Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Nursery gave baby rusks

199 replies

Wonderingabt · 13/12/2023 21:44

7 month old recently at nursery.

They've fed her rusks. Should I be worried?

I don't offer rusks at home because I heard they are full of sugar. I was fed them myself as a baby though as were others in 80s.

A nursery worker today commented that 'she loves rusks'. Do I need to step in and say no rusks? I hate the idea of kicking up a fuss but I don't want her eating rusks every day. Once a week I can cope with.

The rest of the nursey food seems healthy but I'm surprised they give rusks as I assumed they know about sugar etc. Unless these are special rusks...do those exist?

Yabu - no need to kick up fuss
Yanbu - tell them no

OP posts:
thefallen · 14/12/2023 05:42

It's a rusk, not heroin. She enjoyed it and it has done precisely zero harm. Calm down.

ApolloandDaphne · 14/12/2023 06:00

I'm willing to bet the nursery is giving her low/no sugar rusks. Just ask what she is getting.

Autumn1990 · 14/12/2023 06:10

I’ve never known a child actually eat much of a rusk, mainly they get chewed and smeared everyday.
But I wouldn’t worry about them. If you have a second, they end up eating all sorts of non baby foods. I made baby suitable ice lollies for dc 1. Number 2 got whatever packet I opened that dc 1 fancied.

Sausage1989 · 14/12/2023 06:15

Wonderingabt · 13/12/2023 21:49

Oh God

Show quote history

'Oh God'
Haahhaha seriously chill the fuck out. Jeeeeeeeez.

NotARealWookiie · 14/12/2023 06:18

I am surprised that a nursery would give a baby rusks. Just tell them you aren’t happy with it if you aren’t.

I would have got her up over this with my first but with my baby now I couldn’t get too worked up over the odd rusk.

They might be those mini rusks…might not be a big one.

confusedaboutclothes · 14/12/2023 06:44

Piglet89 · 13/12/2023 22:02

@VeterinaryCareAssistant yeah but rusks are a gateway drug to KitKats and shit.

Now my obsession with kit kats makes sense…I was forced to eat rusks as a child - and not even the low sugar kind god forbid!

Jifmicroliquid · 14/12/2023 06:48

You do realise that when these babies shielded from sugar become teenagers, they’ll eat just as much sugar and rubbish as everyone else and you won’t be able to do anything about it?

Chill out. Babies survived on all sorts of sugary stuff for years without any problems.

SnowsFalling · 14/12/2023 06:50

They are rusks.
Thy might not be what you'd feed your child, but they are acceptable baby food.
Either let nursery get on with it, or move her.

ISpyNoPlumPie · 14/12/2023 06:51

So many patronising “cool mums”! It’s so tragic/PFB/a first world problem to want to follow dietary advice for a baby.

Given the rates of childhood obesity and dental caries, the judgment of those who want to parent better is pathetic. Stop projecting your own insecurities about your parenting decisions onto others. The OP wants to make a different choice…because it’s the right one.

TheChippendenSpook · 14/12/2023 06:53

At 8 months old, I don't think they'd give her a full one. We never used tobgove rush when I worked in nurseries. When we have them a biscuit as a treat, (a rich tea) we'd give the little ones half each.

bellac11 · 14/12/2023 06:57

MeMySonAnd1 · 13/12/2023 23:53

Frankly, it is a rusk, if you really want to keep sugar relatively at bay when it comes to babies’ diet, you might want to remove Pettit suits, baby jars, grapes and raisins, any product made specifically for children from cereals to Calpol and fruit juices as well.

Exactly this, the body doesnt differentiate between different sugars so the sugars in milk or apples are dealt with the same as the small amount of sugar in the rusk.

Piglet89 · 14/12/2023 07:00

@ISpyNoPlumPie it takes a lot more than a couple of rusks to make a child obese or rot their teeth. This isn’t my parenting insecurity - it’s all about balance and this just seems totally OTT. Loads of parents I know think raisins are a great healthy snack and are completely ignorant of the fact dentists hate them because they stick to teeth and are more likely to cause caries.

Similarly, the snacking obsession with kids, which the food industry largely drives but with which many parents are totally on board as it occupies their kids. Kids snacking so often means their salivary pH is less likely to have the opportunity to return to neutral, so that drives caries too.

Incidentally, I reckon a lot of kids are obese because of diet, sure - but a significant factor is modern life and inactivity as their parents aren’t active enough to take them to the park/run them out etc. my son never stops moving and that takes a lot of effort to ensure he gets enough exercise - but I do it because I know kids need that.

