to question nursery as to why they are serving jam sandwiches to babies?

[choceyes]

My DD is 14 months old and goes to nursery 3 days a week.

I won't know whether I am being precious or not, but it annoys me that occassionally she gets given jam sandwiches and also tinned spaghetti hoops on toast for her afternoon snack. I would never give these things to her at home. She always has healthy stuff, no treats at all, cos she is not a big eater, so I don't want to fill her up with junk.

My DS, 3yrs, is also at the same nursery, but there's nothing much I can do to stop him eating jam sarnies, as he would want to eat what his friends eat. and as he eats fairly well most of the time he can afford to have the occassional junk.

The nursery lunches are fine, and they also do fruit, chesse, crackers, tuna sandwiches for afternoon snack , so this probably happens about once a week I guess (i mean she gets either jam sarnies or hoops on toast maybe once a week, the rest of the meals are fine).

I dunno really. I was talking to a friend about it at the weekend and she was appalled at the jam sarnies, so got me thinking maybe I should say something to the manager.

I'm not in anyway a health freak, and against giving kids sugar, but not at 14 months, it's too young for me. And the nursery serves them to kids above 12 months I think.

It's just there is NO nutritional value in jam sarnies. I@d rather they gave her a flapjack or something (and they sometimes for the older ones dessert), which although has sugar, has got good things in it too.

It's true that the standards of what passes for food here, and what children are expected to like, in the UK are very low.
I think tinned spaghetti smells like vomit, and probably has less nutritional value.
I don't know why there is this attitude that if it is bad for you, it must be fun!
Rubbish food is never fun.

"It's true that the standards of what passes for food here, and what children are expected to like, in the UK are very low."

have you seen the sugar strands/vermicelli/hagelslag they make sandwiches from europe! Now that would give the OP the vapers.

Is that cake decoration sandwiches then?

Cake decoration sarnies have gotta be worse than jam, surely.

This reminds me that my mum used to like golden syrup sandwiches, condensed milk sandwiches and the worst- lard and sugar, which she had as a child.

Carmen, no, I am not insulted at all by the existence of spaghetti hoops!!!!

The first time I tasted them I was 19 and I was living in London, and no, I wasn't particularly impressed. Therefore there was no reason for me to buy them when me and my family lived in the UK.

Likewise Cadburys. I just doesn't taste nice to me, but I totally understand that my opinion would shock 98& of the British population!

northernrock I agree. My DS (18) enjoys a tin of Heinz spag bol, which in the tin smells like it's been passed through the dog. But then he did used to eat jam sandwiches on occasion, so I have gone seriously wrong somewhere.

But in retrospect I think if I had given my DCs a broader mix of all sorts when they were younger they wouldn't be so fussy now.

carmenelectra - you obviously haven't read the thread, as I have explained again and again that it is my 14 month old being given jam sandwiches that I have a problem with, not my 3yr old. So your question of whether I'm derpiving my DCs all through their childhoods has been answered before.

Also your question of whether I eat jam or not has been answered before.

your quote here
"I eat jam sandwiches(well jam on toast) sometimes, so why wouldn't I give it to my children."
I don't understand. Would you give a 6 month old a jam sandwich? ofcourse there is a suitable age to introduce these things. Your age of acceptility maybe lower than mine.

I give my 3yr old cakes, biscuits etc sometimes, and he also likes healthy stuff too. Sooooo like most toddlers right? In this thread I'm not talking about him.

No I haven't ever eaten hoops on toast. It sounds shite and there you go, maybe THAT should be the reason why I shoudln't allow my DD (and also DS) to have it. Cos I don't eat it and my DH won't eat it..so like so many posters said that I should be giving them whatever we eat? Well we don't eat hoops on toast. A bottle of St.Dalfour jam lasts us until is going off cos we harldy touch it either.

Yes they sell big boxes of the hagelslag in Netherlands

Now condensed milk sandwiches are gorgeous

OP

I have read the thread and i know that you are talking about your 14 mth old. I have a dc not much older and i would, and have, sometimes given a jam sarnie.

I'm not quite sure about this appropriate age to introduce certain foods.

I weaned my children at 6mth(except for eldest when guidelines were different)and i introduced all foods from then on. Should jam be banned until schoolage or summat? When I talk about a jam sandwich i mean a thin layer on a small slice of bread, not half a jar of jam every day.

