Scenario: Energy Drinks To Toddlers

[Kara Mckerihan]

Does anyone have any ideas on how to handle this situation??

You have been placed in the Toddler room today, and a child has come with a Mother can of energy drink in their lunch box. You don’t believe this is right, though the mother has provided this for the child as a part of their lunch. We all have our own personal beliefs and values though you must abide by what the parents have asked. Discuss how you would handle this situation below??

- I personally wouldn't give energy drinks to children, so i would try and communicate with the parent to maybe substitute the energy drink with water, juice etc but if we can't come to an agreement then I would have to abide by the parents decision to give the child the drink. Unless stated in the policy's and procedures of the centre.
Would this be the right thing to do??

[Lorina]

In your centres policies it may state that only water and milk will be given to the children at the centre. Juice, cordial, soft drinks, energy drinks will most probably be banned from the centre as this doesn't promote a child's health and they are also cause of tooth decay and problems for children. The energy drink would probably have to be removed from the child's lunch and replaced with water which is a suitable substitute. You could provide information on the negative effect energy drinks has on a child as well as a copy of the centres nutrition policy which states that these types of drinks will not be given to children at the centre.

Even though the parent wants us to do something for the child (such as giving energy drinks) if it's not allowed in the policy or procedure then we must follow it rather than do what the parents want... It's part of the policies and procedures for a reason...

,
Lorina