Jam sandwiches at wraparound care

That isn't going to happen unless parents are willing to pay more for ASC.

not many 4 year olds will shun a jam sarnie for a manky old banana

It's laughable. Why do so many parents get their knickers in a twist about such ridiculous things? It's a jam sandwich.

I ate tinned beef burgers and hot dogs from a jar as a kid.

Is there actually anything that is deemed socially acceptable to feed a child nowadays?

It sounds like you’re struggling with the move from nursery to school. At school, children are expected to make choices for themselves. You could have held her back and started her at school later and she could have had nursery food for longer. Children only need to be in school the term after they turn 5 in the UK.

The jam sandwiches will be there for older kids who want a sweet snack before their main meal at home later. If your 4 year old is binging on jam sandwiches then maybe she just isn’t ready for after school club yet.

Yes! I do my best to offer healthy balanced meals on the whole, obviously with occasion or appropriately portioned treats as part of the balance. But it is so frustrating when a healthy meal I’ve cooked is ruined by other people feeding my child large portions of rubbish. I would certainly expect a school provided meal to be of a minimal standard, and a jam sandwich 4x/week just isn’t it.

OP in your situation I’d probably look for a childminder who does after school pick ups.

totally agree with you.

I suppose but surely OP and I are not the only parents with children whose meal would be spoilt but a huge unhealthy snack just a couple of hours before dinner. I’d be quite happy for her to fill up on healthy snacks and not have a big dinner but as I said in my previous post, to me a jam sandwich is akin to a pudding, as it really has very little nutritional value at all. I think schools should be offering healthy option on the whole.

They do offer fruit.

If healthy eating is a key value to you, then absolutely- and people say it’s not the end of the world - but actually it can be REALLY disheartening, when all you do is try your best to provide healthy food and your child won’t eat it because someone has carelessly rammed a jam sandwich down their necks 4 times a week.
You are absolutely right to push on this, as it would be unfair to send your DD in with a packed lunch style option - they just need to stop being so lazy and cut up some fruit. Stand by it!!

Our wrap around care has awful food - it's usually snacky type food (hot dogs, wraps, bagels) but more often than not my 2 have crackers with butter on every day! They usually have biscuits and other things later on too.
In reception mine were never that hungry after wrap around so never ate a proper meal at home after, but always wanted a little something. So I tended to just do a "picky tea" with lots of healthy things they liked. Crudités of peppers, carrots, cucumber, and some fruit along with bread sticks or similar for some carbs. Often I'd do some ham or chicken slices, or cheese cubes in with it.
The other thing I considered was sending them with a packed lunch to have for tea, but tbh it's far too much effort and faf. They do get good healthy lunches at school each day, so snacks / sandwiches later on doesn't seem too bad.
I wouldn't be happy with jam sandwiches every day though so I would either send a packup, offer healthy snacks after pick up, or I guess you could ask them to give your DD something other than jam - but I imagine it will be difficult to manage in a large group of children.

Do keep calm here. Its a jam sandwich not a 24/7 diet of jam sandwiches! Reason for alarm had it been pea6nut butter!

I would educate your child to maybe only eat say fruit that is on offer or a sandwich no cake. They should be having something different daily like wraps with veg sticks, houmous, cous cous. Maybe ask other parents to email and ask to change the menu.

Why are you asking me that question? Ask the wraparound setting or BYO for special dietary requirements. Jam isn't necessary or recommended on a daily basis for any child.

What are you talking about?

This is one way of catering to them. The issue, then, is what exactly?

Obviously if I have kids who have dietary requirements then I cater to them. Also I don’t offer ham more than once a week.

Honestly this is the most middle class binty crap

Ofcourse you need sugar ...
Not added sugar but they need sugar
Like that in jam 🤣

What else do you suggest as an option for vegan children/those with dairy allergy?

No - you may think that, but this is not what I wrote or what I think.

Low funds don't necessitate jam, they are going for a quick and easy option here. I'd rather provide food for my child and pay less if such an option exists, so yes, worth having a conversation.

As a chef/cook for most of my life, full/ part time, restaurants , cafes, bars , we follow the rule - we are here to feed you - not fatten you

So we portion control and we offer dishes for all tastes

We dont break your arm making you choose our most calorific food

We ( if the place in question dictates ) usually offer children's menu where there are mixes and matches, nuggets, pasta. fish or even half portions of adult choices where we can

We expect an adult to be making their childs choices , as they are there

What you are asking is the impossible. Your child is being offered a choice and your child is choosing what you think is the worse option ( its not ) its no reflection on you as a parent, she's a child, she likes jam

I get that now she's full before dinner and so doesn't want the foods you would prefer her to fill up on

I would say - two options. Send a wee snack box - but she may still ditch that and go for the jam and also learn how to pull the wool a bit earlier then you want , or cook dinner a bit later

Food on a wrap around is going to be as little as 30p per child. The ham, cheese , and carrot sticks are not going to be the best quality and in fact the jam may possibly be

We all want the best for our children, we all think we have the best diets ever and we get fixed on thinking its our way or the highway but as adults , as we age, we get to understand there are bigger battles. There will be times moving forward now - kids parties - full of pop and cake and not a carrot stick to be seen , - will you stop her from going ??

You do realise some people have no alternative.

And that is just a rude and unnecessary criticism of working parents. Plenty of people have to do this in order to keep everything juggling. Mine were in the same 5 days a weeks. Get over it.

What about kids who are vegan or have a dairy allergy?

They shouldn’t be offering jam sandwiches at all. As I said breadsticks with cream cheese would be a good alternative. Or maybe a jam sandwich once a week as a treat.