Franca,

I agree re: Cadbury's. I do think that of the posters on here did used to like certain foods- spaghetti hoops etc but the go all 'yummymummy' and deny any knowledge of such devil food.

Op It sounds like you are really overthinking this .
If your DD can chew why are you giving her different things to your DS

And If you believe that only sugared stuff or highly processed food can be a "yummy treat", then this is what your children will learn too. A slice of smoked salmon with lemon jiuce, or some really fresh zingy goats cheese salad, or a well made veg risotto can be treats too

For a 14 month old? I like those things now, but I didn't at 14 months!

OP and a (very) few others on here are IMO are projecting their adult food fad choices on tots, which is just nuts. The rest of the thread is pretty much:

AIBU?
"YABU"
"Oh No I'm not and anyone who says I am is unreasonable/not reading the thread/etc etc (see above)

Actually, speaking of nuts....

'No i dont really find it hard to believe that someone British doesn't have spaghetti on toast. I find it hard to believe that most of the posters on here have never had it though.

More likely that they were sometimes given it as a kid, but are too snobby for it now. A bit like those posters who turn their noses up as Cadbury chocolate and only eat Green & Blacks.'

hmm
i had spaghetti hoops as a kid, i don't eat them now, it's not a snobby thing though-they're just not that nice! kind of slimy and too much sauce. I much prefer beans on toast.

and green and blacks is nicer than cadbury's so there- or I prefer it anyway, mainly because it is less sweet and i can eat more of it before starting to feel sick

as for the OP, well, jam sarnies, they're just a snack, right? seems fairly innocuous

I'm just saying that at 6 months old, I've never have considered giving her jam (and even at 14 months!), it's but something more nutrious on a piece of bread. She doesnt' HAVE to have jam does she? When she's a bit older and she wants to try some, sees her friends having some, then I am happy to let her try it ofcourse. but till she is not asking for it, i'd rather not give something not that nutrious to her.

Exactly, MrsBaggins.

Once you wean, do you not introduce all foodstuffs. I didn't realise that you were meant to save certain items for later in life.

We all eat the same in our house, whether it's a one yr old or a 12 yr old(with some tweaking occasionally).

Why is astonishing that people wouldn't like spaghetti hoops? I think they're gopping, always have done, same goes for baked beans. Didn't eat them as a child, still don't.

catissleepy, I agree. Just think there is a lot of food snobbery on here.

OP,

OF course there are more nutritious things to put on bread, but eating doesn't always have to be nutritious. Sometimes it can be something that is just tasty, even for a toddler. My little ones mainly have yogurt or fruit but sometimes its nice to have ice cream, no?

Even at nursery I don't have restrictions. I don't rely on my dc's nursery to install good eating habits. I do that. What they have in one day doesn't reflect the whole of their diet.

So - you are going to say it's OK for her to have the processed bread and marj. as long as they don't put half a teaspoon of jam or a dessert spoon of hoops on it. PMSL.

MrBaggins - I don't give them different foods. Well I do limit DDs salt intake more than DS's, cos she is younger - isn't that a good thing to do?
Also DS can have more "junk" in his diet as he eats more, so overall it's not a big proportion of his diet.

Anyway feel like I am going round and round in circles here. I am going to ask the manager in the nursery if the jam is sugar free. If it's the cheapy nasty stuff, I'll tell her I'll bring my own. And no more hoops please.
Before this thread I wasn't that bothered about the hoops, but this thread has reminded me how vile they really are and just as bad, if not worse than crappy jam.

It's not astonishing that people don't eat spaghetti, but some posters on here do talk shite about food.

I take it none of you ever have an occasional big fry up with baked beans??

well CHippin it's a start isn't it?? Sugar on top of processed bread and marj is worse than processed bread and marg, no?

Op i bet my bottom dollar that the jam at nursery is ASDA smart price, 40p a jar.

You are about to make a prize prat of yourself over a scraping of jam once a wk.

I love a big fry up with baked beans. and your point is?

Does it actually matter? This ultimate control is mental. What happened to all in moderation?

thats what I am worried about carman. It's the cheap shitty jam. they might as well spread sugar syrup on bread.