Fruit at nursery

[KellyElly]

DD is 3 and is getting her free place at nursery. At the beginning of term, the parents were asked to bring in fruit so that the children can have it as a snack each day.

On my first day I saw a mum put a bunch of bananas in the bowl as a weeks worth of fruit. Seemed like a good idea as three different people drop DD to nursery in the week so saves the faffing with daily fruit to take in a big bunch of grapes/load of satsumas etc. However, many of the other parents don't bother and I noticed that my big bunch of bananas were gone after day one - they had been shared with the morning and afternoon class (as well as some other bits some other parents had brought). So I took in a batch of satsumas the following day (as the kids hadn't been given given any fruit on day 2 as there wasn't enough to share out) and same again (so no fruit on day 4 as had all been eaten).

I don't have a lot of money and can't afford to keep the kids whose parents don't send fruit in in snacks but at the same time DD comes home starving at 12 if she doesn't get a snack as she has her breakfast around 8. AIBU to think the nursery should have a better policy on this or ask for a contribution and buy the fruit in themselves or something? We give £1 a week contribution anyway so if every parent gave another 20p or 50p then the kids could have fruit daily. First world problem, I know before anyone says it, but just seems a bit of a daft system as is.

my dd1 school require a piece if fruit as snack each day. I don't send any as she won't eat it (eat her own bodyweight in veg though) But at our school if you arrive with no fruit, you are pestered, sorry asked if you forgot and the teacher offers school fruit at the cost of 20p. Children get the fruit they bring, and none if they have none and refuse the schools generous offer.

I dont think that preschoolers are entitled to free fruit (possibly if attached to a school) only 4-6 year olds i.e. at Primary school. However your nursery scheme clearly isnt working. I can't see how it would. They should be providing snacks for the children though and it should be included in the fees.

We used to pay 50p a week when my DS was at nursery last year. For that they got milk & snack and a fruit to take home with them. The snack was things like porridge, crackers, soup or followed a theme for the week e.g red food, foods beginning with A etc. It was a school nursery too. I find it very bizzare that you are asked to bring in fruit like this.
There probably were some people who never paid, they just made up any shortfall from the school charity fund I think.

our preschool had a fruit rota and once every 3 weeks, each child would take in enough fruit for all 15. They'd get to go into the kitchen and prepare it for snack time so was a "treat" in itself, & I always took them to teh shop to choose - often carrot / red pepper / cucumber rather than fruit.

Presume it was worded as voluntary, but nobody ever didn't do it. Enough fruit for 15 preschoolers once every 3 weeks can be as little as a few quid depending on what you buy.

That's daft that they cut it up and put it in the midle - they should just get their own and that's that. If I took an apple to work then my boss suggested cutting it up and leaving it in a bowl in the staff room to share, well I would tell her where to go!!

YANBU to expect the fruit you buy to go to your child - I would be so pissed off if this was me! Why should you be subsdising all the other families as well?!

Try speaking to the teacher, if that doesn't work then write a letter to the head.

BobbiFleckmann That's all well an good, but a "few quid" every 3 weeks is a LOT of money for some families when they are already struggling. If everyone took their own they wouldn't have this problem! And if the person forgets, then no child gets a snack and that is hardly fair.

Stick to your guns OP, you should not be expected to pay for 15 children's snacks.

I'm in NI so rules are probably different but each parent pays £22.50 a term for snack and the teachers but fruit, milk, cereal and the like for the children to have,

At the nursery I worked all, all the children brought in one piece of fruit or some veg and it got shared out in their key worker groups. It worked well because every child brought at something every day and the children got a variety. It also encouraged them to try different things. The odd person forgot here and there but 99% of the time, everyone contributed and it worked so well. It taught them about sharing too. It's a shame the parents/carers aren't actively working to help the nursery with this.

At DS's nursery, they get fruit/veg and a drink of milk for snack every morning provided by the school.

Your nurserys system clearly isn't working so you need to speak to them because if you are providing, then your DD shouldn't go without

My goodness that's not on, I would be Having words with the senior techer in charge or te head of that school. It's not fair that other arents are supplementing those that dnt bring fruit. At dd old nursery attached to a school you would pay 3 pounds per term and that would b for their snacks: fruit, toast, yoghurt

That's all well and good crash doll if all parents provide fruit, not all do like in this stuation

pigletmania Yes as I said, I said it's a shame that not all parents/carers provide fruit because it can work very well.

this works really well at our preschool but most of the parents bring stuff and there is reserve snack food available for the children brought by staff just in case. The children never go without their snack and it saves money for the preschool (which needs the money).

i dont understand why the nursery dont provide the fruit. i have worked supply in at least five different places and all of them provided the fruit at snack time i would change nursery if i was you

Are you absolutely sure this is what happens - that if there's not enough fruit no-one gets any?! Have the nursery themselves told you that?

I used to send fruit in with my DD to a nursery, they didn't have 'their' piece of fruit, it all got chopped up and shared around. Is this not what's happening here? So you bananas were just a general contribution to the mix of fruit rather than just to be given to your DD? In which case it wouldn't matter if the bunch went straight away.

Ling yes I'm absolutely sure this is what happens as DD has told me, one of the other parents who brings in fruit mentioned it to me and the day after the bananas had all gone the fruit bowl was empty the next day when all the parents had dropped off. This was the day DD told me that she didn't get any fruit because the nursery didn't have any. The next day when I brought in a load of oranges I was the only person who had brought in fruit and when I picked her up the bowl was empty and the kids so I would assume they had all been shared because I was the only person that brought them in.