My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Find nursery advice from other Mumsnetters on our Nursery forum.

Nurseries

Nursery won't supply meals under 12 months

53 replies

Muminthewoods19 · 08/10/2019 05:53

I will be going back to work when my little boy is 9 months and the nursery do not provide food or drink for under 12 months, I have to prepare and take all food and drink for him each day.

Is this normal policy or should I look for another nursery?

Not sure how I am going to prepare all his meals for the day and go to work and also catch up on work hours (I will have to leave work early to get back to pick him up so need to make up 2 hours WFH whilst he's asleep).

He's exclusively breastfed and won't take a bottle so I had planned to breastfeed him before and after nursery and to feed him solids and water at Nursery, we are doing baby led weaning, and I had hoped I could to check the menu and they could give him what the other children were having as long as he had tried it at home. However they will only do this from 1 and I need to provide all food and drink and instructions on when to give it to him.

Any ideas for easy but nutritious food I can prepare for him each morning? I am also trying to get him to take milk from a sippy cup.

Just feel evil right now as if I had taken the year off work this wouldn't be an issue but we couldn't afford it. Sorry for the essay.

OP posts:
Report
Jent13c · 08/10/2019 06:02

My little boy went to nursery at that age and food was provided. He didnt settle overly well but always ate his meals! I wouldnt have chosen somewhere that I had to send meals to be honest.


I bf before and after nursery (and all through the night Confused) and gave him a sippy cup with 3 little cartons of ready made formula. He usually drank 1 a day and then was just drinking cows milk with meals from a year so the cost was minimal. He bf as normal on days off (I work 3/4 12 hour shifts a week) until 17 months

Report
Muminthewoods19 · 08/10/2019 06:11

Yes regretting choice of nursery now, we put down a deposit for his place when I was 6vmonths pregnant and my first two choices were fully booked....... They do have a good rating and everyone seems nice but just not sure how to deal with preparing all his food daily.

OP posts:
Report
Smashtastick · 08/10/2019 06:17

Prepare it in advance?

Surely you are cooking for you everyday anyway?

He is 9moso can have pretty much anything. Pasta and cheese and pesto for lunch. A banana, porridge for breakfast, some cooked veg for afternoon snack and whatever you had the night before for dinner?

Mine had what we had. Made us all healthier as I was forced to watch the salt and sugar content of all our meals.

Don't overthink it. There plenty that can be made an frozen in advance too

Report
Ylvamoon · 08/10/2019 06:18

Batch cooking? Freezing in ice cube tray and taking out in the morning? Should be defrosted quickly for him to have at nursery. Surely, they can heat things up.
Or finger food - really takes no time to prepare...

Report
Thegracefuloctopus · 08/10/2019 06:20

Can you offer to pay a fee for them to give him the food they prepare if it's a cost thing? Or are they just being awkward because he's so young?! I sent my DS at 9 months and they didn't ask us to provide food. Maybe it's because you have said "as long as we have tried it at home". That's quite difficult for them to stick to as they won't know what you've given him.
Did you know this when you signed up for the nursery or have they sprung it on you?
That will be a massive faff and I've never heard of it before, I would be sending him elsewhere if you can

Report
bellajay · 08/10/2019 06:22

I think if you do go ahead just keep it as simple as possible. Things that require minimal preparation and the same meals all week. Eg if it were me I’d send a little tub of dry cereal and a banana for breakfast, a sandwich and some veg sticks for lunch and some cheesy pasta for tea that I’d cooked a big portion of at the weekend. All of it can be prepped in advance. Yes ideally you might want a bit more variation but this is only for three months and it’s only weekdays. Grand scheme of things, repeated meals are not remotely a problem.

Also (sorry if this over steps) please don’t forget decisions around meals and preparation of meals doesn’t all have to be on you, even if the baby’s dad doesn’t normally prepare food he can definitely fill tubs with cereal and make the week’s sandwiches to share the load when needed. I don’t want to patronise at all but I fall into the trap myself of thinking just because I dealt with all feeding while on mat leave, I still have to do it now...it’s not the case. I’m assuming you’re still together as you said ‘we’ chose the nursery.

Report
SnowsInWater · 08/10/2019 06:54

I'm sorry but I don't see the problem. It is not unusual for nurseries or childminders to not provide food for under ones as parents are unsurprisingly often pretty fussy at that age. You are talking about checking the menu and your child being able to have that food if he had had it already at home. What happens if you don't want your child to eat what is being offered. Would you the expect the nursery to provide an acceptable alternative which might literally be a few mouthfuls just for one child? Would you expect to have a conversation with a nursery worker every day or so to negotiate what is acceptable to you food wise? If every parent wanted to do this surely you can see it's not practical. This way you get to provide the food you want your child to eat and the nursery doesn't have to spend ages negotiating with individual parents, win win.

Report
randomsabreuse · 08/10/2019 07:06

My DS has been at a childminder since 6 months. I provide the food because he has some intolerances, but they will also reheat.

Now at 10 months most often he has whatever we had for dinner the day before. Or something suitable from the freezer. Or failing that an Ella's pouch (Or Sainsbury's).

Report
TreaclePumpkin · 08/10/2019 07:09

At the nursery my children are at (and at the ones we visited, but didn't choose), meals were/are provided for all children, regardless of the weaning stage.

