To change nursery because of menu options

[Confusedwithcake1]

So I'm returning to work soon and my LO will attend the local nursery for 2 days a week when 11months old. When I chose the nursery I was happy with the care, location etc and at the time I was happy with the menu options.

Fast forward now and I've looked at the menu options and now I think I want to look for a new nursery. Specifically because they serve cake as a pudding (wasn't on previous sample menu)

Don't get me wrong I love cake and know that LO will eat cake at parties but I was just hoping that a nursery setting would provide something less junkie.

My DH thinks it's fine as it's only 2 days a week but I'm not so sure as it seems unnecessary for a 11month old.. so aibu to try and find a new nursery based on one sample menu that lists cake as a pudding?

Just tell the nursery to give him oat cakes when they give out cakes.

I can't see any good reason for a nursery to feed junk either. They've got the kids weekdays for hours and it an excellent opportunity to eat well and develop a savoury tooth. The kids will all be getting enough junk at home to counterbalance.

Greek yogurt and fruit is a good idea

When your child is a bit older and you have so much other important stuff to deal with you will look back and this and laugh. It really only is a bit of cake. Keep things in perspective.

Hi OP, what a weird thread. Hope you haven't felt too under attach. People can be odd about food.

My 2yo is at nursery and they don't serve 'pudding'. I'd be unhappy if they did. I don't like the idea of it being a casual midweek addition to a regular meal and think cake is totally unnecessary for babies.

We do occasional treats here, baking together, a shared slice of cake in a cafe, biscuits with grandma. Maybe twice a week. If nursery were already giving her two sugary treats each week we couldn't do that. They'd have used up her sugar quota each week.

I do limit sugar here but don't label it as bad. It's just a thing we have in moderation. Both my kids eat a varied diet with no complaints and we never do the 'finish your plate' or 'eat this to get that' stuff. Fussiness is not inevitable and nor is endless sugar.

I don't think you're being unreasonable, OP. We ask that both DDs don't get sugary puddings at nursery, because they're both behave horrendously after a sugar crash and also because I don't want them to think of pudding as a daily "treat" that's a part of every meal - food is just food, but some food is much more useful nutritionally than other food. I don't think pudding should be a prize for finishing the main course, and I don't think it should be a necessary and normalised part of a meal because nutritionally it isn't.

None of the nurseries we spoke to had a problem with offering fruit instead or not offering pudding when the others had it.

I used to cook for the nursery I worked at when the cook was off sick. The cakes/puddings were homemade and I put a lot less sugar in them than recipes state, did put apples/raspberries and strawberries in them but they were certainly healthier than the fromage frais that some parents preferred.
Freshly made apple cake with custard isn't unhealthy and is a good way of getting some fruit and milk into children who are fruit averse. I used to put grated carrots/ courgette and beetroot in cakes too.

A small amount of cake in the wider context of a day of healthy eating is not a big deal. I think the biggest trigger for binge eating and eating disorders is good restriction. It is far better to allow a child to have a small amount of junk food every day than to restrict it. Restricted food becomes forbidden fruit and as they get older they are more likely to gravitate towards it and not be able to control themselves.

Lifeisontheup2 This is what my childminder does - yes, it's called cake but it's definitely health, much more do than frontage frais tec, which is basically sugar

Yesterday a guest bought round some huge meringues topped with strawberries and cream for us and a chocolate cake thing with marshmallows for 2 yo DD. She had a bite of her cake and then spotted my strawberries and kept asking for strawberries. She never finished the cake but had most of my lovely strawberries. Obviously having cake once or twice a week at nursery hasn't affected her too badly! I suspect if she was always denied sweet things though that she would have gone crazy and demolished the cake.

Just ask for him to only have yoghurt or fruit unless it's a Birthday. Lots of parents did it at the nursery where I used to work, particularly in the baby and toddler rooms. I'd do it myself.
Ime children in nursery don't tend to mind having different things from each other because it'll probably be a case of for e.g. Amy and Adam have no sweet pudding, Bilal has halal, Caspar is veggie, Dora is allergic to bananas etc etc. so they'll be fairly used to different children having different things on different plates.

