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.

In my opinion there seems to be two types of parent that have an unhealthy attitude to food and how they feed their dc's.

The first type only give their dc's processed stuff. Their kids are the ones that you see on holiday crying cos there are no chicken nuggets or they have a panic attack at the continental breakfast cos they only eat coco pops.

Then there are the ones who think they are fab parents because they take their own food everywhere rather than have their poor child eat a one off snack from the ASDA cafe. Who pull out grapes for pudding while they scoff chocolate cake.

Why can't people just adapt and give their children whatever is around for that day as a one off. In my opinion you are only teaching picky eating. Either that, or a child that is going to really gorge on sugar/junk when they get the chance.

Agree with poster above. Both my kids have a mix of food at nursery - healthy home made shepherds pie and veg but lemon curd sandwiches sometimes too. Home made curry and rice but for tea sometimes mini sausages or spaghetti hoops. I like that they get a range of things, even if some healthier than others. For all the jam sandwiches they might eat they also shove down lots of fruit and hummus and carrot sticks.

I wouldn't worry but if it bothers you - send food in.

I recently discovered tinned spaghetti my DSs love it with scrambled egg on toast, admittedly they are 3 and 6...

Same here MrsBaggins.

My dc's are the same. We always have some chocolate, crisps etc in the house. My dc's are just as likely to ask for grapes or mango or parma ham and ciabatta!

BTW surely it's ok to eat sugar? Too much is a bad thing I know but that probably applies to most things.

This thread is totally bizarre! It wasn't that long ago that the only way for us to get fruit in winter was preserving it in sugar or alcohol!

Never mind long ago - worrying about a Jam Sarnie is a Rich First World problem....

It's difficult to know where to draw the line though. If you were happy with nurseyr giving jam and tinned hoops, then what about crisps, wotsis etc? where does it end? I just think that a nursery should not be giving substandard food. It should be up to the parents to give at their discretion.

I'm encouraged by the fact that somebody said their DDs childminder got marked down my Ofsted for giving jam sandwiches, so I feel justified in bringing this up with the manager. (although she is a bit of a witch, all the parents are scared of her, so wish me luck!!)

ffs it is jam not heroin

Mrs Baggins - I'm not stressed. Well I am as a working mother of 2 little ones, but not about this issue.

that's not very helpful Seven.

choceyes, i would not mind if my dc's were given wotsits once a week at nursery.

I would only think they were given substandard food if all their meals were full of sugar or salt.

Perhaps in hindsight you should have researched your nursery beter and only placed your dc's in one that served food to your standard 100% of the time.

I think you will look a total fool complaining about jam/spaghetti once a wk.

Are you seriously that mithered over such a non-issue?

LaWeasel, that is one school of thought, definitely - suggestion that artificial sweeteners are actually contributing to the epidemic rise of type II diabetes and obesity because of it.
I think the amount of fructose that is used instead of straight sugar is quite worrisome as well - excess fructose can get turned into sorbitol in the body, which attacks the retinas - so diabetics who are at risk of retinal damage because of the high level of blood sugar/lack of insulin, who then eat foods containing HFCS, or other high fructose foods are increasing their risk of damaging their retinas.

Carmen - I am neither of those kind of parent.

if I don't give my 14 month old jam she won't become a picky eater as a result. I'm pretty sure of that.

I think the world has gone mad if a childminder has been reprimanded for giving jam or honey sandwiches. did anyone check if she was looking after the children properly or if they were happy?

I wasn't talking about artificial sweetners anyway when I said sugarfree jam. Just the ones sweetend with grape juice.

I suspect they did. They mark the childcare on many different issues, not just the one.

Well, choceyes i am not so sure.

You seem to be speaking very irrationally over such a trivial issue.

Doesn't sound like someone who had a healthy attitude to food to me.

The issue about healthy eating surely is around having a good, all round diet. The occasional snack of crisps, chocolate, other junk is not an issue if generally you mainly eat good stuff. You don't have to avoid sugar etc totally, just in moderation.

Sense of perspective is useful in these situations.

Fifitot,

There doesn't seem to be any sense of perspective at all.

Why am I talking irrationally? Just because I don't agree with you?
What about the posters that agreed with me? Are they also irrational with a bad attitude to food?

Jam cannot be made or preserved without sugar.

You might think a sugarfree jam is merely sweetened with grape juice, but it really isn't.

Thzumbazombiewitch That's interesting - and scary too, that you could be diabetic and think you are doing the right thing by eating sugarfree foods but still have problems because of the fructose.

DOn't talk down to me Carmenelectra. I do happen to have a sense of perspective. Just because I have a problem with people giving junk to my baby DD doesn't mean I've lost the plot, thank you very much.

Yes the other posters are irrational too!!

You say you are not the type of parent i mentioned, yet you are upset that a toddler gets a smidge of jam on bread and butter once a wk, or a tablespoon of spaghetti hoops.

So upset that you are thinking of seeing then nursery manager. For a tiny morsel of food?

To be honest I wouldnt get that stressed if my dc's had chips and every twice a week at nursery. I would think what they ate at home the other 98% of the time.

I'm sorry. I am not suggesting that you have lost the plot.

I think you are overthinking something that is a complete no-issue, that's all.

I'm encouraged by the fact that somebody said their DDs childminder got marked down my Ofsted for giving jam sandwiches, so I feel justified in bringing this up with the manager. (although she is a bit of a witch, all the parents are scared of her, so wish me luck!!)

That was one person, but with about 200+ others saying YAB very U, so I don't think that countenances "justification" at all!

With parents like you OP, I'm not surprised the manager has had to be pretty tough!

And I certainly won't wish you luck, I hope she tells you to P...Off seek alternatives elsewhere. Its precisely this sort of over-precious parenting that then screws things up for all the other more reasonable mums at the nursery/kids club/etc etc.