To think I should have control over what my son eats at nursery?

[booomy]

My 9 month old started nursery this week. There has been a few issues but the food has shocked me! It's a sure start centre with all 1's from ofsted.

The first day I went in, the babies (15 of them) were being spoon fed smushed up chips and pizza! I was really shocked, and the next day had a bit of a to-do with the senior leader about DS not having chips. Pizza is fine as long as its home-made bread with tomato sauce cheese and veggies. No harm in that. But in my mind it's weird to be feeding babies as young as 5months chips, even if they are oven baked!

I also said I didn't want DS having dessert. He soon learnt that after dinner was dessert and started refusing his food, so we cut it out. They made a big fuss about it (example is fruit crumble & custard/ice cream). But after speaking to the head teacher, they just give him bits of fruit from snack time (melon, strawberries etc) that he's fine with!

Fast forward to today (jubilee party). The babies were baking (if you can call it that) when we arrived. I plonked DS in the music area, which he loves and he sat there occupying himself. One of the staff asked if he could make a biscuit with icing and I said no! They were really annoyed at me :( they said before lunch they were having milk and biscuits, and DS would feel left out. I said I really didn't want him to have one. If he felt left out then he could have a small bit of a plain one. DS has never had anything with refined sugar before. if he ate a biscuit with icing then i think he'd either have a headache or be bouncing off the walls!

Would you let a 9 month old have a icing biscuit? An odd treat is okay, but not for babies. If he was 3 or 4 and wanted one its different. Do you think i'm within my rights to ask for him to have fruit instead of a dessert?

tbh I think you need to find a different nursery

you are obv unhappy with the food provided and everything they do will grate on you

my personal opinion on the activity is that icing biscuits is great fun, a lovely bit of messy play, learning how to manipulate tools, how liquids flow, blah blah

I work in a nursery and we have a few children on "no sugar" diets - they just have fruit for pudding, it's no problem. Also if we bake with the children then whatever they've made goes home with them for parents to decide if/when/how much they eat - we don't give them the cake/biscuit at nursery.

All our children are over 2 so I can't comment on the mushed chips, but we do serve pizza and chips sometimes. When my ds was in a baby room, they had things more along the lines of cottage/fish pie, stews etc - I can't remember if he ever had chips but it wouldn't have bothered me at all at 9 months. They didn't mush up food that could be finger food though.

YABU.

Oven chips are just potato.

Food is food - I believe in offering a 'pudding' (be that fruit, crumble or cake or yoghurt) after the main. It shouldn't be a 'reward' for eating savoury food.

If you send your child to nursery, or a CM then I think you accept you relinquish some control unless you provide a packed lunch - it's not as if they're feeding him deep fried battered lard 3 times a day. It all sounds fine to me in the realms of moderation, and little children need more fat than adults anyway.

I'd be more at the food being mashed unnecessarily - pizza and oven chips are ideal for letting babies self-feed.

And I agree with what Random said about the icing activity. Great sensory play with a treat at the end - a bit of refined sugar occasionally isn't the end of the world.

Smushed up chips and pizza sounds disgusting. Pizza and chips as finger foods occasionally wouldn't bother me but not too often. The salt content would concern me more than fat content.

I wouldn't have a problem with him having a go at daubing icing on a biscuit though. As a one-off party game.

YABU and a bit precious about the jubilee biscuit.

Yuck to mashed pizza and chips.

If they cant take your wishes seriously (and I dont think you are being precious at all - he is 9 mths old FGS!), then change nurseries to one where they will.

That's vag! :) It's the best nursery round here. he was on the waiting list for 8 1/2 months to get in there. I DREAD what the others are like! Because we live in a city centre there is pretty much no where else I can send him/lack of childminders. Think i'm just going to insist he doesn't have it!

I'd be interested to see how a 9 month old could bounce off walls... even dd2 who was walking at that stage would have struggled to bounce

I was exactly like you with my DS. I've relaxed a bit since he turned 1 (he's now 16 months and regularly has a biscuit if we go to groups and eats what we eat even if it is a bit 'naughty' I just balance it out with lots of 'good' options) but there are still things I want to limit when it comes to his diet. If we don't look after our children's teeth and digestive systems who will?

