In thinking this is a suitable lunch box for one year old

[ConfusedBec]

my one year old goes to nursery four days a week and instead of letting them provide a snack and meal I provide these for her. She gets either a small sandwhich made from one small toasties sized slice of bread with cheese or ham or a tin of soup that lasts two days. A banana for her afternoon snack, a yoghurt, four or five strawverries or a couple of grapes, five or six organic crisps and sometimes a banana wafer.

Is she a young 1 or a an old 1 (there's a big difference between a 12 month old and a 23 month old in terms of appetite.
My son is 14 months and would be really hungry if that's all he had but my oldest 2 at that age would have been fine on it.

Shes 13 months and doesn't seem hungry, sometimes some of the fruit or the crisps won't be eaten

If she seems happy I'd say that's absolutely fine then! How does it compare to nursery's offering?

Sounds lovely and if she doesn’t eat it all, it must be enough. Slightly off topic but what is a banana water and where can I get one?

Yes, don't worry, it all sounds suitably virtuous.

If she's sleeping well and happy then don't stress about the quantity. Mine are at secondary and go through phases of eating loads or not much!

Soup is quite high in salt btw as can be bread and cheese. Not saying you're doing anything wrong and sure you know that but, well. Anyway.

How long is she in for during the day?

Salt levels was my thinking as well. I think up to a year babies can only have 1g a day of salt, I don’t know what the level for 1-2 years is but with tinned soup, bread, cheese and crisps/ processed food generally you can quite quickly get to a couple of grams even for small amounts. So I would just check that but otherwise those foods sound fine- there is energy and variety, some fruit, plain yoghurt is good, maybe add some suitable soft enough veg instead of the crisps (peeled cucumber sticks? They can go slimy quite quickly though).

Why don't you want the nursery to feed her?

Out of interest.

Ham, soup, crisps - no I don't think it s good.

Seems to be a lunch full of salt. Try to adjust it (no crisps if she's having soup, careful with sandwich fillings) but other than that, it sounds fine.

Why do you send her in with a lunch? The nursery meals would likely be healthier than what you can provide in a lunchbox that a one year old would feasibly eat.

I thought I was going to get to look at a picture of a cute lunchbox. ☹️

Came here for the lunchbox too.

Why are you asking?

I can understand why you wouldn’t let them feed her if you were anti junk but you are sending her with junk food. I would worry that she is missing out on the social aspect of eating communally with other children

Sending soup is just a piss take as it is a burden for staff prepare (if sent cold) and a risk to other children (if sent hot)

The salt would be the potential concern for me too. Could you make your own soup so it’s less salty? Or maybe switch to a sandwich filling which isn’t processed meat. I personally also wouldn’t give crisps with soup and ham because I’d worry it would tip into too much salt. Maybe some crunchy veg sticks or something could replace those? Carrot batons maybe.

Basically I think it sounds fine but I would be keeping an eye on the salt because it could easily be too much.

I dont have the nursery feed her as this hasn't been an option when she started due to covid and she's quite a fussy eater. I do make my own soup from time to time but as a student nurse there isn't always time for me to do that. She won't eat cucumber 9r even try it she just throws it away

Can she feed herself the soup?

There’s a lot of salt in it. It wouldn’t be allowed in our nursery, but if yours are happy and you’re happy then you’re fine.

I think you’d be better off letting them feed her and just sending some fruit if necessary . What does she eat for her evening meal with you ?

I have a 7 month old in FT nursery and not only do they not permit absolutely any food on the premises that isn’t cooked by them - I cannot imagine choosing childcare for her which wouldn’t feed her (or her brother now 4 who’s also been fed at childcare from 6 months).

Did nursery say they cannot feed her due to covid? Didn’t understand that bit. Fussy eater at 1 also makes little sense - let her get on with nursery food and her peers surely and she will grow out of these habits if given the chance!

@ConfusedBec

I dont have the nursery feed her as this hasn't been an option when she started due to covid and she's quite a fussy eater. I do make my own soup from time to time but as a student nurse there isn't always time for me to do that. She won't eat cucumber 9r even try it she just throws it away

Soup makers are brilliant! Just chop and chuck in and press a button. 5 minutes prep and made 20 minutes in its own.

If you brought a 1ltr one you can make enough for a week and freeze in 5 pots.

Honestly is a lifesaver for getting in veg and time wise!

I always make sure she has less than 1g of salt a day. At home she'll eat a roast dinner minus the gravy or homemade curry, homemade bolognaise etc, everything is home made but would require the nursery to heat up if I gave her left over is with her

Sorry why does she not get fed by the nursery presumably like the other kids? Does the nursery have a policy of no food provided?