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?

oh, and yes i would have let dds have an icing biscuit at 9 months.

FWIW, my daughter went to a nursery that did home-cooked food which included puddings, cakes and pizza in sensible quantities.

We have had far more problems with her eating habits since she started school (packed lunches) and has listened to loads of her classmates constantly whining about the foods they don't like.

It's a pita but I think most kid will go through some kind of awkward phase with food no matter how much input you have into their early diet.

If you are so precious about food you need to cook it yourself.

Or get a nanny/childminder.

You are being very precious to assume eating a biscuit would give him a headache.
If he doesn't actually have any special dietary needs, then they won't make an exception food wise for your pfb; you'll have to vote with your feet if you can't accept that. (are you sure they give puréed chips to 5 month olds? )

9months with the only sugar being from fruit and yoghurt, then suddenly a biscuit with icing all over it??? You don't think that would hurt his head? He has never eaten it in his life, of course it's going to have some effect on him!!

I am sure they were feeding it to all the babies because I was there and watched it. That's why I asked to see a menu.

The nursery does have its own cook.

Did you question them about food to start with? I wouldn't be happy with one serving pizza and chips. You do need to relax about the little things-an iced biscuit is neither 'here nor there'.

As far a I remember by daughters head didn't explode the first time she had a chocolate button.

If you feel this strongly about your son's diet, of course that is your prerogative but you are going to have to make alternative child care arrangements if you don't want to drive yourself or the nursery barmy.

Ex cm here. Do home made pizza from scratch do healthy. Never served chips.

Jubilee biscuit, think yrbu as its just one biscuit.

I have 4 kids older 2 grown up. They had a friend who was banned from all sorts of foods and tv do when he went to friends houses he stuffed his face and was mesmerised by the tv. He is now very fat.

If you ban things it teaches children nothing about sensible independent living as adults or choosing a sensible balanced diet.

He won't always be a baby.

Also I don't agree with singling your child out like that, it's a but mean.

Isn't sugar in yoghurt the same as a biscuit? I recently heard that those petit folous ones have lots of sugar in! Or did you mean natural yoghurt.

I really don't think one biscuit would give your baby a headache.

bunty aw my sympathies, I've had a few phases like that! how old is your DS?

Mine once went 3 weeks where he would only eat petit filou and courgette. (not together obviously!) I think around 15 months? Thank god that's over with, he's back to hoovering up everything (growth spurt).

He once went off cheese for a month, broke my DH's heart (he was a cheesemonger at the time )

No no yogurt contains precious first born middle class mummy sugar. It's quite different from the nasty common sugar you get in things that poor people eat. Like biscuits and takeaway pizza.

I think that I'd keep a close eye on the menu for a couple of weeks to see what the typical pattern is. If it was consistently not meeting your expectations and it was not in line with guidance for the age group then I'd be taking it further.

However I never had an issue with the occasional biscuit because I didn't want to put any food group off limits or encourage an unhealthy attitude to food. My DC are older now and they have a few friends that seem to live on sweets and biscuits now they are in High School. I remember them as toddlers and they weren't allowed to eat any sweets or biscuits at all.

It's a long road ahead

I reckon the nursery will be glad to see the back of you tbh.

at poulay

I have heard a lot of things lately about "good" and "bad" sugars. A health visitor once told me how bad raisins are for childrens teeth, because of the sugar being concentrated. Most people see them as a healthy snack but she said you might as well give chocolate buttons as it washes off the teeth where raisins stick to them. Not sure if that's all correct but it made sense to me.

Hmm, OP- sugar in yoghurt is the same as the one in biscuit. Are you aware that breastmilk is high in sugar as well? He most definitely wouldn't be bouncing off the walls after a quarter of a biscuit (as he probably woudn't even eat the whole one).

I agree that it's better to feed the children with unprocessed, nutritious food. But oven chips are potatoes and (possibly) sunflower oil- which one of those is so offensive to you?

poulay

Erm, have to say OP ONE bit of biscuit wont blow his head off.

My DS grabbed a party ring (a very very very naughty biscuit) and took a huge bit when he was 8 months, and nothing.

Thats a side issue, of course if you don't want him to have a biscuit then that's up to you, but I think you are over stating the dangers!

Anyway as others say on here if you are worried that the food is not up to standard then complain, if it is and its your personal preference, you are not going to have an easy time if you have to watch them all the time so best look around.

Do they give him jam sandwiches too? .

BOTh are being unreasonable

you are being a tad precous over his diet, I am afraid the comment "Pizza is fine as long as its home-made bread with tomato sauce cheese and veggies. " demonsrated that

they however are taking the lowest common demoninator on diet

change nursery I advise

Mmmm Jam Sandwiches, just rediscovered them.

"9months with the only sugar being from fruit and yoghurt, then suddenly a biscuit with icing all over it??? You don't think that would hurt his head? He has never eaten it in his life, of course it's going to have some effect on him!!"

aww bless you OP

Well we only have one meal to go on, before this nursery is damned. He might be getting woven lentil bake tomorrow, we just don't know!

How do you know it was mashed up pizza and chips if it was all mashed up? It could have been roasted potatoes, vegetables in tomato sauce and a bit of bread. Now that would seem acceptable to you, but pizza and chips isn't?

I think you need to lighten up, but then again I may be a bad mother because I'm already weaning my 4 month old (he's my second child - first was weaned at 6 months)

this reminds me of that thread where someone was horrified to discover their kid had a chocolate button or similar, and then went on to preach about the benefits of homemade syrupy raiseny flapjacks

Petit filou - 6.2g per small pot
snack pack sunmaid raisins - 30g
half a banana - 15g
1 choc digestive - 4.8g per biscuit

:)