I am in a bind with their diet

So I am all gung ho about expanding/changing their diet because we've noticed they fill up on crackers and eat nothing else. However, I've been reviewing their my day sheets from daycare and at lunch, Henry ate "some" the main dish, no fruit/no veggies. Jacob ate nothing. So I reviewed more my day sheets from last week and except for spaghetti day, they almost always ate next to nothing for lunch at daycare. This means that when I pick them up, they are starving and get very upset if they have to wait for dinner. Daycare's policy is to offer the food but not force them to eat. I understand that because you can't force a toddler to do anything. Has anyone been in this situation? Does anyone have any ideas about how to change this? If I give them a snack at pick up, they won't eat dinner.

 

could the daycare offer them a snack before pick up? more in the middle of the afternoon? my girls usually get a snack around 3:00pm, shortly after their nap & are still usually ready for dinner around 5:00pm - 5:30pm.

 

They have snack at 3pm but start fussing for something when i pick up at 4.

 

Mine also don't eat much at school. I give them both a sippy of milk as soon as we walk in the door. That fills them up enough until dinner time and I push dinner back a little bit and they do eat.

 

My girls do the same thing. They have a snack at daycare around 2:45 and are starving when they get home at 5. Their daycare report cards typically state that they ate "some" of their lunch. When we get home, I usually give them a cheese stick and a cup of diluted juice. That holds them until dinner a half hour or so later.

 

My guys generally eat quite a bit during the day (at home with the nanny) and get a snack around 3pm, but they are *still* starving when DH gets home at 5, so he often gives them a 3rd snack. This is usually something small, like some apple slices, a few crackers or even a cookie, and this will tide them over until dinner (usually 6-6:30). :good: They still eat like lumberjacks at dinner even when they've had a snack less than an hour before!

 

Tonight I gave them 1/2 a rice cake each (don't ask, they like them) at 430 and they ate like champs at dinner. I am reworking my dinner routine because of eating issues with been having with them. I am trying to get them eating well and consistently by 2 because everything I've read says that after 2, it is impossible to get them to eat new food. I also talked with daycare and I think they are forging the my day sheets. She said they actually eat very well at lunch and she was surprised at what the my days said. Now I will wait a couple of days and talk to them about trying to give me an accurate reflection of their day.

I am honestly considering a nanny because of the eating issue. I know it sounds strange but I think if they had 1 on 1 attention for meals, they would eat more consistently during the week like they do on weekends.

 

Is this a lunch that the daycare provides or that you provide? If the daycare is providing the lunches, is it possible to send in lunches for them? I know mine are pickier eaters and I couldn't get the hot lunches for them b/c I knew they wouldn't eat it.

 

We are not allowed to send in food without a doctor's note. I have considered asking my pedi to write me a note to allow me to send in lunches but I dont want to push it.