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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Nursery feeding 3yo chocolate chip weetabix every morning - AIBU

153 replies

Hmmmminteresting · 22/05/2019 19:18

Not the first time I've had food issues with the nursery... they're great and a lovely bunch of ladies, barely any staff turnover.. Dd age 3 has had the same key worker since she was 8mo
However they feed the kids utter shit some days. I've raised it and been told that it's a "treat" however they have these treats every day (chocolate biscuits, icecream, cake etc) and now the chocolate chip weetabix being out on the table every day is starting to take the pee a little.
She goes 4 full days so cant exactly avoid it...
Aibu to complain (again) or do I just suck it up and accept it

OP posts:

Ellieboolou27 · 22/05/2019 21:38

@Drogosnextwife agree with you totally regarding fruit, but 3 is a bit little to have choc cereal daily.

Shazafied · 22/05/2019 21:39

Honestly I wouldn’t really care ! Maybe I’m a terrible parent. As long as they are eating some healthy food throughout the day as well... but that’s just me !

LaurieMarlow · 22/05/2019 21:41

Tricky one.

Firstly I wouldn’t be happy with the normalising of daily chocolate for breakfast, no matter how small an amount. It’s not the approach to food I want to encourage.

However, if the nursery is otherwise good I wouldn’t be moving my child on this alone.

Do they have a food/nutrition policy? Ask to see it. I’d then be pointing out disparity between what it contains and what’s on offer. Then I’d be clear my child is not to get chocolate full stop.

Frouby · 22/05/2019 21:42

If it helps I am sure chocolate weetabix is approved by slimming world as a healthy choice for fibre.

Meh, I wouldn't worry.

Unihorn · 22/05/2019 21:43

waterandmilk half of a child's fibre intake, the same vitamins as most cereals and a third of their sugar intake, which makes sense when it's one of three meal a day surely...? It's hardly containing nothing useful is it

MotherOfDragonite · 22/05/2019 21:45

That's awful. And I say that despite having moved on from my PFB... now I've got two and am fairly chilled out, but I still think it's poor to be giving them sugary cereals.

The nursery my eldest DD went to was sugar free but they ate really well, you wouldn't have really noticed it (eg yoghurts after lunch, but the ones just sweetened with fruit purees). The cereal was all sugar free which was apparently hard to find as most cereals have so much junk in them. We shouldn't make it normal though!

YouWinAgain · 22/05/2019 21:45

DDs Nursery have self service at breakfast time but they only offer the very sugary stuff on Thursdays and Fridays (DD only does 3 days and only Friday out of those 2). Other days they offer plain wheetabix, p;lain porridge, cornflakes or rice crispies followed by toast or fruit.

I don't let my DD have the sugary stuff at Nursery at all, she gets honey cheerios occasionally at home but otherwise plain cereal. They just distract her and serve her on those days.

She has SN though so has no idea what her friends are having.

LittleHaloToo · 22/05/2019 21:45

Our nursery don't even give cereal at all. Only porridge, yoghurt, fruit or their own baked bread. And it's all organic. They really should be doing better than that OP. I can't believe they give squash.

Drogos, there is a massive difference actually between chocolate/added sugar and fruit. The difference is fibre, vitamins and water. Fibre has been shown to increase life expectancy and reduce the chances of cancer and cardiovascular disease significantly in very large studies. Refined sugar has no benefits and is detrimental to health. Whether you want to pay attention to the research is up to you. But I certainly do, and I intend to give me DC's the best eating habits I can whilst they are still young enough for it to make any difference, and who knows, maybe (hopefully), it will help them eat healthy as adults.
Actually there are also numerous studies that show that parental diet, weight and exercise is pivotal in determining diet, weight and health in children.

LittleHaloToo · 22/05/2019 21:47

healthily not healthy!

Heronwatcher · 22/05/2019 21:48

The difference between chocolate chip weetabix and normal weetabix is minimal- probably 2 teaspoons of chocolate chips. If she’s eating healthily for the rest of the time and the nursery is otherwise good I wouldn’t make a big issue. On the other items maybe have a word with the staff, my kids often had cake/ cookies/ flapjack/ pie etc but they were low sugar versions and tiny portions.

Bambamber · 22/05/2019 21:48

If it was just the chocolate Weetabix it wouldn't be so bad. But when you add it daily cake and ice cream it all adds up. If I didn't agree with the food served I would change nursery.

drspouse · 22/05/2019 21:51

They have to provide food that all the children will eat.
Apart from the one child at my DD's CM who complained to her mum if she didn't get chocolate spread every day, most childcare settings say that children are much less fussy with them than at home.
It's exactly the place to reinforce healthy eating.

