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.

"Why eat crap food in moderation, why notjust not eat it at all?"

so nobody should eat anything just for the taste? the taste is the best part of eating IMO and i see nothing wrong with teaching children that it is ok to simply enjoy how something tastes without worrying if it has any nutritional value.

sorry but i just can't freak out about this. it's a (no doubt thin due to budgetting constraints) layer of jam once a week.

Hmm. At DD's nursery they get chocolate cake as an afternoon snack (twice a week, other times it's choc biscuits or yoghurt and banana etc), but then for lunch they get stuff like tomato salad with balsamic vinegar, poached trout and sauteed spinach and mango and camembert etc so I figure it's not a big deal (state French nursery, nothing fancy).

Meh, once or twice a week it's fine imo.

Yanbu, I agree with the previous poster who suggested sending your own healthy snack in. Can you find out if they have a set day for each snack (they did this at both DS's old nurseries)? If so then the days where the children aren't given the best nutritionally and you feel you could give her something better then send your own snack in then.

I reckon that a bit of "crap" food now and then will not harm a child, and can actually go a long way to teach the child about everything in moderation.
As for child obesity, I think that the problem there is crap every day coupled with no exercise. Pizza or burger and chips every day whilst sitting in front of the telly or playing video games. Hardly in the same league as a jam sandwich once a week :)

I am with Franca. Really cannot see the problem with jam sandwich once a week. But spaghetti hoops from a tin? It's not even food, it's over-salted processed rubbish.

Oh god, child obesity has nothing to do with the odd jam sandwich, unless obviously one's diet is based only on that.

And btw, I am not keen on supermarkets loaf breads, I'd rather be able to bake my own bread if I had the time and inclination, but I doubt that the odd slice of white (godhelpme) bread can be so dangerous...

Sorry, meant to say, if it bothers you that much, ask if your dc can have a different snack, I'm sure it won't be a problem.

Yes, spaghetti hoops on the other hand are worth fighting against, imho.

"As I mum to 2 DCs and working part time, I might be too tired/not got the ingrediants one day to cook her a healthish dinner and might have to give her something less than a well balanced meal. But if she's already had jam sarnies that day, well that makes it difficult for me, cos then I have to offer her a healthy meal at dinner time."

A balanced diet is deemed such depending on the foods eaten over the course of a week or so, not over the course of a day. A whole day eating, say, jam sandwiches and spaghetti hoops on toast will be balanced out by eating a further 6 days of fruit, veg, etc etc.

So, you're over-worrying/overreacting and IMHO I detect a trace of food snobbery too.

I will ask them for a menu and provide an alternative. Maybe even a 100% fruit spread on wholemeal.

Sorry I am not going to apologise for wanting my 14 month old baby to not eat crap. She has no control over what she is offered, and I want to do the best by her.

Are you a toddler when you're one, then? Had always thought you had to toddle to win the badge.

OP, only you know what sort of a balance you are achieving overall for your DD's diet.
If she eats most of what you give her, and most of what you give her is healthy (whatever that means) then I wouldn't sweat the spag hoops and jam sandwiches.
It's hard to se how 2 small meals out of 21 meals a week will really compromise her in any way.

Btw, I wouldn't classify either spag hoops or jam sandwiches as "treats" exactly. I am not sure they can be considered the "thin edge" of the wedge towards full blown junk food-ism .

and BTW we all know how the forbidden fruit tastes dont we?

nope, no secret guilty chocolate bingeing kids in this house thanks. if they feel like having a treat they can have it and enjoy it, guilt free!

Depends if it's "real" jam or not. If it's just red jam, then there isn't much nutrition in it apart from sugar; but if it's proper fruit jam with bits an' everything, then there will be a healthy dose of potassium (which is necessary and works to counteract the amount of sodium in the diet) and possibly some fibre from the pips/seeds/skin (if it's apricot); other minerals and even possibly some residual vitamin C (although that's less likely). Plus a red or purple jam made with real fruit will contain anti-oxidants (anthocyanidins) which help to reduce inflammation and protect against various disease conditions.

While I am not for one minute suggesting that jam = a health food, it isn't junk either. Nor it is nutritionally derelict.

Sweetpea - exactly! Couldn't have put it better myself. And if people haven't heard of the child obesity crisis regardless of actually seeing these kids, well that just shows ignorance.

ILoveTIFFANY - there is no need to be antagonistic. You seem to have chosen to misinterpret the OP. She didn't say she wanted to feed her kids crap.

CHILL. THE FUCK. OUT

honestly, I think I feed my kids OK, then I come on here.......

I can just imagine the sniggering behind your back when you ask for 100% fruit spread on wholemeal - presumably you would like the nursery to bake their own bread ?

Many nurseries have professional dieticians look at their menu designs and do offer a balanced diet tailored to the needs of young children. These menus often include calorific, sugar-laden old-school puddings (yes, including jam roly-poly), beans on toast, and even jam sandwiches sometimes. Young children have different dietary needs than adults and what you consider to be a good, healthy, low fat diet may not actually be very suitable for a toddler.

You should keep a copy of this thread and come back to it when you have a teenager who exists on crisps, chocolate and supernoodles.

Ragwort, I know of a nursery where they do bake their own bread every day.

and you do realise OP that as your DD gets older she will be aware of teh fact that she isn't allowed to eat what the other chidlren eat on jam sandwich day? you will be creating a taboo for her.

porcamiseria, exactly. :)

Ragwort - you mean that the staff will know Johhny's Mummy, Susie's Grandma, Laura the au pair, Mr Jones, father of Peter, Jane, the nanny to Ellie... and that bloody awkward woman who demands wholemeal bread and 100% fruit conserve with a posh label for her PFB?

Choceyes - if it bothers you a lot, then raise raise it with the nursery, or send in your own snacks.

Nurseries and schools were meant to be focusing on nutrition because in a lot of cases, some kids aren't getting enough to eat at home, or they are not getting nutritional food. The OP doesn't want to feed her kids crap, but what about the other parents who don't think that a Jam Sandwich is nutritionally lacking, and feed it to their kids at home most nights, as they think it's ok because the nursery makes them?

As a PP said, a nursery has full time kitchen staff, so they should be preparing snacks which are nutritionally balanced and not throwing a quickie snack/meal that a tired Mum might occasionally grab for her kids.

LOL at Franca, my Italian DP HATES tinned spahetti too! I sometimes get it when he's not around
I would not even dare show it to talian rellies, as theuir reaction would make me conversely LOVE it

But OP, still think YABU

ReadySteadyDrink - "what about the other parents who don't think that a Jam Sandwich is nutritionally lacking, and feed it to their kids at home most nights, as they think it's ok because the nursery makes them?"

You're extrapolating. What makes you suggest that the other parents are that ignorant or less concerned with their childrens' welfare than the OP?

Everyone will say YABU but I for one think YANBU.

At 14 months she has no need or desire for so much sugar. But then you can't really expect nursery workers to care about your child's nutrition in the same way you do, can you? They are doing what is cheap, quick and probably never refused. Sounds grim to me.