To ask if this would go down well?

[ZebaBay]

If a mum had a young child on a bus , say aged 3 - 5, for arguments' sake, and the mum got out a snack for the child - which was a sandwich box full of colourful, pre prepared salad - so loadsa lettuce, tomatoes finely chopped props and grated carrot etc - and the child ate it contentedly - - would an eyebrow be raised amongst the Mumsnet collective?

😂

I pick my kids up fro nursery at 11.40, having had bfast at 8. Milk and snack about 10. Assuming I need to go into town after school, and I have to pick DS up at 3, it's often impossible to get home in between. But sure, I'll tell them dinner is at 4.30 and they can wait for that.

Ah - no I didn't actually factor a beverage in

I think I would think it's a bit daft to have anything that needs a fork as on on the go snack. I might have done a bad of carrot sticks and bits of pepper for one of mine. But finger food only.

A piece of fruit might be more bus-friendly.
If I go into town or to the supermarket, it amazes me how it seems normal these days to be either eating (Greggs and similar is popular) or sipping a soft drink.
It's not unusual at all to see young children eating Pringles from the tub.
Unless you have a medical reason to eat or drink in public, surely it would be better to wait until mealtime.

I'm all for salads, but not for eating in public, unless it can't be avoided.

Do you normally only drink at meal times?

I dunno, I'd probably just give them a chocolate bar. Doubt I would never prepare a salad for little Tarquin to eat on a bus but each to their own!!

*ever

@Marchforward , I don't drink when I'm walking down the street. I drink after a meal usually. If I drink when out and about, it will be from a water bottle.

I never had a situation where I felt the need to feed my child a salad on the bus. I’d wonder why they weren’t fed before or after. But past that I’d not care really

I'd have very little interest in anything anyone was eating unless it had potential to impact on others eg that stinks, stop smacking your lips, or please don't drop that/make crumbs etc
If what you're really saying is you were on the bus recently and either you commented, or someone else commented on what a young child was eating, then no, I wouldn't be surprised or shocked. I can quite easily imagine another mum saying something along the lines of What a good girl she is eating all her salad. My kids hated vegetables

If the commenter was older I'd be even less surprised.if it was a 20 year old who said WTF you eating? I might feel differently.

I wouldn't comnent, but I wouldn't speak to anyone on the bus really. If someone initiated conversation I'd be polite but probably nip it at the bud.

Highly unlikely in the town I live in. It would either MaccyDs or a box of greggs donuts

Is this related to the thread about the mum on the bus who gave her child a MASSIVE doughnut and the OP in that thread was judgy about her parenting? Are you the mum? Give the kid a doughnut, no one should be deprived of delicious baked goods!

I don’t see why anyone, child or otherwise needs to eat on public transport. If we all did it it would be like a mobile cafe. That aside I probably wouldn’t be happy if I were the driver or bus cleaner as a young child eating such a salad is bound to make a mess.

I wouldn’t judge at all but I think there’s easier things to eat on a bus.

If it’s only a short journey I would wait until we got to where we were going as it could create bad habits.

Why would anyone care? It is salad, hardly unusual.or offensive. I'm guessing you were hoping that people would say it was pretentious or middle class or whatever like performance parenting, but it is literally salad in a box.

Just don't make a mess.

Depends how the mum acts.

If it's loudly announced to the whole bus "HERE'S YOUR FRESHLY HOME MADE SALAD DARLING! YUMMY YUMMY!" Yeah, I'd be side-eyeing and rolling. And if child dropped loads, yep, eye-roll.

My child devours salad…at home. I wouldn’t take it out and about. Maybe some chopped pepper or a tomato, but not a prepared salad.

I’d think “performance parenting” 😂

I probably wouldn't notice or be close enough to see what child was eating, but if I did would think it's not a very convenient snack for a child on a bus. A sausage or banana would be much easier to handle

Nobody cares as long as the mother isn't doing the performance parenting running commentary along the lines of "Grapes Tabitha! Can you spell grape? What about courgette? And the Americans call it zucchini, don't they? Can you spell zucchini? How many varieties of tomato can you name?" and so on.

In all honesty, I'd roll my eyes at anyone who feels it necessary to feed their young child a salad, as a snack, on a bus.

I'm all for healthy eating but I'd be thinking, it's OK to unclench enough to give an easy to eat snack if it's desperately needed on public transport.

I don't think salad is a snack anyway, it's part of a meal for me. If a child needs a snack it's because they're hungry and lettuce/peppers/tomatoes/grated carrot/whatever isn't going to fill a hole for long.

Just relax and let me tell you all about aeroplanes. This is going to blow your socks off…

In true MN style I'll ask
Do you know everybody and their schedules?

There are nimerous reasons why someone might need to eat on a bus generally along one theme....if they don't eat on the bus they'll be very hungry later and there's no other reasonable opportunity to eat at another time/elsewhere. Eg going to/from an after school activity (and having had lunch at 12::30)

Everything is judged here.

God help if you if there’s no meat 🤣are you forcing the child to be vegan- it’s probably child abuse lol

Your child has had a lucky escape then- this time. But be warned, I’ll be paying very close attention in future. If I get even the vague suggestion of a bus beverage, then pitchfork it is. Stand by.