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.

MrBloomsNursery - I find it quite ironic given your username that you think there is nothing wrong in giving a 14 month old baby a jam sandwich!

tiffany- yes they are small, under 50th percentile, but then so am I and my DH is skinny too. But I don't want to fatten them up by giving junk.

Nowt wrong with a bit of food snobbery. It isn't a virtue to give your toddler Wotsits, just as it isn't to insist that your 5yo mustn't have a bit of birthday cake at a party.

I do think that there's a wide gap between our mental image of an obese child and what one actually looks like. For example, until I read it on MN I had no idea that a healthy 10yo's ribs should be clearly visible. I would have thought that that was unhealthily skinny but it's not.

OP if this were me, i would talk to the nursery manager about it. I think YANBU personally.
There is, IMO, a world of difference between a 3/4yr old pre-schooler and a 14 month old. Your older child would probably be OK having the odd treat along with his friends but at 14m old, they do not know any different.

The nursery DD goes to used to offer crumpets and croissants for breakfast. They also welcomed parent suggestions. After some discussions with myself and other parents, they now put 100% fruit spread on on-site baked bread and only offer fruit at breakfast. Thier lunches are still calorific (which they need to be for energy needs) but are things like fish pie, cottage pie, chilli, roast chicken with lots of veg etc. Puddings are occasionally sweet but all home made, incl the custard. Often it's natural yoghurt and fruit. Their afternoon snacks include home made goats cheese & watercress muffins and mackerel spread on wholemeal bagel or oatcakes.

I am much happier and they are too - they have recently sent some staff on nutrition courses and actively worked with parents to remove unecessary crap.

And this is not an exclusive, very expensive nursery. It is a private one but is in the grounds of the local college so the students can put their children in while they study and it's subsidised by the council. They are just very good staff who listen to what parents want.

Children will have plenty of time to choose their foods in the future and may well choose junk when they are teenagers etc but whilst they are of an age that a parent are in charge of what they eat, they should have the best food.

upslazy - i cna assure you it's not about preventing obesity. I will say this again.....I have a 3yr old too and he has the same food at nursery, and I have no problem with that. I just feel that at 14 months, my DD is too young for it.

I quite like spaghetti hoops - they are pasta in tomato sauce, not the devil's work FFS. yes they have a bit of sugar and salt in them, but any ragu/tomato sauce I make at home also has these things added (homemade as well as shop bought).

(Heinz spaghetti hoops ingredients: Tomatoes (47%), Spaghetti Hoops (46%, Water, Durum Wheat Semolina), Sugar, Cornflour, Salt, Modified Cornflour, Citric Acid, Antioxidant - Ascorbic Acid, Colour - Paprika Extract, Spice, Garlic Salt, Herb Extract, Spice Extract)

Jam sandwiches - yummy.

Get over yourself woman and worry about something important

My DD is in nursery. Sometimes (maybe once a week) she gets something I wouldn't give her at home (tinned spagetti on toast, a jam sandwich). Her favourite nursery meals are chicken and black bean with noodles (black bean sauce from scratch) and chicken curry (made from scratch) so the odd "bad food" isn't forcing her to beg for McDs.

She is not at all overweight, let alone obese.

I would like to stress I have never allowed my DD a fruit shoot, a Greggs sausage roll (or anything else), Quavers or anything like that!! She is 2.7years - she will eat this stuff when a teenager anyway probably.

Op - you need to get some proportion on this, feel free to complain re your child, that is absolutely your right, but it doesn't mean the non complainers are shoving crap into their kids all the time.

Oh and I was convinced the 1st time DD had the tinned spagetti she would die from salt overload. I speak as paranoid Mum about salt. I am learning to chill a little bit.....

AKMD - my 3yr has visible ribs and I sometimes tell DH that I think he is too skinny. And he says compared to whom? compared to the 40% of children who are obese?

Erm...what's wrong with my username?!

I don't get anal parents like you, OP. You can't plan out every. single. detail. of your child's life! Just stop fretting about stupid things like this and enjoy your children.

How have you gone from ONE jam sandwich to OBESITY? If your DD doesn't run about and watches TV all day, I'd be worried, but surely she is active and runs around all day like most 14 month olds?

No, it's on the wane I think. DS was confused because it wasn't a circle this morning.

I don't add salt or sugar to homecooked meals for DD. I always take her portion out first.

and it is most probbaly not Heinz tinned hoops, it's some generic brand, which is most likely of lower quality. I was once there when they served it to DS. It didn't look like Heinz to me. DS refuses to eat tinned hoops anyway, so he just eats the bread. Poor DD will eat anything, and is not quite so discerning however.

cant say I've ever noticed a VISABLE difference between Heinz and own brand hoops? [hhmm]

Has the MN world gone mad, it's a Jam sandwich! A jam sandwich isn't going to cause obesity....letting your kids sit on their bums in doors playing computer games or watching TV will.

Didn't think babies should have wholemeal bread. It fills them up too much and stops them absorbing nutrients

it had very little hoops and masses of tomato sauce. However I maybe wrong ofcourse as I don't serve it at home!

So what are you going to do then OP? Speak to the nursery?

bruffin yep, its better for children to have white bread. this fact gets ignored by the "health concious" parents...

Heinz do a baby version with little hoops OP

Their afternoon snacks include home made goats cheese & watercress muffins and mackerel spread on wholemeal bagel or oatcakes.

WHAAAAAAT

these babies are eating better than me FFS

Isn't it called Middle Class Malnutrition? Children with too many whole grains and fruit and not enough fat in their diets.

A lot of small children's digestive systems are not able to cope with digesting wholemeal (at 2.7yo my DD still can't process wholegrains, and that's medically in the range of normal) so I hope you're not going to be insisting the nursery switch to wholemeal bread for everyone... half the kids will be off with the runs!

Middleclass malnutrition - yup. I have been guilty of that. Felt like an utter twat when I found out how wrong I had got things.

Spaghetti hoop snobbery now!!
Heinz are just as bad as any other brand!

(ps, Heinz baby hoops also have no added salt)