Jam sandwiches at wraparound care

... So you do judge.

Nice to know you think the teachers that teach your children, as well as your colleagues are not bothering to make their work fit around their kids needs. Nice one.

Cheese sandwiches are an option. OP’s dd just isn’t choosing them

Mine doesn't start early enough or finish late enough to be honest.

EMC is 7:45 and ASC is 5pm. I don't work every day but when I do it's 8:30-4:30 and it's a struggle to get there on time using buses and during rush hour.

I didn't ask you to explain yourself to me. I do t expect anyone e to explain themselves to me.

I just asked you not to judge others.

Your job is to provide the care, not judge the people using it, so you wind your neck in and do your job without a side of unwanted opinions.

Teachers, for instance - and actually breakfast club doesn't start early enough. I used to really struggle as 7.30am meant a dreadful rush to get to school.

"don't judge parents for using it" them says this as well
You always fit around your children and their needs.
Well bully for you. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have work set ups that allow them not to have to use breakfast or after school clubs. 🙄
It's a thread about sandwich options, not sticking beaks in and guilt tripping of having to use wrap-around care. It reminds me of when mine were little and there was always someone with an opinion, they'd make "jokes" or "remarks" like yours when you were at work, and when you weren't any more "aren't you thinking of going back?" "What do you do all day?" 🙄
Can't win lol, so to those with kids in clubs, you're doing a hard job the best you can and ignore any nobbers 😁

But there is already a cheese option. 2 cheese options and one ham means no choice for vegan, dairy allergy, none pork eating etc.
If you are catering for all after school there will be multiple dietary needs.
Cheese, Jam, ham covers most.

my work life has always fit around my children and their needs

Smug poster of the week prize goes to...

Do your DC not have a father contributing to their care and well being? Was his work similarly curtailed to fit around school hours and terms or was he excused the moral imperative?

And. yes you are absolutely judging other parents with smug “let them eat cake” comments like the above.

Noone is judging anyone for needing to use after school club.

But if it is a necessity and needs to be low cost you can’t easily quibble about the quality and variety of the snacks provided, and judge people who provide them or are happy for their children to eat them.

Oh wind your neck in love 🙄

I don't judge parents for using it but I do see children that have been in school from 7.30am till 5.30pm, 5 days a week at 4 years old who are absolutely shattered and just want their parents. I have children of my own and my work life has always fit around my children and their needs. Not that I have explain myself to you

I would not be happy with DD getting a jam sandwich 4 times a week. It just seems a lazy and cheap option. They could do cream cheese crackers or sandwiches as an option. My kids loved a cream cheese sandwich when they were little.

Of course they can. Many 3 year olds can if it’s clearly explained why.

Our 5 year old grandson will usually choose an apple or carrots over biscuits because that’s what he’s used to/prefers, yes. One of our kids was the same 🤷‍♀️

Op can tell her DC to only pick ham or cheese though or say she can only pick Jam once a week. 1 piece of cake. It’s an easy explanation that club is a snack and she needs to eat her evening meal at home. A 4 year old can follow a simple rule like that.

Is this a joke? Would you honestly expect a 4 year old to consistently “make healthy choices” in this type of situation? My 4 year old has a very healthy diet overall, but that’s down to the fact that the adults around her (mostly me, as it stands) provide her with primarily healthy options so that’s what she knows.

Children don’t develop the capacity to understand the importance of “healthy choices” until much later, never mind the level of impulse control it takes to do this consistently! Even many adults would struggle to “make healthy choices” when there’s a range of unhealthy options under their nose. I myself only buy at the shops food that I consider relatively healthy because I know if I buy crap and it’s in the cupboard, I’ll eat it!

Very young children need to be consistently provided with a varied range of healthy options so they get used to a range of healthy textures and flavours. Of course they will choose to eat sugary junk if offered sugary junk, but if they develop a taste for healthy options as well it at least will make it easier for them to make healthy choices in the future when they actually have the capacity to do this.

This thread is utterly horrendous. Get me off. So much shaming and catastrophising.

Quite. Perhaps OP could spend more time on healthy eating education and how to make the best choices at home.

Because feeding your own child is feeding 1-3 children at the very most usually. Not 20 children who go to ASC, 3 who are muslim, 2 who are vegan, 2 who have dairy allergies and maybe 1 like my son who has a restricted diet due to medical reasons. It's also a snack, not dinner.

Jam sandwiches suit all of those children as well as the fact that it's easy and cheap. Other options are available, OP's child just isn't opting for ham or cheese sandwiches.

It's not supposed to be a meal however, it's just a snack. Other options are available but the OP's child won't eat them.

I haven’t read all of this thread, but I think it is one of those things that you may have to accept if you are going to put her in wraparound care.

I, too, get fed up with the hypocrisy of policies/actions, so I understand your frustration OP. Our school has a healthy eating policy, but then they often get lollipops at school for various things - madness!!

I used to get very stressed by all of this, but am learning to let go. It’s honestly not worth the energy because I doubt it will change in this instance.

This!

Completely agree, it’s not a suitable snack at all is it? And it’s 4 days a week I think. It’s also not free for goodness sake. I will never understand Mumsnet, if the OP had started an ‘AIBU to feed my child a jam sandwich for her dinner every night? ‘ she would have had a new bum hole ripped! I think some people just say anything to disagree sometimes.

Which included posts about logistics...

I haven’t read the entire thread. I read the first page or two and just wanted to offer my support to the OP since most people were disagreeing with her.

It looks as though jam sandwiches are the alternative for the children who can't eat ham or cheese or if they just don't want ham or cheese like OP's child. To be fair, my son can eat ham and cheese too but he can't eat anything wholemeal so the bread would have to be white.

That's exactly what OP needs to do, provide an alternative if she isn't happy with what the ASC is offering.