To be shocked by this government dietary advice for babies and children?

I read a very sad OFSTED equivalent report about a school in our town. It has poor attendance, lack of parental aspiration and engagement in the educational journey (quote). As a means of boosting attendance, parents, siblings, grandparents and extended family are invited to a daily breakfast club where tea, toast and cereal is free for all. I can imagine the teachers in this school are completely run ragged trying to facilitate this. Unfortunately government funding doesn't stretch to smoked salmon bagels and nut butters.

Wait what's wrong with pancakes 😅

My daughter has chocolate milk and pancakes after her sport. Its almost like people can have a balanced and strategic outlook to what they eat and that maybe this advice isn't particularly for those people...

Why does juice need to be introduced to young children at all? If you tried to send juice into school in a water bottle for your child it would be removed.

Can you imagine what would happen if government advice was ‘no juice whatsoever’? This kind of reference material is generally for people who aren’t experts in nutrition so a flat ‘no you can’t’ would be daft: instead it’s more of a ‘if you’re going to’ - because that’s what’ll benefit kids the most in the long run.

I don't give my kids juice very often because it's high in sugar and when I do, I dilute it if they are young. I don't think juice with meals as a daily thing is particularly healthy, it's high sugar and empty calories but every so often, fine.

Cereals are technically a UPF product but if you look at the ingredients in many like rice crispies and wheatabix, there isn't an extensive list of additive so they aren't too bad. Plus cereals are cheap and available for many families meaning they are a realistic option and are often fortified with nutrients.

I don't get the fruit juice thing though. I wouldn't be recommending it daily with meals. Water or milk is best and more affordable.

(Same as tinned soup)

I suppose this is making the best of a bad situation when UPFs are the foods of choice for so many people. What else do you expect when so many parents vape, drink energy drinks, make poor food decisions and have screen addictions…they’re suddenly going to be concerned by their children’s nutritional intake? lol

They are just crap in nutritional terms.

that doesn't matter, it still has the same affect on the liver

The vit c in juice is great for iron absorption and anemia is a common issue in children.
Just brush teeth!

So Tim Spector and company ZOE - not pushing their own branded gut supplements and expensive diets then?

Mumsnet is becoming synonymous with 'fucking oblivious'

I'm sorry about your medical condition (and that apparently it's so poorly controlled) but having a bowl of Rice Crispies doesn't give anyone diabetes.

Self discipline and success are not aspirational in modern UK culture.

This. I am wondering if it’s serious - who the heck eats avocado for breakfast (aside from the fact it’s incredibly bad for the environment due to the vast amount of water used to grow the avocados and the food miles involved).

All my children “barf” at the texture of chia and avocado. One of them likes porridge. One hates bananas. One just hates breakfast full stop - might have a slice of toast but nothing else.

So yes - we do eat Shreddies and Rice Krispies and, god forbid , sometimes a croissant or pancakes. With a side order of vitamins and maybe a slice of melon if I can persuade them.

So which DC are having the government breakfasts that are being doled out at schools, I doubt they will be scrambled egg and overnight oats

Pure orange juice has fructose, naturally occuring sugars. NOT refined sugar.

The lack of awareness of simply outstanding.

Ok so they're not babies/ toddlers? Bit different then. And maybe most people can't afford smoked salmon and ground almonds?

Exactly this.

But the sample menu has eggs for three of the five suggested tea-time meals! If you actually look at the whole thing rather than just criticising the inclusion of rice crispies, they have tried to ensure that the day as a whole is balanced. Which is a much better aim than trying to ensure the macros in a baby's breakfast would please a TikToker.

I think the original question needs to be "AIBU to be shocked that not all parents care about nutrition".

The government is not formulating advice for mumsnet children, it's the ones who are still drinking bottles of milk redbull age 4 because it's easier for their parents than feeding them. Rice Krispies or a slice of (shock, horror) white bread is an improvement on their current diet. Many of their parents have never worked so in theory have time to mill oats/make sourdough, but they are doing what they know, and most probably their neighbours are doing it too.

I’d die of hypoglycaemia if I ate that. They’re not filling at all, full of sugar (refined carbs) and awful in terms of nutrition. Diabetes anyone?

This has to be one of the most MN things I’ve ever read 😂

Also because the vitamin C in juice assist iron absorption

That's why the advice should be honest and clear, so at least they know its not the best thing to feed their child. More in person advice and information in childhood would help too - we have regular health checkups throughout childhood here, where you are asked what your child is eating (amongst other things) and that makes you think about their diet and how ideal or not it is (and screen time and how much sleep they get and if they're eating their lunch at school and things like that)