If you have specific requirements, they would also cater to those. I'm surprised to learn that some nurseries don't actually do this. I had assumed it was standard...

Report
insancerre · 08/10/2019 07:15

As part of my job I cook meals for babies under 2
I make
Spaghetti bolagnese
Jacket potatoes with cauliflower cheese
Chicken curry
Chilli
Pasta and meatballs
Tuna pasta bake
Chicken casserole
Lamb hotpot
Salmon and pea pasta
Fishfingers mash and beans
Cheesy pasta
I always add lots of extra veg and none of them take longer than 20-30 minutes to cook
I often batch cook and freeze in individual portions for quiet days

Also you can buy ready called meals that can just go in the microwave which are specialty made for babies

Report
Waiting1987 · 08/10/2019 07:16

I provide all food for the childminder and I don't think that's uncommon. Baby was also breastfed but settled for water and food when I was at work.

If you are are really stuck for time then there's lots of ready made baby food. Things like soup in a flask are straightforward and quick. Hummus and breadsticks are a quick snack. Yoghurt is another easy snack.

Report
shearwater · 08/10/2019 07:20

I used to prepare food for DDs at childminder but looking back, I would make it easier for myself and send them somewhere that did food. Having said that, you did stick with this nursery there are only a few months to get over before they will start preparing the food. And there are always Little Dish meals etc.

Report
shearwater · 08/10/2019 07:23

I couldn't have done bf while I was at work though. Won't your breasts be exploding and uncomfortable in the day time? I'm sure people do make it work but I got them onto bottles and made sure my milk production had stopped before I went back to work.

Report
DippyAvocado · 08/10/2019 07:23

Mine went from 6/8 months and food was always provided. I looked around several nurseries beforehand and food was provided at all of them so I think it's very odd not to provide anything. Is the cost reduced because they aren't providing food?

Report
OnlyFoolsnMothers · 08/10/2019 07:27

A 9 month old will need milk/ formula during the day, I really would leave formula with the nursery for the day too, water won’t be beneficial.

Report
Raphael34 · 08/10/2019 07:31

Just send in whatever he’d have at home?

Report
Muminthewoods19 · 08/10/2019 07:32

It is the nursery policy to not provide meals for babies under a year..Their reasoning is babies digestion is too immature for their prepped food, so we have to provide all food and drink.

Another nursery we had looked at had a list of food sent to parents each month which you had to.ensure baby had tried at home first which comprised next months meals ingredients, unfortunately we didn't get a place. This kind of arrangement was what I meant in my original post, when I said food had had tried before. I don't expect them to do special meals for him and would be happy for him to eat what's on the menu, but the Nursery are worried he might not be ready for the food from their menu not me.


Thanks for the ideas, I'm happy to batch cook, but they won't heat it so limits us again, but as someone above mentioned it is only for three months.

OP posts:
Report
Muminthewoods19 · 08/10/2019 07:37

Cost is actually higher as he's classed as a baby.

I'm going to leave formula and a sippy cup/bottle but he won't take a bottle which is another reason I am panicking.

Apparently my breasts should adjust and he should be able to make up the milk feeds in the morning/evening according to the HV.

OP posts:
Report
loutypips · 08/10/2019 07:40

Supplying food for a childminder is a little different than a nursery!
I would've thought heating up all the meals for the babies would take ages and be a right faff! And making sure each child gets the right food? Surely it would be easier to cater for all of them.
Check that they will heat the food, or if they expect a packed lunch.

Report
InDubiousBattle · 08/10/2019 07:42

Will he be there for 3 meals a day plus snacks op? Is that for 5 days? If they won't re heat can you send in warm food in a thermos?

Report
Elisheva · 08/10/2019 07:44

What sort of food are they providing that a nine month old’s digestive system is too immature for but is fine for a one year old? Apart from a bit of mashing if necessary my kids all eat the same food.
I have used three nurseries and two childminders over the years. All of them provided food appropriate for the child’s age/stage.

Report
DippyAvocado · 08/10/2019 07:44

Another nursery we had looked at had a list of food sent to parents each month which you had to.ensure baby had tried at home first which comprised next months meals ingredients

This is the sort of arrangement we had. Mine were both younger than yours and they managed to cater for them no problem. The baby room had a slightly different menu to the older rooms and they provided variations within that. Eg my 6 month old was given pureed vegetables when the others were eating meat.

Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

Muminthewoods19 · 08/10/2019 07:45

He will be there for 4 and a half days, 3 meals plus snacks.

A thermos is a great idea, thank you..

OP posts:
Report
Benes · 08/10/2019 07:51

One of the huge advantages of sending DS to nursery was the food. Went from 10 months and tried so much more than he would have at home. Personally, I'd want to send him somewhere that did food but I guess he'll be one soon so it's only for a few months

Report
purpleolive · 08/10/2019 07:54

I would change nurseries. Batch cooking and all that sounds cute in theory, but the reality is when you're working one of the benefits of childcare is when they take the hassle of food away in the week. It is a tiring time settling back into work with a baby, you don't want to spend your weekends batch cooking for an organisation you'll be spending a lot of money on. Will they even heat the food up? Our last nursery wouldn't heat up food brought in, I don't think packed lunches are sufficient, suppose it depends how many days you do. No it's not normal in my experience, I don't understand what changes at 12 months, I wouldn't be happy.

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.