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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think the nursery are being ridiculous

72 replies

TinasCrockeryPot · 29/09/2020 09:17

ever since dd started nursery during lockd8wn the nursery would heat up food that yih out into her pack lunch box such as homemade soup pasta etc. However, now that they have reintroduced their hot lunches for 4 pound a day, they are no longer reheating homemade food and will only reheat food that have heating instructions such as tinned soup and microwave meals. AIBU to think this is ridiculous as homemade food is much more healthier than tinned soup of microwave meals?

OP posts:
StormyInTheNorth · 29/09/2020 09:23

It'll be something weird re insurance in case the food is too hot and burns someone. And also an excuse for you to pay for their meals cos profit.

Seems stupid when usually no one ever knows what you are getting when heating in the microwave whether instructions are printed or not. Sometimes it's cold other times boiling.

If I were you I'd write my own instructions and see what they say. Likely, they'll come up with some guff about all microwaves are different, but makes them know that you know it sucks.

FortunesFave · 29/09/2020 09:23

Just put it in a proper thermos container. It will stay warm...mine both have that for school.

Chocolate1984 · 29/09/2020 09:25

I don’t know any nursery that would heat home made food - or any food for that matter. It’s so time consuming and so easy to get wrong. At least with tinned soup they can tick a box to say they followed instructions, not their problem if it goes wrong.

DifficultPifcultLemonDifficult · 29/09/2020 09:26

Nurseries dont often do that in case the kid gets food poisoning, or theres something in the food that shouldn't be there, it's an insurance nightmare.

Havaiana · 29/09/2020 09:27

That’s a good idea about the Thermos bowls. They look just the right size for kids.

TeenPlusTwenties · 29/09/2020 09:28

I think you are pretty lucky they will reheat any food at all.
Nursery staff are generally over stretched, and heating individual food for children is fiddly and time consuming. Time spent heating food is time away from the children.

Waveysnail · 29/09/2020 09:28

Your lucky. Dont know any nursery that heats up food!

OhFuckingFuck · 29/09/2020 09:29

It seems a bit OTT to expect a nursery to heat individual different lunches for the kids. It would be so time consuming and so easy to get wrong.

Just send them in with a cold lunch or stuff in a thermos if you don’t want the food they offer.

x2boys · 29/09/2020 09:30

£4 a day for a baby or toddler 😲

Ickabog · 29/09/2020 09:30

I don’t know any nursery that would heat home made food - or any food for that matter. It’s so time consuming and so easy to get wrong.

I agree with this. I think you've been pretty lucky that they've accommodated it until now. If you want to carry on sending in warm food I agree with the recommendations of thermos containers.

Heyahun · 29/09/2020 09:44

They relaxed the rules during the lockdown on home cooked food etc as the kitchen wasn’t allowed be open - but now the rules have reverted back to what they were Pre lockdown !

lasangoles · 29/09/2020 09:52

Definitely not ridiculous. Imagine if they heated something to too high a temperature and it caused a burn. It could happen, and they would then be asked if they followed the instructions. I think it's very sensible of them. To be honest, I don't know of any nursery that would reheat any food at all. Must be very time consuming. Echoing pps re thermos flask. They're very good.

AriettyHomily · 29/09/2020 09:55

Thermos flask. Doesnt have to be soup mine have gone to school today with left over chilli and the other one has super noodles.

Hardbackwriter · 29/09/2020 09:59

Out of interest, is the £4 what everyone who uses the nursery pays or is it included in full fees but that's the price if you're using funded hours? In my experience nurseries really don't want you to go for the 'use funded hours and avoid the top-up charges' option by sending in food, etc, but I think they're required to offer it, so they often make it a pain. Which is annoying but also understandable because they usually lose money if you're using funded hours but not paying any of the extra charges.

kattekitt · 29/09/2020 10:01

This will be because of cross contamination, they put your bowl in the microwave and it spits, then someone else’s and the drops from yours land in theirs. Or there is something on the outside of your bowl, and finally as they do not know what they are heating up.

Also the endless faf and cost involved it’s just a nonstarter.

Original poster
TinasCrockeryPot · 29/09/2020 10:02

This is on top of paying fees

OP posts:
TinySleepThief · 29/09/2020 10:03

I'm actually amazed they ever offered the option to heat up homemade food to begin with. I don't know any nurseries that offered to heat up food even during covid so I would say you were incredibly fortunate they were so accommodating.

Ponoka7 · 29/09/2020 10:04

"Imagine if they heated something to too high a temperature and it caused a burn."

These are people qualified and experienced in looking after children. Also usually there's two people just overseeing the food preparation.

My DD's nursery happily heats up food, as do others across my city (I babysit for people). I think it's to get parents to pay the exorbitant cost of Nursery food. Their explanation will be because of the possibility of food poisoning, like Covid it must decide what days it's showing up and has been away for six months.

reefedsail · 29/09/2020 10:04

Sending soup with a tiny child to eat in a group setting is unreasonable.

LostFrog · 29/09/2020 10:04

Thermos bowl is genius.

Ponoka7 · 29/09/2020 10:05

Is someone lucky that a paid for service offers what is needed and the customer wants?

Wishforanishwishdiash · 29/09/2020 10:05

They are only silly to not include lunch in your fees, so you won't nit pick about heating homemade food and costs.

I have never heard of a nursery doing that; just wait until your LO are in school. This year they won't even help them open containers.

INeedNewShoes · 29/09/2020 10:09

Expecting them to heat homemade food, give it time to cool etc. is a bit much. That’s at least five minutes of one member of staff’s time when really they need all hands on deck just to serve the meals that have been prepared in their kitchen.

On funded days, DD’s nursery charge £10 for ‘food’.

They have to do this to survive as the government don’t give them enough money to actually cover the funded hours properly so they have to make it up somehow.

DD attends nursery 8-6 three days a week and now that she’s 3, two of those days are funded, I’m basically paying £80 a week for three days of nursery (£60 for the paid day, £10 the other two days). It’s a bargain in my view and even though my finances are stretched I wouldn’t do the nursery out of the £10 by sending her in with a packed lunch.

INeedNewShoes · 29/09/2020 10:11

This is on top of paying fees

Sorry - cross post! Ignore my ramble about food costs making up for funded places.

user27378 · 29/09/2020 10:14

Get them a Bentgo or Yumbox and just send cold food. It doesn't have to be sandwiches every day.