YANBU but I think you need to pack a lunch or find a different nursery.

9 months old is too young for those types of treats IMO, and even if it wasn't, I'd want tobe able to give those first sugary treats myself! On the other hand,if you choose to use a nursery you do have to give up control of these things while they are there.

You should chill out.

Have they given you a menu so you can see what meals he will be having on all the days he is there? Did you discuss food, what stage of eating he is at on your visits?

The pizza chip thing might be a one off, maybe something they have once a week?

They might have mashed it because they weren't sure if he could manage to eat it properly as he is new and they are getting to know him.

In what way were they really annoyed at you? That bit would bother me more as they should respect (or at least outwardly appear to!) parents wishes.

The biscuit thing sounds ok its a treat for the jubilee. I'm assuming the room is 0-2's? That's quite a broad age group they might have planned this activity with the older ones in mind and included the younger ones so they could have fun too. I think its a nice thing they want the little ones to take part and a good sign they encourage hands on messy play.

I'd write down a list of things you don't want your child to have and ask them to offer him alternatives. This might be more challenging as he gets older though and realises the others are having different things.

I think I am pretty relaxed about food but I think that sounds awful! I don't think you are being precious in the slightest. Why would anyone give a 9month old all that rubbish? They would be just as happy with really healthy stuff. Can you find a child minder who thinks a bit more like you do?

how old (if you have any) are your DC's east & shakey? My mum and MIL say the same, can he just have a 'likkle' bit of cake? I think you forget what it's like unless you've only recently weaned a baby yourself!

I agree outraged I think if I'm going to give him stuff like that I want to introduce it slowly!

Well I think the food sounds rubbish. I know they've got to feed lots of kids but they could do something much more healthy like baked potato/ yogurt and fruit for pudding etc which is just as easy. Babies < 1 year don't need all this fatty refined food.

As for jubilee biscuit - well probably won't hurt this once but surely they could think of something else to do other than icing biscuits for babies?

My kids never had any of this kind of food until they were much older.

even though it's just for the jubilee, it seems like it's always something! There are 60 children in the nursery, whenever anyone has a birthday, they all get cake with icing! and if they do a jubilee party, i'm sure its for other stuff too!

In general the food is okay. I just don't see the need for a pudding after every meal (could easily be yoghurt or fruit) and to have chips at all! even if its not often!

Babies need a higher fat diet than adult and foods that are dense in calories.

Pizza and chips does sound like a rubbish lunch, I agree there. But the biscuit - I think you really need to unclench a little

Its just food seriously a biscuit isnt going to harm your baby I think you need to find your baby a different nursery

My kids are 5 and 20 months so I weaned them not all that long ago. I was very uptight about ds (5) tbh and much more relaxed with dd. Guess who is the better eater?

Fwiw my kids never get pudding at home unless its fruit or yogurt, very very occasionally ds has jelly and they never have chips. They eat healthily I just don't sweat the small stuff.

Also I don't get the whole sughar high thing - neither of my kids have ever, ever done this.

DS is almost five. To be fair, he never went to nursery so it's not something I had to deal with day to day. I assumed the pizza and chips were for the Jubilee? Apologies I misread. It is a while since I weaned, I've slept since then

I still think he should make and have the biscuit though :)

Pizza and chips sounds a bit odd to me. I know that chips aren't on the menu at ours and the pizza is homemade and effectively cheese and tomato on toast.

I was concerned about pudding every lunch at first however it became clear they weren't getting into bad habits or podgy either. The one food I did put my foot down over was sausages as the meat content isn't great unless you go more expensive so they just substituted it - the children were about 7 months old at the time. Once they got older, saussies were fine.

The menu at their place looks excellent and they polish off most of it. Pork casserole, bean chilli, chicken and noodles sees them have seconds!

must admit i have never worked in a nursery where chips were on the menu...wedges were another matter though

sorry but i dont see the harm in a bit of pizza made from scratch.....

making a jubiless biscuit is not the most inovative way to celebrate the jubilee but hey it does do wonders for hand/eye co-ordination

as rubi says the children never eat baking at nursery..it is always sent home for parents to decide

How do you get a 9month old to make a biscuit anyway?