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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think this dinner is acceptable?

312 replies

chiquititaa · 08/11/2024 16:58

My toddler who is 2.5 had a cod fish finger sandwich for tea and 2 more fish finger on the side, he finished the whole thing and I gave him some Jaffa cakes and a banana sucky yogurt thing, that he's eating just now, DH is just home from work and asked what ds had for tea, I told him what he had and he seems to think it's not enough for a growing 2.5 year old.

He can be very fussy and I'm thinking it's a win that he ate that much at all but I'm being made feel horrible by DH. Please let me know if you think this is enough for a toddlers tea?

OP posts:
katepilar · 08/11/2024 17:59

If its you feeding the toddler on a daily bases, you know the amount a child eats can vary considerably. The amount of food you describe sound ok to me.

Why does actually your husband think its not enough? How often does he feed your child his dinner?

HumptySaucer · 08/11/2024 17:59

Maybe husband wants some fish fingers …

BobbyBiscuits · 08/11/2024 17:59

If the kid is full then it's fine.

arethereanyleftatall · 08/11/2024 17:58

The question the op asked, @sprigatito, is 'is this meal acceptable!' That was her question!! To many mums, no, this is not an acceptable meal, and they responded accordingly. If the op only wanted responses from parents who think a fishfinger sandwich is an acceptable meal, then it would firstly render the question pointless, and secondly, she should have said that.

MagdaLenor · 08/11/2024 17:58

mitogoshigg · 08/11/2024 17:54

Quantity fine but way too processed. Real banana mashed with natural yogurt would be preferable, skip the Jaffa cakes and serve potato and vegetables rather than processed bread (apologies if if was home baked wholemeal, that would be fine) one processed item ( the fish fingers) is plenty for a toddler,

Only if she made the yoghurt herself to make sure it was sugar free.

rainbowunicorn · 08/11/2024 17:58

Grammarnut · 08/11/2024 17:41

She didn't say he was fussy. Anyway, what's wrong with fish fingers? It was banana yoghurt, so that's okay. Daresay bread was brownish. Jaffa cake = treat. It's fine.

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There's no banana in the banana yogurt.

Fireworkwatcher · 08/11/2024 17:57

If OPs DS really is fussy then I bet she was glad he’d eaten something rather than fresh air . I would have been - I used to put petit filous into DC3s meals to try and get him to eat the good stuff sometimes - bad idea obviously .

Quantity seems fine , only OP knows if it was the best she could get him to eat or not - but to be honest trying to feed a fussy child is exhausting - tell DH tea is his job tomorrow

MrsTerryPratchett · 08/11/2024 17:56

BaronessBomburst · 08/11/2024 17:44

There was orange in the Jaffa cake. That's fruit.
Like grapes in wine. That's fruit too.

Maple syrup is squeezed trees. That's like foraging and good for you.

I'm assuming the OP is a wind-up. Or someone hasn't been on MN long...

TheChippendenSpook · 08/11/2024 17:55

Oh my God. Why does it matter if a child doesn't have vegetables for one or two meals?

They're not going to fucking die because of it. I despair at this website sometimes.

sprigatito · 08/11/2024 17:55

arethereanyleftatall · 08/11/2024 17:52

It will be, yes @Gummybear23
There's this bizarre need on mn to take the piss out of any mum who has the audacity to feed their children healthy food.

I think it's more about posters who feel the need to make other parents feel inadequate for feeding their child a perfectly ordinary meal. You should probably ask yourself why you feel that need, and how you might do better in future.

mitogoshigg · 08/11/2024 17:54

Quantity fine but way too processed. Real banana mashed with natural yogurt would be preferable, skip the Jaffa cakes and serve potato and vegetables rather than processed bread (apologies if if was home baked wholemeal, that would be fine) one processed item ( the fish fingers) is plenty for a toddler,

CoCoNoDough · 08/11/2024 17:54

I would have added peas or cucumber sticks or boiled carrots.

