To think this was quite a nice packed lunch I made for 20 month old.

[B4Beatrice]

In brief, meeting relative for picnic yesterday. I said I would do food as she works part time so would be coming straight to park. I made our DDs both 20 months, a homemade scotch egg (very big) each and bough them a tub of strawberries to share.

Friend told me it was not an adequate lunch and that a sandwich is more appropriate??

Am I or her BU??

(sorry 20 motnhs, i got confused with someone else's post...)

Wow, an awful lot of fussy children out there.

Worsel, DS was eating octopus at eleven months, now at 2.5 months he'll eat barely anything not on a short list. Sometimes they just are fussy.

Still I suppose if you have a fussy eater you should either offer to cater yourself, or let the person know what they like.

Years. He doesn't eat sandwiches and crisps at 2.5 months

Duck worzsel because equally fussiness isnt always mother inflicted. You sound a bit smug. My ds ate everything and anything til he hit 2....4 years on he still eats only a fraction of what he ate as a baby. Theres still time for yours to get fussy.

Just doesn't sound like there's much variety in it to me, I'd take some carrot sticks, cherry toms, cucumber, that sort of thing. But I wouldn't be cheeky enough to moan about it if you'd provided it! Maybe she's got a bit of WM guilt that she couldn't do the lunch and she therefore had to concede a bit of control, making her grumpy (unfairly) with you?

(Projecting, me, much?!)

If you coated the eggs in Ruskoline, than YABU

Scotch egg was a gamble...they isgust some people (me included) and I cant imagine many toddlers eating them...I would have made sandwiches and taken some chopped bits and pieces like cucumber, cheese, carrot and breadsticks. Then they have a choice.

I wouldnt have found it adequate but I would have been greatfull for your effort and wouldnt have said anything to you. I think you can make it far more interesting and nutritiouse without sadwiches or the scotch egg, which I personally find unreasonible to give 20mnth old deep or shallow fried food. so yabu, but so was your friend.

Imo, what toddlers like one day, they may not like the next. Variety is key and think there should have been a mixture of things. Friend was still rude though.

Why are eggs, sausagemeat & breadcrumbs so "disgusting"? Do you have food issues?

I bake my scotch eggs, no oil involved!

It was a bit 'all or nothing' - as there was nothing else on offer it would have been a problem if her daughter wouldn't eat it.

However, well done for hand-crafting your own scotch eggs!

Op I've just reread your post, the person who said it wasn't a good lunch wasn't the parent of the toddler eating it were they?

If both your child and that of your relative enjoyed the lunch then it's good enough surely?

Perhaps your friend had children who were more fussy than those on the picnic.

TBH, they all go though phases, we've had the 'i don't like that' phase and the 'only eating bread' phase with them both but refused to pander to it. I cook once, they eat it or they go hungry.

The phases never last very long.

I'm amazed at the lengths some of my relatives and friends go to to fanny around their children at meal times.

I do think that most of the time fussiness IS inflicted by the parents, sorry but I do.

My MIL is a bugger for saying in earshot of the kids "they wont eat ^^that will they" or " isn't it unusual for kids to eat curry/chilli etc, wouldnt they prefer fish fingers ??" etc etc lots of my friends are the same.

Glakit it's the cold egg....lots of people hate that...and I hate sausage meat too....

I would never had said anything or been as rude as your friend, but I would have been disappointed if a friend invited me to a picnic, said she'd bring all the food, and then presented me with nothing but a scotch egg and strawberries.

Was it just the 20 month olds who got scotch egg and strawberries or is that all you and your friend had too?

I think this sounds like a lovely idea. At 18 months my little boy would have loved this. Hes now seven and still isnt keen on sandwiches

It's an adequate food in itself and your friend was rude but speaking personally I find Scotch eggs a really odd food and never make or buy them.

Maybe a teeny bit low on the carbs side, but thats not bad.

Sounds yummy (have never had the guts to make a homemade scotch egg!) and my nearly 2yr old DD would have LOVED it!

Ah, Weedle, you make a valid point. The OP's relative and niece should be the judge as to whether it was unreasonable or not.

It was a relative she had lunch with
It was a friend that criticised it

Not the same person!!

If I was taking food for a child I didn't know I'd take a lot more variety - but if you knew the child would like it, it sounds fine :)

Two items do not a picnic make.

Not all toddlers will eat sandwiches at that age. Some look at them with disgust, and either ignore them, or pick them apart, making a huge mess.

YANBU - I think it is quite a nice lunch too!