Nursery breakfast

[Moominfan]

Do I need to unclench? Dropped lo off for breakfast. They had one box of chocolate hoop cereal out. He goes three times a week. Each morning it's a chocolate based breakfast. At home he always has bran flakes, porridge ext with fruit. I'd rather just give him eggs but he has an allergy. It just doesn't sit right with me. But then I think it's only 3 days a week

It's been a while, but the choice at DS's nursery was either weetabix or toast and marmite.

Sugary chocolate cereal is really not appropriate.

Sometimes they get bacon rolls as a nice treat.

That’ll be their daily salt intake sorted in one fell swoop.

6g of sugar in a 30g portion (but there’s loads of research on cereal portions typically being MUCH more than that). Under 5s shouldn’t have more than 19g. Given there’s sugar in most food anyway, adding excessive sugar to the daily diet through a cereal is awful.

Weetabix type cereal has 1.2g in a two-biscuit portion.

1.7g of sugar in Weetabix portion.

I would ask for more variety e.g. rice krispies, shreddies and cherrios. Thats what they offered at my daughter's nursery
Ask if they could remove the chocolate hoops, because it's not healthy

YANBU. I love the fact that my DCs nursery only give them milk or water, no juice, no sugary cereals and only yoghurt as a pudding. Makes my rules seem less strict! I’d have a quiet word.

That's rubbish. Don't they provide porridge etc?

I really would be fuming if my child was given junky chocolate cereal every time they were at nursery.

@Waffles80 well if the parents put them on a diet outside nursery I don’t see the issue

I don't think nursery should even have sugary products as an option. I don't think I'm particularly precious about diet but I'd find that really shocking.

It sounds like your son eats well on the whole so it's probably not too bad for him but for some disadvantaged children nursery food is the only consistently healthy food they receive, its extra important that it be nutritious.

I hope you say something

Rubbish selection.... my DS nursery they’ve got to chose from:
Fruit, crumpets, pancakes, fruit toast, toast and four different types of cereal (hoops / shreddies etc)

@TeacherDeMFL you evidently struggle with maths. There’s sugar in almost all food - apples / cheese / sweet potato / white potato / pasta / whatever.

If you give a child an excessively sugary cereal x3 a week you’re just loading their diet with extra and totally unnecessary sugar. Giving them that cereal will give them in excess of 19g every day.

It's Wheetabix followed by toast in my nursery.

I wouldn't be happy about children just being given junk.

And you DON’T put a CHILD on a diet @TeacherDeMFL. What utter, utter nonsense. Do you have children?

You encourage them to develop healthy tastes and you encourage healthy food behaviours.

Totally agree with Waffles8.
You could always ask if you could take his own cereal as you don`t like him having that type of cereal three times on the trot.

Yes Waffles I agree but why does that explain the massive increase of childhood obesity?

It’s not the end of the world but it would make me question what their snack is, what their lunch is. It’s probablu crap all the time.

My DD's nursery has weetabix or crispies then toast. I'm amazed that the nursery thought this was a good idea. Absolutely raise it as an issue. Ifthey're giving chocolate cereal for breakfast, what are they giving as snacks? It's not going to be banana or rice cakes is it?

Dearie me @TeacherDeMFL.

Childhood obesity is down to excessive junk food. Of which sugary cereal is a particular example .

YANBU. It's not just the sugar, it's setting the habit so young that breakfast could or should contain chocolate.

Definitely raise it. I would't go in all guns blazing but I'd open the conversation by asking what breakfast options they offer and take it from there. To be honest I'm pretty astounded that any decent preschool childcare setting would even think to have it as a breakfast option.

What people feed their kids at home is one thing but nursery have an opportunity (and in my opinion a moral responsibility) to ensure that healthy eating habits are promoted on their premises.

What on earth is chocolate cereal? Surely kids have enough temptation to eat chocolate without making it available at breakfast time?

I wouldn’t be happy about this. DD’s nursery has a choice of plain cereals (weetabix/rice krispies etc) and toast with marmite. While OP’s child is there 3 days there will likely be other children doing 5 days - that’s an excess of sugar every weekday.

@Waffles80 one bowl of cereal isn’t, not keeping your kids on a diet and plonking them in front of a games console is

I’m not that impressed with our nursery breakfasts but they are better than yours. The children get weetabix, muesli or toast. I’d be really pissed off with chocolate cereal every day. I’d rather pay a few extra pounds for the children to have fruit, eggs, yogurt etc as well as the cereal but I don’t think it’ll change. I accept it though as the rest of the meals and snacks are great. What are the rest of the meals like at your nursery?

I'd complain about it. I'd be angry at my child being given chocolatey cereal every time they're there! A child going full time would be having that 5x a week!!

My DC are offered a selections of cereals at nursery, usually weetabix, shreddies, cornflakes, crispies and sometimes cheerios. They can also have toast.

It’s not great and it would make me wonder what else he was being given during the day. Do you see a menu?