biscuits and drinks of milk or water.

I feel I don't earn enough to provide meals either and children should really eat in their own home with their own family and wind down at home.