MagdaLenor · 08/11/2024 17:53

BamboleoQueen · 08/11/2024 17:22

No shit sherlock, I'm sure OP could have worked that out herself.

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😂swapping jaffa cakes for vegetables is my idea of hell 😂

Dollshousedolly · 08/11/2024 17:53

I don’t think it’s a healthy/balanced meal. Too much bread, no veg. And instead of a Jaffa cake and a processed sucky banana thing - how about a fresh mashed banana and some other fruit chopped.

Jaichangecentfoisdenom · 08/11/2024 17:53

CrispyCrumpets · 08/11/2024 17:15

It's not the most nutritious of meals to be honest. Swapping the jaffa cakes for some vegetables would be better.

I agree with you, but from what I understand from the OP's post, that is not actually what her husband is complaining about, he just thinks it wasn't enough food for a 2 and a half year old, doesn't seem to care about veg/fruit content, or nutrition!

Justleaveitblankthen · 08/11/2024 17:52

Megifer · 08/11/2024 17:20

Couldn't you have made your own cod wraps and used finely milled carrot for breadcrumbs instead?

Brilliant 😂🍿

BabbleBee · 08/11/2024 17:52

viques · 08/11/2024 17:50

I hope there was proper butter and Mayo in the fish finger sandwich, if not then I cannot approve of the very poor food habits you are instilling into your child OP. This is the sort of thing that leads to teenagers insisting on putting ketchup on their bacon sandwiches instead of brown sauce.

Early condiment training for toddlers is never given the discussion space on MN that it deserves, it’s a hugely neglected area in childcare and I think it is up to all of us who care to ensure that it is kept to the forefront of our thinking.

Mayonnaise?! Heathen. It has to be salad cream.

arethereanyleftatall · 08/11/2024 17:52

It will be, yes @Gummybear23
There's this bizarre need on mn to take the piss out of any mum who has the audacity to feed their children healthy food.

BabbleBee · 08/11/2024 17:51

Renamed · 08/11/2024 17:44

Pooh, there’s far too much sugar in a carrot! Finely minced lentils, if you please!

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And then you can weave personalised gifts with the left over lentils too. Perfect.

Dashel · 08/11/2024 17:51

I would have thought poached organic wild caught salmon with some raw carrots, cucumbers, quinoa with herbs and some broccoli followed by chia seed pudding would have been better …. But what would I know, I had hummus and bread sticks for dinner 😂

Gummybear23 · 08/11/2024 17:50

Megifer · 08/11/2024 17:20

Couldn't you have made your own cod wraps and used finely milled carrot for breadcrumbs instead?

Is this a joke??

viques · 08/11/2024 17:50

I hope there was proper butter and Mayo in the fish finger sandwich, if not then I cannot approve of the very poor food habits you are instilling into your child OP. This is the sort of thing that leads to teenagers insisting on putting ketchup on their bacon sandwiches instead of brown sauce.

Early condiment training for toddlers is never given the discussion space on MN that it deserves, it’s a hugely neglected area in childcare and I think it is up to all of us who care to ensure that it is kept to the forefront of our thinking.

SatansBobbleheadedDashboardOrnament · 08/11/2024 17:48

Renamed · 08/11/2024 17:44

Pooh, there’s far too much sugar in a carrot! Finely minced lentils, if you please!

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You are absolutely correct. Unfortunately if you're on a low sugar diet, minced lentils also won't do the job. A good alternative is to crunch up some pork scratchings or coat in almond flour. So yummy.

neilyoungismyhero · 08/11/2024 17:48

LolaJ87 · 08/11/2024 17:21

I've read too many posts today to know if this is sincere or not 😂

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Me too...

Hunchbackofnotrespam · 08/11/2024 17:48

Allswellthatendswelll · 08/11/2024 17:26

I'd have chucked some peas or cucumber sticks on the side but mainly to assuage my parental guilt. I would be pleased if DS ate that much tbh.

I can't imagine DH coming home from work and criticising what I'd fed our child. I'd be unimpressed!

Me too probably but DC never eats them so it's absolutely pointless 😅