Jam sandwiches at wraparound care

We have ham or cheese sandwiches, toast with or without jam, some fruit and a school made biscuit, or a muffin, generally. Fussy eaters are allowed to bring their own packed ‘tea’ if they want… which are usually less healthy than ours. They have apple or orange fruit juice. All for £5 a session. Plus we have to watch out for those with dairy allergies, gluten allergies…. Some of the kids have come to Breakfast club at 8am and are there till 5.15, all week!! It is a very long day, particularly for reception children.
And you want to worry about them having something ‘unhealthy’…..🙄

Sometimes I worry I’m not aware of the world around me - then I see someone wondering whether a state school after school club is serving chia seed jam.

The only one I can find to purchase commercially is £1.76 per 100g

Aldi strawberry jam is 11p per 100g

Yes our kids shouldn’t be stuffed full of sugar, and we can all sit in our ivory towers wailing about the lack of baba ganoush, but how are you actually going to solve the problem of £9 ASC giving kids a quick snack and not going bankrupt.

OP please please email the school and ask if it’s chia jam.

Yes, exactly. This thread is a great example of people who don't seem able to distinguish between should and is. It's telling that OP and most of the people who agree with her have either ignored the logistics issue entirely or said something implausible.

I'm not sure everyone necessarily realises what a knife edge a lot of ASC provision is currently on. This is going to get worse as the mid 2010s kids are ageing out and being replaced by the smaller birth cohort years of the 2020s.

OP I would be the same as you. Jam sandwiches are very unhealthy - it’s basically sugar in a sandwich.
I’m surprised at the comments on here - do people not care what their kids eat? Good food fuels their growth, brain development, balances mood, etc. Too much sugar in your diet has far reaching implications on your health & for years to come.
And it’s not once in a while - it’s 5 days a week and your child is developing a taste/preference for sugar.
I follow nutritionists & dieticians online - they are worried about the sugar & salt epidemic that’s happening right now.

Having said that did you ask was it chia jam or regular jam? Chia jam is just fruit & chia seeds (no added sugar). If that’s the case, then no problem.
But I don’t blame you for being bothered by this. The link to diet and academic performance is clearly stated

I love jam sandwiches.

What do you think children ate back in the days when obesity was a lot rarer than it is now? Honestly, what a fuss about nothing.

Almost every family i know, myself included has two parents working full time. We all rely on others to feed our children at whatever daycare option is being used for that age bracket. We absolutely should be prescriptive. Jam sandwiches are not acceptable as a regular meal or snack. Its utter junk.

@MrsSkylerWhite

It’s not “prescriptive” to expect that an ASC, which you are paying for, offers snacks with actual nutritional value to your child instead of junk food. It’s a particularly reasonable expectation to assume schools will abide by their own healthy food policies.

Completely agree with you OP.

Yes exactly. Pure ridiculousness that people are happy to let their child eat junk and watch tv at school! Our standards need to be higher.

All the discussion about children performing poorly and not being school ready. It’s no wonder when parents and society are perfectly happy with these things.

If you’re relying on other people to feed your children, I’m not sure you can be so prescriptive.

Because you're the one criticising their choice. There will be children there who are limited in what they eat and ASC are limited in what they can provide due to budgets/prep time/access to kitchens/etc.

I totally agree with you. This would infuriate me. But then people think im nuts because I pulled my kid out of nursery when I found out they were getting to watch cartoons on the iPad. I dont send my child to nursery/school to watch tv or eat junk and its a sorry indictment on society that people tolerate this crap for our young people.

Sadly this is one reason why life expectancy for children born in very deprived areas is 8-10 years less than that of those born in more privileged postcodes. Cheap, high sugar, processed food is normal for so my people, that even on this forum loads of parents don’t see anything wrong with it.
Op, you are absolutely right to complain. Your daughter is lucky to have you, at least it is only 4 times a week they feed her that. It’s a shame that so many other parents lack insight. Maybe try sending her with her own snacks. My son is the same age and takes things like cucumber, hummus, breadsticks, cheese, fruit etc to his after school club.

Try again. What nutritional element is in sugar that children need.

Ill give you a clue NONE

No one needs added sugar or fructose.

Buttered crumpets aren't loaded with sugar I guess.

Why in gods name would either of you think a buttered crumpet is any better than a jam sandwich?

No shit Sherlock.

🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️

but they should be providing something with some nutritional value. NOT any of those 3 options.

at least if it was a dippy bowl with carrots/cucumber & hummus, not eating dinner at home would be less if an issue.

but as I said veggies you gave to pick your battles, if she's happy at ASC & it's doting you need 'just ride it out' she'll soon be wanting dinner if a snack at home later on & that can be healthy and it's 4/21 meals plus more snacks at home at the weekend. Just make sure the rest is nutritious.

How is ordinary block cheese (Cheddar, Double Gloucester, Red Leicester etc) an ultra-processed food? How is porridge made from rolled oats with milk and/or water a UPF? Obviously the ludicrously expensive and overpackaged instant pots are not good, from any point of view.

You are possibly confused between processed food and ultra-processed food. It's only the ultra-processed foods that are believed to pose a health threat. Processing food is normal and an established part of the human diet for millennia.

Sounds great to me- probably could do with the sugar to give them the energy to get through the extra time they are in school/wrap around.

If a 10 year old was making a conscious choice of a jam sarnie too often then maybe fair enough, but a tired 4 year old? Let it go.

Jam is loaded with sugar and vey bad for childrens teeth. Thought jam butties were from way back in the day.

Do they also use cheap white bread?

Seriously??

No one needs sugar, just the 1 teaspoon a day which should be naturally occurring in fruit, veg and fermentation etc

The body needs glucose , found when breaking down the normal proteins, fats, carbs etc. No now should be consuming sugar - its a pure poison to the body - says a normal eating human who kms she's consumes way too much even though she doesn't consume what are classed by the man in the street sugary foods

I’m loving the idea of 30 infant school children eating couscous 🙈. Or soup for that matter. It would look like a crime scene.

Have you tried perhaps feeding your own child if youre that arsed?

In which case, cutting up fruit clearly isn't the answer!

Looking at what the OP says, it's a sandwich with choice of fillings followed by a dessert of fruit and cake. She said it's a very sweet tea for DD who is full, so it sounds like she could be having some of both?

I'm actually quite surprised OPs focus is on the jam rather than the cake. Since the setting could opt out of cake entirely, whereas it's possible there isn't any sandwich that'll be as logistically easy as the jam whilst also being a viable vegan option. Perhaps if DD weren't having cake, she might choose a ham sandwich also and OP would for some reason be happy.