Passthecherrycoke · 22/05/2019 21:52

Cereals are brilliant for fibre. Also have added vitamins and minerals. Great way to get a good daily dose of iron you wouldn’t otherwise get

Beamur · 22/05/2019 21:57

My DD loves these. I'm not a big chocolate eater but do enjoy it at breakfast time!
It really depends on the diet as a whole. Weetabix with chocolate chips isn't so bad, but if it's followed by treats throughout the day it's not a healthy pattern.

scubaprincess · 22/05/2019 21:58

Chocolate weetabix isn't as bad as you think health wise. I follow slimming world and as part of your healthy extra you can have things like weetabix, porridge etc and chocolate weetabix is included in that. So surely it can't be so bad?! Saying that I wouldn't want a nursery setting to be giving things that promote sweet treats. Perhaps say something to the nursery manager but I'd look at the bigger picture of the food intake first.

Nodancingshoes · 22/05/2019 22:00

Changing nurseries seems abit extreme! Ask the manager about it and see what they say would be my advice... Tbh it wouldn't bother me but I'm pretty relaxed about food as long as there's a balance

Maryann1975 · 22/05/2019 22:01

She loves fruit and will regularly eat 6 lots a day at home as she is just always at the fruit bowl
My dentist would not be happy with this. Do you know how much sugar is in fruit? I’m not convinced having 6 lots of fruit a day is great tbh. Try swapping some of that for vegetables which have far less sugar in.
If you don’t like what the nursery feed your child, have a word with them. If you don’t like the response then move her somewhere else until you find somewhere that suits your parenting style. But once your child starts school, I hope they don’t turn into one of the dc who only eat a plain jacket potato and cake/biscuit and custard every day (and I know that some of the dc I know who do this used to eat really well at preschool and now have rejected all the nutritious food for the bland beige stuff).

Another thought - You could always feed her breakfast at home so she is too full up to eat the chocolate weetabix?

Leftielefterson · 22/05/2019 22:07

I’d be really concerned at that to be honest OP. I wouldn’t dream of giving my child chocolate every day never mind for breakfast. As for chips etc. I wouldn’t mind if it were once a week but I’d rather be the one administering treats than the nursery.

I’d speak to the manager.

Original poster

Hmmmminteresting · 22/05/2019 22:09

Thanks for all the responses. Moving nursery isn't something I'd want to do, she's really settled here and my ds is due to start soon but i do feel these issues need ironing out. However based on some of the responses I'm being massively unreasonable

The squash thing was a big issue for me when she was in the baby room. Their explanation was that the kids all unintentionally shared sippy cups and it was impossible to manage who was having water and who was having squash and because so many babies preferred squash it was just easier. I really kicked off on that one which resulted in a meeting with the manager (again - there have been 3 or 4 so far) but I was basically told they'd do their best to ensure dd only drinks from her cup from now on!

Then the following day I picked her up and she had a chocolate biscuit in each hand at 5.15pm.

It's really annoying because they are a lovely nursery. The staff are amazing and I have no worries about the care she receives.

I feel like I must be the only parent who complains about this as nothing really changes, and that puts me off complaining as I don't want to be seen to be the awkward one.

Cant remember who but upthread someone questioned why i cared now that its May?
Well she's only just turned 3, she's there another 18m and she goes fulltime. It's a private nursery not a preschool, but she's in the preschool room

OP posts:

Original poster

Hmmmminteresting · 22/05/2019 22:10

Other comments - cant really give breakfast at home as we leave at 7.15am so she would probably still go on to eat breakfast with the other kids anyway!

OP posts:

Original poster

Hmmmminteresting · 22/05/2019 22:14

With regards to her fruit intake, I agree about the sugar and have been taking her to our dentist since she had teeth as shes registered with a denplan practice like me and dh. We try and keep it as low sugar as poss but a standard day she'll have an apple, a pear, banana, kiwi, some melon and pineapple. She also loves all veg apart from cauliflower so we are quite lucky, and despite the fruit not being great for sugar I'd much rather she goes in and chooses a banana over a jam tart or biscuit

OP posts:

CarolinaChina · 22/05/2019 22:17

Your nursery must be a barrel of laughs, thinkdrinkwater

Nottheduchess · 22/05/2019 22:24

Can’t say it would bother me. The amount of actual chocolate is tiny, it’s not like the DC are eating a Mars for breakfast.

Drogosnextwife · 22/05/2019 22:25

Drogos, there is a massive difference actually between chocolate/added sugar and fruit. The difference is fibre, vitamins

Yeah there quite a bit of fibre and vitamins in weetabix LittleHaloToo.

yabadabadontdoit · 22/05/2019 22:31

The squash thing was a big issue for me when she was in the baby room. Then the following day I picked her up and she had a chocolate biscuit in each hand at 5.15pm.

In the baby room?

I get the feeling you’re exaggerating wildly now

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