PSA: Don't send you kids to playgroup with chometz

Ema of 5

Mon, Mar 27 2023, 4:56 pm

amother OP wrote:

Let's first establish if telling parents not to come with chametz for 4 days is an unreasonable policy!
I personally don't think so! Kids can have chametz for breakfast and supper. They usually spend 6h at most in a playgroup(home based). They won't be hungry if they get yogurt, cheese, applesauce fruits and vegetables ! They can even have rice cakes!
I'm not even understanding why this thread is 5 pages long.
You would give up having a good morah all year long because she has a policy not to bring chametz the 4 days before pesach break? Scratching Head

(BTW I do not have that policy in my playgroup! my Op was only about holding chametz in the morning!)

It depends when you tell them, and it depends what you are referring to.
If you tell them from the beginning, or even better if you tell them as soon as they sign up, that’s fine. If you spring it on them right before pesach then it’s not ok.
If you mean don’t walk in with chametz in their hands, that’s fine. If you mean don’t send any chametz at all in their lunch, that’s not ok.
You don’t get to decide what toddlers will or won’t eat. They and their parents decide that. Some are super picky. Some have allergies. Some have other issues.

socialbutterfly

Mon, Mar 27 2023, 5:02 pm

I think this is weird. Most playgroups are in one or two specific rooms of a house. If the kids eat at tables or in high chairs and don’t walk around with their food, it really shouldn’t be very difficult to clean up just that room before pesach. Especially if she does a general cleaning a week before. Just run the vacuum, mop, clean surfaces after the last day of playgroup.

amother

Tanzanite

Mon, Mar 27 2023, 5:04 pm

As a Morah myself I think parents should be more mindful what they’re sending with their kids. One kid brought a bag of yellow croutons and obviously and some point the whole bag was all over the floor. Keeping him at the table is not so simple for those parents saying it is. They run so quickly and you can’t sit next to them for 30min while they sit there chewing, there are other kids in the grp too. Another kid brought a full bag of Cheerios, most kids can’t finish the whole thing plain, so it just ends up on the floor. Pasta doesn’t make as big of a mess than all those small chametz snacks that parents are trying to get rid of before Pesach.

amother

Mon, Mar 27 2023, 5:05 pm

Ema of 5 wrote:

I'm sure that if a child would have a serious issue with this policy, as in the case of allergies, the morah wouldn't let the kid go hungry and either make a exception or find something that child can eat! It's not a reason to let 10 toddlers eat chametz for lunch!

amother

Brunette

Mon, Mar 27 2023, 5:08 pm

amother Mintgreen wrote:

If a Morah has mental health issues that cause her to make unreasonable policies, then I'm sorry to say, it's time for Morah to give up her job.
No employer would put up with unreasonable boundaries because someone has mental health issues.

Perhaps not everyone sees it as unreasonable.
Perhaps morahs have the upper hand here as there is a playgroup shortage and always avaliable clientele.
Either way morahs do quit because of burnout, so mental health is a real issue.

Ema of 5

Mon, Mar 27 2023, 5:09 pm

amother OP wrote:

I thought your issue was coming in with chametz, not sending chametz for lunch? I’m sorry, but I’m in the camp of “don’t make me add more pesach for my kids.”
10 toddlers in a confined space shouldn’t really be a big deal to clean up from. I worked in a playgroup with 15 kids, and cleaning for pesach wasn’t really a big deal because we made sure they are in a small area.

amother

Mon, Mar 27 2023, 5:09 pm

amother Tanzanite wrote:

This! I think that most ppl can't imagine the extent of the problem, we're talking about! They don't realize that something unconvenient multiplied by 10 becomes a big problem!
Most playgroup morahs have no problem understanding that it's not so easy to control where the kids are eating!

amother

Brunette

Mon, Mar 27 2023, 5:12 pm

amother OP wrote:

This! I think that most ppl can't imagine the extent of the problem, we're talking about! They don't realize that something unconvenient multiplied by 10 becomes a big problem!

This
Every parent thinks it's just their own one child, what's the big deal.

amother

Mintgreen

Mon, Mar 27 2023, 5:21 pm

amother Tanzanite wrote:

I agree with this, but instead of morah saying no chometz at all, morah can say no to certain foods that create a bigger mess and are hard to clean. I think that is reasonable. Morah can also have designated snack time so all kids eat together instead of everyone eating whenever they want to.

amother

Mintgreen

Mon, Mar 27 2023, 5:23 pm

amother OP wrote:

Why isn't it easy for morah to control where kids are eating? Kids know by now that they eat at the table. That's what they're used to. Kids shouldn't be eating anywhere besides at the table year round. Nothing to do with pesach. You can even spread a large plastic under the table for easier cleanup.

amother

Brunette

Mon, Mar 27 2023, 7:18 pm

amother Mintgreen wrote:

Is your family not eating any chometz this week either?
It is 1O days to Peach.

My family is not a dozen toddlers walking around with oatmeal in their hair and stuck down their shirts, noodles smashed at the bottoms of their shoes, and peanut butter sandwich shmeared hands and face.

This Morah bans certain foods all year round in my playgroup room because the mess cannot be contained or cleaned properly without a bathtub. Like a chocolate covered granola bar held by one toddler who is sitting in a high chair. Disaster. I am taking care of children, not granola bars.

If you're interested though, we don't have much chametz here. I stopped buying chametz snacks and dinner options are mostly not chametz.

amother

Mintgreen

Mon, Mar 27 2023, 7:33 pm

amother Brunette wrote:

Are your playgroup charges really walking around like this? Why?

amother

Brown

Mon, Mar 27 2023, 11:42 pm

Parents, it's common sense not to send your child into playgroup with food in their hands! Even when it's not erev pesach it's frustrating. The other kids get jealous, they also want to eat now like yossi is. And I have to stop playing with the kids and clean them up before they can join the group and play. It's not eating time, a toddler can wait for his/her snacks. The parents just can't be bothered with tantrums just before they need to be at work but they're your responsibility before they get to my house so do your bit, and use your common sense.
Thank you!

amother

Brunette

Tue, Mar 28 2023, 6:10 am

amother Brown wrote:

Besides why do toddlers need bbq bissli at 9 AM? They come to me and I feed them a good breakfast snack almost right away.

amother

Mintgreen

Tue, Mar 28 2023, 6:13 am

amother Brown wrote:

I agree, this is a reasonable policy. Don't send kids with food in their hands. This is reasonable.
No chometz at all for lunch, is not reasonable.