Jam sandwiches at wraparound care

Avoiding upf is a good idea to aim for but from what I've seen on upf groups a lot of people lean so hard into it they are giving their DC homemade food with tons of butter, cream and sugar...but it's ok because 'they're not upf'.

Give a proper dinner a bit later when she is hungry enough. It shouldn't be their dinner, its a snack. Main issue here is its sounds like you cba making a proper dinner and expect the wraparound to be good enough so you can feel better about this.

These are not UPF

Very hard to Avoid upfs- porridge is, as is cheese, as is bread! The jam we buy is st Dalfour which is pure fruit with no sugar. As other posters have said, ham is worse and it truly is. There is no ham product that isn’t UPF. I would relax on the jam - it’s fine.

Are you sure you got that right? Because there is jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today

email them to check

She is having a hot meal at home isn't she? Op was unclear, although I haven't read the entire thread. Providing a decent meal is being given at home, I think it's fine for the afternoon snack.

If it's such good after-school care try stop making such a fuss about something quite trivial and be grateful there is something that works and is affordable. Most people don't have that.
Or remove her so you can continue her nutritional education at home.
You sound like such fun. She's 4. She's not going to get diabetes from a few jam sarnies every week.

Hmm. Whilst no shits would be lost over jam sandwich, we bought out ASC a airfryer so they could make toasties and wraps.

OP this would be a good PTA donation. Go in with a constructive suggestion rather than criticism. Hearts and minds!

@JBeanGarden I think that a ham sandwich is probably worse for her health than a jam sandwich because ham is normally very over processed, as are many meats that come ready sliced. Actually some of the ready sliced cheeses can be over processed as well.

One overly processed protein a week would probably be a satisfactory compromise - as dammit they usually taste so good, I'm particularly thinking of a bacon sandwich here 🤤 - but that includes eating at home as well. Of course, if the school tried hard enough they could probably manage to buy a cheap strawberry jam, with both far too much sugar, and quite a few added emulsifiers etc as well!

But it does seem ridiculous OPthat the school is so strict on what a child can eat during the normal school day, and then ruin all of that because they can't be bothered to provide a nutritious sandwich and a choice of a banana or a satsuma, or maybe even a few fresh strawberries when they are in season.

As a PP said, they should only be providing a snack anyway, so maybe 2 quarters of a round of a sandwich, and a small piece of fruit. Otherwise, with the colder weather, maybe they could provide a mug of a child friendly nutritious soup, and a small roll? I agree with you OP that 4 days a week is far too often to be having a jam sandwich and a piece of commercially made cake, and of course a 4 year old child shouldn't be expected to police themselves over what food they eat!

Good luck JBean, please be careful though if you do take things any further with the school, as it wouldn't do you, or your DD, any favours if they decide you are one of "those" mums - which would be totally unfair I know, but you have a lot of years to go through, hopefully without a degrading and undeserved, label. 🌻

Oh dear god

Children actually need sugar as part of a healthy diet

on a thread full of various bollocks this really takes the prize.

would you like to try to explain what nutrition is in sugar?

you can't because there isn't any

Yep. Our primary had a sandwich station where the kids made their own. “What did you have at after school club, darling?” “A lemon curd and honey sandwich.” Great…sugar syrup on white bread. 😒

I think the staff doing the after school activities would be allowed to do any of this food prep.

Then surely it would be an issue no matter what she's eating if she's so full from eating sandwiches? Be it jam, ham, cheese or hummus. It will also be the bread that is filling her, not what's inside it.

Well, that's what the OP has said. If you're not going to believe what an OP has said, what's the point in replying at all?

you don't know how big or how many jam sandwiches she's eating

we don't know if the children are allowed to eat 'food from home' or not (not all ASC permit it)

My son doesn't go to ASC so I've just looked at the school website and it is £9 per day and says a light snack and juice are offered. With breakfast club, it says that cereal and bagels are offered (that's £4 per day).

@JBeanGarden hang on -'willing to bend on this one'???? You really do want it all. Count your blessings that you have such easy childcare arrangements and just adjust dinner time and content to allow for the after school snack. You sound very entitled. It's your choice to work and make arrangements for your school accordingly. Pay for an after school nanny if this is such a big deal for you then you can dictate what she eats.

It’s a snack

DS had jam sandwiches and flapjacks or something similar he went to private prep

i was just pleased he was happy there and could wait for dinner (healthy most of the time…) as it was a long day for him

I didn’t expect more some of the children were very tired and whiny I guess a jam sandwich goes some way from stoping them whine

I’ve not read the full thread so apologies if anyone has already linked this, but there is new nutrition guidance for early years children (of which your daughter is in reception).

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6839b752210698b3364e86fc/Early_years_foundation_stage_nutrition_guidance.pdf

Although guidance, there is an exception that schools are adhering to the main principles of it. As a school Early Years Lead, I’ve had to support with significant changes across school, including food offered for school dinners and wraparound to ensure that we are meeting this guidance.

You could ask if they felt that their current offering is in line with the DfE’s expectations for nutrition for their early years attendees.

It’s a jam sandwich not a Big Mac.

Completely agree with you OP. It’s basically a sugar sandwich, no nutritional value at all. And don’t get me started on the bread!

Sugar is better than dead processed pig

Tell her that she is not allowed to choose jam and has to have a different option. For most children, the little snack they get at afterschool club is just that, a snack - their main meal comes at home.

I gave up on OP as soon as she started rambling about UPFs (page 1 or 2)... I'd rather she had a ham sandwich...

I don't like the sugar, but I'll give my young child carcinogens in the form of flat pink processed pig leftovers, fat, salt, nitrates and... God knows what else.

Oh well.

Fruit and sugar, wankers!

If you're worried about sugar, this wouldn't be any better.

If you are choosing to hand over all responsibilty for feeding your children during the week, they are not going to be eating great quality food, assuming it is a state school. School dinners are usually awful, and certainly not comparable to a home cooked meal. Most people expect after school club food to be a snack to keep them going, and then give their children dinner at home.