to be a bit worried that DS's new nursery is feeding them low fat yoghurts?

[Icoulddoitbetter]

Or am I just being PFB?
We're in the process of settling in at the moment and I admit I'm finding it really hard, so this was just one more thing today that worried me. The pudding at tea today was fruit yoghurt. Ok not a problem. But when I looked at the tub i saw it was a "very low fat" version. DS has just turned 1 so he's in the 1-2 group.
Now as I understand it children need full fat food until they are three. The other problem is as with most low fat stuff the sugar content was higher to make sure it tastes nice.

I thought about going down to the office to ask them why they had chosen these but at the time both DS and I were quite teary so I don't think it would've come out very well!

So, should I complain? Or just accept that at nursery I can't control everything so just lighten up?!

it is annoying that people don't know that a low fat version of food is not the healthy choice for a small child, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. I would just mention it later, at I time I wasn't feeling emotional.

I suppose I might mention it to them. You'd maybe find it was delivered by mistake or all they could get that day.
But I think that the odd low-fat yogurt really doesn't make a difference, as long as otherwise they are being fed a healthy diet with appropriate fats.

I would ask "Is is usual for the kids to get low-fat food?" and if they say no...then you can mention it and add that you hope not ...a child of your DS's age needs his healthy fat!

Accept you can't control everything.

The guidelines have recently changed on low fat and children, though not for one year olds to be fair.

My son's nursery is now only providing semi-skimmed milk - because that is the only one the government is now subsidising.

Apparently the guideline has changed such that children over 2 should be given low fat, as opposed to can be given low fat, as it used to be. This is what I am told, I might come back tomorrow with a link if that is true, but am too tired now and am about to go to sleep so can't face the Food Standards Agency website right this sec.

There are a few myths about low fat and whole wheat to the extent that some parents think it is practically dangerous to give low fat or whole wheat before they are teens but its simply not the case.

Having said that, it would be wrong for them to give one year olds low fat or very low fat MILK - you might find that they are having to order low fat yogurt for the older kids and because its not the main part of the meal its fine to give to babies as an "extra" and that its easier to do so.

Bear in mind also that unless your child is dangererously underweight, its only butterfat she is missing out on. Stir some butter into her yogurt? You wouldn't, would you!

In the case of milk there is a little more Vitamins A and D in the full fat version which is why it is recommended they have full fat until age 2, that and their energy requirements.

Low fat yoghurts seems to be what standard yoghurts are called these days, looking at the supermarket shelves, anything fatter than that is a Greek yoghurt. So actually, they are probably no lower in fat than the yoghurts we all use to have years ago.

A yoghurt is only a snack anyway, you wouldn't have complained if they'd fed your ds a banana, and that would have had less fat in it.

It is hard to say either way really.
My dc's often have low fat yogurts and always have had them as well as having full fat versions.

It depends on what the rest of the nursery diest consists off. Low fat in a baby and toddlers diet is not the end of the world in a balanced diet so I would say it personally wouldn't be a problem for me unless they were getting skimmed milk and other 'diet' type food all the time instead of a good balance of everything.

The latter for me. It would alert me to keeping a close eye on what your DS is being fed but I wouldn't raise one low fat yogurt as an issue on it's own. I would consider raising it if I was worried the whole/majority of the menu was too low in fat.

My kids eat low fat yogurts as that just happens to be what we all like - they get plenty of other fatty foods and don't get much other sugar so it's not an issue.

Not ideal, but not worth getting het up about. As long as he wasn't washing it down with diet coke

Also, bear in mind the statement that the FSA make that "a low fat diet is not suitable for under 5's" this does not mean that no low-fat products can be given in the overall diet. It means that a low fat diet (i.e total calorie intake less than 10% comes from fat) is not suitable. This kind of low fat diet is actually quite hard to achieve without careful planning.

It doesn't mean they can't have any low fat products as part of a balanced diet.

I was hoping this might give us a quick link, but doesn't, but have a read anyway

Nursery World

Hmmmnn I think I might just mention it as casually as possible to see if it is a regular occurance! TBH what annoys me more is the sugar levels as they were pretty high as they always are in this type of product. It's so hard as obviuously until now I've done all his meals so any naughty stuff is "signed off" by me first!

it is still annoying as I have a prejudice about low fat stuff as it tends to mean high in sugar. While sugar is not evil either, I resent people thinking that this is a healthier alternative.

full fat milk is only about 4% fat, isn't that right? that doesn't seem like a high fat food to me.

someone said that children should have low fat cheese in a their sandwiches. Low fat cheese is vile

4% fat is not high as a percentage - but when you consider serving sizes, the amount of fat grams you tally up can be rapid. Hence why semi skimmed milk is preferred. Bear in mind here the fat in milk is essentially butterfat, and therefore saturated. Its not a high omega or polyunsaturated product - its essentially saturated fat, in fact butterfat is a more "saturated" fat than lard, technically, though not by much. Ideally, children (and adults!!!) would be getting most their fats from polyunsaturates and monounsaturates in their natural form, from nuts, seeds, avocados, fish, that kind of thing. Its not that dairy fat is "bad" as such - but it doesn't automatically mean its the correct choice in terms of optimum nutrition all the time.

Good breakfast = wholegrain cereal with full fat milk
Excellent breakfast = wholegrain cereal with semi-skimmed milk, but with some ground almonds stirred, through.

Same amount of fat grams, but "better" fat.

Also, if the nursery is really good and has had a dietician look at their menu plans, they will be looking at each meal plan in their entirety, so dont focus on individual products.

So it might be that a low fat yogurt has been selected that day because the main course is pasta with cheesey sauce and tuna, already a higher fat choice (but with some good fats) so that to balance the overall fat and calorie content of the meal so that it is nutritional and appropriate for the age group, a low fat product has been selected. The meal might also be low or devoid in refined sugar such that they can justify serving a sweetened yogurt.

Or not - but bear it in mind before you go in all guns blazing.

Some low fat foods are also incredibly high in sugar. I would be concerned about that as well.

Most "baby yogurts", whether low or high in fat, have sugar in them that they dont really need.

Any type of yogurt can be sweetened with fruit puree and taste perfectly agreeable to most children of that age, particularly if they haven't had a lot of the Petit Filou and the like and developed a taste for the ultra smooth ultra sweet ultra creamy taste.

Nothing wrong with a bit of full fat or semi--skimmed greek yog (which is also bio-live) and strawberry puree.

Petit Filou - okay I guess
Greek yogurt (semi-skimmed), mashed strawberry stirred through and ground seeds sprinkled on top = excellent