To agree with the new guidance in Scotland to ban cake at nursery?

[AmericanMummmy]

The new guidelines from the Scottish government are effective today (1st August) - among other food restrictions, cake should not be brought into nursery to celebrate a child’s birthday (or any other reason). The goal is to fight childhood obesity and promote healthy eating.

I’m totally in favour of this and don’t understand the backlash! Everything I read on this topic is about parents and staff thinking it’s a huge overstep and sapping all the fun out of life, like kids need cake to be happy. If parents want to feed their child cake outside of nursery, that’s completely their choice, but why does it need to be at nursery too? I allow my 3 year old to have sweet treats on occasion (such as birthday parties or holidays/weekend activities), but it drives me nuts when he’s being offered cake at nursery (several times a month), and it’s always at pickup right before dinner time. They give him lollies on most days too from what he tells me, it’s just too much sugar!

Am I the only one who agrees with this guidance? Are there not other ways we can teach children to celebrate that don’t involve ultra processed sugary treats? No judgement to how people parent - and I love sugary treats myself- but I want to teach moderation and show that there are plenty of other ways to celebrate.

Children are not fat from the odd bit of birthday cake

they are fat from generations now having no idea what a healthy diet looks like.

In a class of 10 kids - that’s cake every month on top of the cake and treats they get at home and from grandma - get enough kids and it’s cake every week which isn’t a treat it’s a habit

What the heck is wrong with yogurt??

No it’s a step too far. When I worked in childcare years ago it was a lovely social thing. Birthday child would choose a friend and a few others who had not had a chance to bake a cake. Then at snack they’d all sit together and sing happy birthday. They did this in most council nurseries in Scotland that I worked in.
It was lovely, the odd treat a couple of times a month at nursery is not a problem. It’s education in the home environment that really matters. Really nice for children who didn’t bake or parents couldn’t afford or wouldn’t get a cake and simply nice for any child. Scottish government are being far too heavy handed.

I think many nurseries won’t take on the new guidance. You do have to wonder about a government who are like fascists when it comes to 3 year olds but somehow accept burger vans serving food to school kids.

As others have said, obesity doesn’t come from birthday cake at nursery.

What does come from it, in my experience, is a boost to the birthday child’s self esteem, a chance to feel special with their friends, a good example of sharing. I’m shocked that a parent would tell the nursery that their child shouldn’t have a bit of cake just because they’re so anal about health, imagine how that one child feels. Shit parenting, and far more damaging than an occasional square of cake with their pals, IMO.

I completely agree with you. A huge overstep and completely the wrong thing to focus on.

To me the guidance itself isn't super clear but the sample menus further down do suggest serving a piece of fruit alongside so perhaps it's not quite as bleak as it first seems! I do know our nursery staff - who are uniformly wonderful - have been working their socks off to try to figure out how to implement the new guidance but still keep the food appealing enough that the weans will actually eat it.

Honestly this is ridiculous, this is exactly the time that cake should be eaten and always has been eaten.

Obesity is caused by the things that were occasion/special food being eaten constantly, not just on special occasions/rarely.

ive known a few people whose children are morbidity obese. DDs friend was eating whatever she liked whenever she liked, McDonald’s a few nights a week, other takeaways, packets of cakes. Denying her a single tiny piece at nursery would have made zero difference.
Pointless.

To suggest someone is a shit parent for wanting to limit their child’s sugar intake - that’s an extreme view. If your child’s confidence is shot because they can’t have a piece of cake, something else is very wrong. How do you think kids with food allergies survive in this world?

I agree OP. I want to decide the amount of sweets my young child is fed myself, it annoys me when he's constantly being fed sweet stuff by friends, nursery, grandparents etc. Most people don't seem to realise how many sweet foods a 3 year old is offered on an average day! Which is precisely why they are getting all angry about the cake ban. It's not as if it's the only chance for a child to have a birthday cake!
It's perfectly possible to celebrate a birthday at nursery without cake. Children will simply think it's normal: cake is something thar you have when you celebrate your birthday with your friends and family outside nursery. They really won't miss anything.

It’s not shit because they’re limiting their sugar intake, it’s shit because they’re singling out their child from their peers when it’s easy to avoid it. People with allergies - in my experience, the parents are made aware of an upcoming birthday cake/celebration food, and provide an alternative. That way their kid can still join in.