HAHAHA! You are being LUDICROUS. That's given me a right laugh.

I can't believe how many people have taken this thread seriously! Hilarious fools.

My 12 year old is (healthily) rake thin. She had cake/rice pudding/custard etc for pudding at nursery 3 days a week as a little person. My 9 year old is not thin and has lots of food issues. It doesn't matter. Honestly. You can try and control things as much as you like and ultimately they're individuals with personal tastes and metabolism and issues. Some cake two days a week is not going to kill them. From what I've seen, it's the kids whose parents routinely say no to stuff like that who go fricking mental when they do get their hands on the forbidden food. It seems like a massive thing now, I get that. It isn't though. If you think the nursery is great, safe, happy.. send your kid there.

Flum
You obviously have never worked in a nursery
This video might give you a bit of an insight
m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=741407929349547&id=529469397210069

insancerre that clip is so funny!

It is
But it is true
There are parents like that
I've watched it a couple of times and still giggle

If it's homemade, it will be far more healthy than a bought, gelatine and sugar or sweetener filled yoghurt
YABU

I'll say to begin with I currently have 2 children in FT nursery and both started at 9 months.

But OP, when you use Ft childcare they are parenting for you to some extent (most the time: they parent better than you do ) you will
Struggle to be a controlling parent when you work FT. You need to raise your children with their carers. It's just something you have to accept.

Weirdly earlier I was searching for something and found a thread from a woman who raised her children gluten free for health- they weren't gluten Intolerent. Anyway it went on for 24 pages about how she was making her children life hard and all I could think was you're clearly a SAHM because no working parent does that shit (unless you lie to nursery and get them To do
It)

Hey I'm going to agree ! I work in a nursery we never offer the baby room cake (older children have plain cake once a week max-which I'm against!) . We mainly have different fruits with plain yogurt for pudding - in our area some of the children's diets are really poor and we do our best to educate the parents on nutrition. When you see the kids having fast food for breakfast and dinner (I'm not exaggerating) I think you have to do everything you can in nursery to encourage healthy eating at all times.
But not worth moving nurseries over! Just mention to manager it is not reccomended for babies to have good with added sugar.

All the jellies, whips and cakes and DS nursery are sugar free. Can you check this with the nursery? Also, we were specifically told they can offer alternative snacks and puddings if we feel they are too sweet.

All the jellies, whips and cakes and DS nursery are sugar free. Can you check this with the nursery? Also, we were specifically told they can offer alternative snacks and puddings if we feel they are too sweet.

I do think you are slightly over reacting over a bit of cake. The portions will be tiny, honestly. My little ones nursery told me that he had had 3 helpings of pasta one day and I was a bit worried about how much they were feeding him. Before causing a scene I asked how much a portion was and they said 'about 6 pieces of pasta'. I felt myself ease straight away as I realised how little it was. Maybe you could just ask what ingredients they use as a lot of recipes ours use are low sugar and fat and so much so that the adults aren't really keen on it. It's better to have little and often rather than lead to binge eating as treats will be such a novelty.

Just take a yoghurt or some fruit in with you, they'll probably label it and put it in the fridge for your child to have. If you're happy with the nursery then it'd be crazy to try find a new one now. I know so many people who are struggling to find a nursery they're just 60% happy with!
In regards to cake and sweets etc I'm with you, I see no need for my DS (8m) to have chocolate (he's dairy free anyway). He doesn't understand the thinking that these types of foods are special so is just as happy with other things.
This past week he's had very low blood sugars due to an illness so I'm actually giving him lots of high sugar stuff for a change, feels weird! Sugar does have a place in a healthy diet though :) you just need to be sensible and now over-do it.

Are you Chris Morris?

I have had four dc go through nursery and have absolutely no idea what they have eaten... crap mom!