to object to a slim fast soup promotional pack being put in dd's tray at nursery

[pesme]

it is all trendy packaging and says something along the lines of 'yummy soup in your tummy makes you a yummy mummy' barf!

i object to this on so many levels!

1 - exposing dd aged 3 to the diet industry (ok she probably hasn't a clue but this is my high horse)
2 - using my childs tray as a marketing device.
3 - the phrase yummy mummy
4 - slim fast is evil.

but you don't have to drink it

you can just bin it

they're not forcing it down you

I can't understand why this would bother anyone; it's a marketing strategy, obviously it didn't work on you, but it might be of use/ interest to someone else

So Greensleeves and Foundintranslation, what if a Cow and Gate (for example) sent a load of freebies of follow on milk for example. Should Patty have binned them too?

it wouldn't bother me either - I'd just bin it

I wasn't comparing Slimfast to the arms industry. I was objecting to the "oh it gives the nursery money, so it's OK" argument.

I wondered how far that could go. I wonder if they'd hand out free follow-on formula samples? [wilfully compares arms industry with SMA et al]

And DS1 adores soup. If he'd been told it was soup, he'd have wanted to try some. ESPECIALLY if he was told it was "for Mummy".

Actually, yes.
(Follow-on milk is another bugbear, or bete noire, or brickbat, or whatever the word is (sorry - pg, knackered and on way to bed) of mine, so that maybe wasn't the best-chosen example But I personally don't think an institution such as a nursery should be supporting companies' marketing activities at all).

ROFL TID - cross-post.

Yes, I'd have wanted them to bin the follow-on milk too.

Message withdrawn

But Edam, I suspect that Patty was busy looking after the children which is why she shove them in a box (slimfast sachets, not the children that is!) as this was probably quicker. We live in a very throw away society and I would feel awful about throwing stuff like that away. Surely someone, somwhere could make use of it.

As said before, the Nursery's job is to nanny the children, not the parents!

agree with FIT about not wanting nurseries to be assisting in company marketing.

A box of the stuff turned up in DS's nursery and looked as if it was left where the delivery guy put it. As they were letting the children out one of the staff asked if anyone wanted some soup as for some reason it had arrived in the hall, she wasn't sure exactly why it was there. A few of us took them muttering something about lunch.

I now feel very ashamed of myself now for having taken one and even more ashamed for having actually eaten it and spent time working out how many WW points it was. And even more ashamed that I did so in front of DS. I don't think he noticed though, he was much too busy telling me that his houmous on toast with carrot and cucumber was yuck.

To repent I will email Slimfast and tell them that their soup tastes crap & their marketing strategy is crapper and I offer my sincere apologies for having failed Mumsnet so miserably. Needless to say if ever offered one from a box in the hallway I will decline.

I would have been cross if it had been stuck in DS's bag or something though.

I can see that it is preferable for the nursery to put the soup in a box rather than in the childrens trays, but I don't think it is immoral like (arguably) follow-on milk and, um, arms would be.

It would be different for school age children imo.

it wasn't aimed at you personally Pruni

just generally

I get sent bloody Pampers all the time and I hate disposable nappies with a passion

but I accept I am a target market for them

I honestly don't get why anyone would be incandescent with rage about this. A lot of people lose weight with Slimfast and it wouldn't be my choice of weightloss but there you go; I wouldn't feel personally insulted by it

there was a load of disposable-nappy crap in my Bounty bag but I didn't write to the authorities

Why different for school-age children?

Message withdrawn

bacause if my 6 yo dd saw a packet of slim-fast I might have to explain diets etc to her and I am very careful about tying to promote healthy eating and a positive body image etc etc, but my 3 year old dd wouldn't ask questions about the slimfast, or even notice it probably.

kittypickle why should you feel ashamed?

you got some free soup and you ate it. I can't see how that lets anyone down

OK, forget Slimfast and Formula Milk.

What if Lancome put some anti-wrnkle cream sachets in a box. Would you take some of them? I sure as hell would. Infact I would take the lot.

and I'm sure that responsible parents can explain about slimfast in the same way they can explain about chicken mcnuggets

absolutely thisisdavina

we could barely stagger back to the car with the freebie smoothies they were giving out at Kew Gardens when we were there, and they were hanging round the play area

do we object to slimfast or marketing in general? are only companies who make healthy products allowed to tell anyone about them?

should we all turn our TVs off in protest and cancel the papers?

I haven't read the whole thread but I think it is a sneaky and underhand way for them to target "potential" customers. Even at 3 dd was very inquisitive and questioning and I would have been spitting bricks if I found this in her cubby. And the wordingon the advertisment "yummy mummy" .

I feel like I am letting the side down Cappuccino, sold out for a free packet of soup

I agree with the yummy mummy wording, a really aff attempt. Do us overweight mothers feel yummy anyway?

I don't think marketing is really appropriate in nurseries or schools. Secondary schools sponsored by Coca Cola anyone? It's already happening in the States, some schools get more money the more coke they sell in their vending machines. So Slimfast being sent back with nursery age children is thin (har de har) end of wedge imo. I couldn't care less if it was De Beers diamonds, I don't want nursery or school selling me stuff, I want them to look after/educate/be kind to my children. That's it, that's their remit, I think they should stick to it.

If there was a stall in a supermarket or similar placw offering free samples that is fine, it just doesn't sit well with me "using" our children, and our role as mothers to try and endorse their product.

The nurseries are not being sponsored by these companies tho......