I have a child in my care who has been recently diagnosed as being tongue tied. Her parents have been advised to wait it out to see if it streches on it's own. The parent's put food in her bottle at home, but the daycare where i am working refuses to do this for her, they insist it will make her "stuck on the bottle".
We can get her to eat about 1/2 a jar of food at a time before she get tired and begins to cry and scream for her bottle. She should be getting 3 jars of food a day when she is with us and she is only getting 1 to 1 1/2 jars.
Can anyone suggest methods to help her eat? The method they are using now consists of holding her hands down and forcing the spoon into her mouth while she is screaming. Every part of me knows this is wrong, but i am up against a wall as the director is in agreement with the teacher. and when I try to work with her she is taken away from me.
Does the mom know this is happening? She definitely needs to know. I don't have experience with toungue tied babies, but if this was my child I wouldn't want anyone forcing food down her throat like that. It sounds horrible. I know you are not at fault and are only trying to help. I think the best thing to do is let the parents know this is happening.
my 3 year old had a very tight tongue tie that he recently had clipped and it gave him no problem with spoon feeding it did cause difficulty with more solid foods because he would pocket the food in his cheeks and not be able to get it out and he would also get stuff stuck on the roof of his mouth. I don't see what is so wrong with only eating a jar/ jar and a half. Under the age of one food is just to experiment with and formula or breastmilk should be the main source of nutrition.
I do however disagree w/ your employers method and think that the parents should be notified. If I found out someone was forcing my child to eat they would no longer be going there.
The day care is ridiculous. They should be doing what is best for feeding a child with a physical difficulty, not trying to push it's own standards on keeping it "stuck" on the bottle. The parents need to know what is going on, so they can talk to the director, and have a chance to remove the child from their abusive ideals.
Are the parents being told and if not WHY NOT!
They did that to my child they would be in court!
Tell the parents what you are seeing and what you are trying to do. As a mother, I would want to know that my child is screaming through every meal at the place that is supposed to be caring for her. Also, encourage the parents to get something in writing from the doctor that states how meal time should go. If the center is not willing to abide by doctor's advice, then they are hopeless and it's time for you to decide if you can continue to work in a place like that. Good luck!
Speak with the parents before trying this, but it should work. It will take a long time to feed her, but less traumatic for everyone.
Scoop up small amounts of pureed food on the pad of your pinkie finger (gloved, of course) and then put your finger in her mouth, with the pad side up, toward the roof. She should be able to swallow fairly easily and maybe get more down.
Bless you for your efforts.
I would certainly let the parent know how they are going about feeding her. The parent has a right to know that they are practically torturing this child and that are probably creating food issues for this poor child in the future.
My own baby, though not tongue tied, started not liking baby food at around 8 months. I could not get more than one baby food jar in her a day. She went from the 60% to the 30% in weight. So I started giving her more table food. She was much happier and started gaining weight again. There are still days where she does not consume a lot of food but since overall she is eating more, I am not so worried.
A daycare should mimick what is happening at home. This child is not a good fit if the teacher and director have such strong opposing opinions how how to raise this child from the parents.
If there were my child and I found out about it I would be beyond angry!
It's not up to the teacher how the child is fed. Do the parents know this is happening? Are you on good terms with the parents? Is there anyway you could let it slip or prompt them to ask the teacher/ director what is going on?
Have those that are forcing her to eat this way consulted a doctor? Are they 100% sure they are not doing more harm?
That poor little baby! I hope she is not in pain. Good luck.
anxious to see the answers, what has her dr. stated the best way to feed her or maybe suggest a specialist (dietician)
The parents should be able to get a note from the doctor to allow the daycare to feed her food from a bottle. Do the parents know that this is how they are feeding the baby? That is only going to cause long term issues with eating habbits if you force the child to eat like that. We had feeding issues with my son when he was that age and the last thing you want to do is force feed. If there is anyway to get the baby to take the food comfortably (bottle) then you need to do that and I am sure the doctor would agree. You should suggest that the parents get that note and if the daycare still refuses to feed the child the way the parents wish them to then they need to find a new daycare. Hope this helps!
I think you are up against a wall with your employer. I'd take the mom aside and ask if maybe her Dr. could give her a letter stating that the bottle feeding is safe for her. Whoever gave her the diagnosis of "tongue tied" should provide guidelines on what to do or not do. This isn't the daycare's call, but I'm sure they're worried about liability in case she chokes or something.