KvotheTheBloodless · 14/12/2023 07:04

I'd have stressed about this when DS was tiny, but actually it's no big deal in the grand scheme of things. Unless your DC is being given them frequently, I'd leave it. Chances are it'll be low-sugar anyway, most nurseries are really switched on about diet nowadays.

TrustPenguins · 14/12/2023 07:10

A lot of the products aimed at babies/ toddlers- including rusks- are ultra processed and contain too much sugar or salt.
I understand you OP.

Tiredalwaystired · 14/12/2023 07:34

A box of raisins will have more sugar in that a low sugar rusk, which I remember being a staple at nursery. Do they offer raisins too?

bellac11 · 14/12/2023 07:42

Piglet89 · 14/12/2023 07:00

@ISpyNoPlumPie it takes a lot more than a couple of rusks to make a child obese or rot their teeth. This isn’t my parenting insecurity - it’s all about balance and this just seems totally OTT. Loads of parents I know think raisins are a great healthy snack and are completely ignorant of the fact dentists hate them because they stick to teeth and are more likely to cause caries.

Similarly, the snacking obsession with kids, which the food industry largely drives but with which many parents are totally on board as it occupies their kids. Kids snacking so often means their salivary pH is less likely to have the opportunity to return to neutral, so that drives caries too.

Incidentally, I reckon a lot of kids are obese because of diet, sure - but a significant factor is modern life and inactivity as their parents aren’t active enough to take them to the park/run them out etc. my son never stops moving and that takes a lot of effort to ensure he gets enough exercise - but I do it because I know kids need that.

This is so true, there was a thread a week or so ago, the OP was upset that her child had been out with relatives in between lunch and dinner without having been given a snack in between, there is a huge difference between modern thinking about that, and what people used to do years ago. Largely driven by businesses and manufacturers in my view.

Cornflakes44 · 14/12/2023 08:17

My nursery gave my 11 month old coco pops for breakfast and then Yule log and custard later for dessert. I would never give her stuff like that. It really pisses me off. Rusks I could live with.

MeinKraft · 14/12/2023 08:19

ISpyNoPlumPie · 14/12/2023 06:51

So many patronising “cool mums”! It’s so tragic/PFB/a first world problem to want to follow dietary advice for a baby.

Given the rates of childhood obesity and dental caries, the judgment of those who want to parent better is pathetic. Stop projecting your own insecurities about your parenting decisions onto others. The OP wants to make a different choice…because it’s the right one.

You can get so hung up on making the perfect choices for your children that you can't see the wood for the trees. It's much more beneficial for children to have a relaxed happy mum than it is for them to have the perfect diet 100% of the time.

BurbageBrook · 14/12/2023 08:33

@bellac11 that's incorrect. The sugar in apples, for example, is bound up with the fibre and causes a lower blood sugar spike than added sugar in UPFs. Similarly the sugars in milk don't cause much of a blood sugar spike due to the fats helping to slow absorption.

BurbageBrook · 14/12/2023 08:35

OP is presumably paying a lot of money for her child to attend nursery, the least she can expect is high nutritional standards.

hskdnek572 · 14/12/2023 08:41

I agree with you (and I have more than one child so not just PFB!) even the organix rusks are nearly 20% sugar although they call it grape juice concentrate instead to make it sound better.

A 7 month old baby does not need a sugary ultra processed snack! Your baby, your choice.

muggart · 14/12/2023 08:57

The posts along the lines of "back in my day we had rusks and it never did my kids any harm" are naive.

As a baby my DH was given crushed up rusks in a bottle of formula to help him sleep. His parents had no idea about how sugar affects the micro biome or about nutrient dense food. Fast forward to today, his gut is an absolute mess and he takes 6 pills daily to control his Crohn's disease, he also can't tolerate most food and hasn't been to a restaurant in years.

Establishing good gut health in the first 3 years especially is absolutely critical and there is no excuse for taking shortcuts with a baby.

maltichi · 14/12/2023 09:03

When mine started nursery I asked them not to give puddings until DC became aware that others were having something different. His key worker said a few of the parents felt the same so he wouldn't be the only one not having pudding. No drama and once they were aware of what others were having they had some too (I let them decide).

muggart · 14/12/2023 09:07

Cornflakes44 · 14/12/2023 08:17

My nursery gave my 11 month old coco pops for breakfast and then Yule log and custard later for dessert. I would never give her stuff like that. It really pisses me off. Rusks I could live with.

Wow. Did you say anything to them? I would have hit the roof.

Cornflakes44 · 14/12/2023 09:12

@muggart I'm going to say something about the coco pops but I'm in two minds about the dessert. They give them something everyday, i assume small portions, and I worry she's feel left out the others have it not her. I think I'll just talk them and see if they can give her fruit instead.