With the poor ones who are singled out, I assume they’re taken away to do another activity, but come on, it’s absurd. How can parents not just adjust the kid’s sugar intake for the rest of that week if they’re so upset by it? Just wait until you go to a birthday party in a soft play and the food options are nuggets, a hot dog, fish fingers or a burger.

Nobody’s child’s confidence is shot because they can’t have cake, but the event is always popular (the kid has their friends in awe when they walk in with a birthday cake for them all), and that’s great for their self esteem and self worth. There’s absolutely no reason for people to be so incredibly anal about any of this.

My dc school banned home made cake from packed lunch but still served sponge and custard to the kids who had a cooked lunch. I ignored the ban.

A small slice of birthday cake isn’t going to make a kid obese. The nursery could cut the portion very small. The kids who are obese will have fizzy pop, fast food, fried food regularly.

I find it really hard to believe a nursery is giving lollies to a 3 year old every day tbh 🙄. Seems like a choking hazard as much as a tooth health problem and I just find it quite unlikely that it's actually happening.

I'm undecided what I think. I do appreciate that sugary or processed foods regularly isn't great but the odd slice of cake doesn't seem terrible to me. My kids nursery didn't allow parents to send in food generally, and for birthdays one of the activities for the kids in the room was to make some plain sponge, or plain scones that they'd have after lunch or for a wee snack. It seems a shame to stop something like that!

I think there are other ways the government could tackle child health and diet - for example poverty is one of the biggest causes of poor health.

Sounds like very similar guidance to the nutrition guidance for early years settings coming in England in September.

As a provider I think it's fine and it won't really change my provision. No need for birthday cake at nursery/childcare.

A choking hazard as well.

My son was served pineapple upside down cake for pudding at nursery .The ungrateful little bugger didn't eat it. 🙄

Lack of exercise. Barely saw any kids in the park a few days ago.

Well said.

Eating cake is absolutely fine as long as you don't eat too much of it. Same with everything in moderation, is o k. As long as your main diet is healthy. Then an occasional piece of cake for a child's birthday is fine.

I grew up with a mother in the nineties who was absolutely obsessed with this kind of thing. You name it, I wasn't allow to eat it. No crisps, no fizzy drinks, none of the junk food treats that appear in supermarkets. No pizza. Very little processed meat. Main meals were chicken breast with some potatoes and some raw vegetables. yoghurt for desserts

Ok, fine.I was probably really healthy.And I thank her for that. But it was the absolute hell bent determination not to allow eat anything ever.That she date deemed unhealthy.

I remember it like it was yesterday. When I was sixteen and at college and I had my own money for the first time to buy some lunch. I bought a can of coke and a packet of crisps. I felt absolutely deviant buying it and hoped my mother didn't find out. I'd never been allowed coke before and it was a novelty.

If you restrict children too much that's what happens.

I think it’s utterly ridiculous.

Cake for birthdays is an excellent demonstration of sweet things in moderation and occasionally. Our nursery used to sub it for pudding or snack on birthday days. It worked really well. Sense of community, recognising the individual, demonstrating occasional foods vs every day foods.

New setting the table guidance seems to mean child now comes home hungry regularly, it’s fixated on now sugar and low calories.

I honestly feel nurseries should face much stricter regulations around the food they serve to little ones. The first two years of life are so important for shaping a child’s taste preferences and even their long-term metabolic health. The World Health Organization (WHO) clearly recommends no sugar or salt at all before 1 year old, and ideally no added sugar until at least age 2.
That’s why I’m getting really frustrated with my son’s nursery. They regularly give babies custard, cakes, jam – even sandwiches to under-1s! And to make it worse, they don’t allow parents to send in their own meals, so we have no say in what they’re being fed.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? Does anyone know who I can contact or where I can make a formal complaint about this? It just feels wrong that nurseries can ignore these basic health guidelines.

In my experience, I don’t find out about cake until the day of and this has been 3 times in the past few weeks. My son has a peanut allergy so in many cases I’d have to say no anyway. It’s not the end of the world, but if I had a vote, I’d say that nursery food should be limited to food provided by nursery in line with the guidance (or by the child’s parents). I wouldn’t assume someone is a shit parent for wanting their kid to eat cake though, we all parent differently and that’s ok.

What is wrong with sandwiches?

Did you see a sample menu when you were researching nurseries?

I imagine there’s nothing to do except move your child to one you’re happier with. Guidelines aren’t law, so a childcare setting will always have leeway. They’ll also probably have a waiting list and someone who’ll happily take your place if you remove your child, so I really don’t imagine they’d uphold any complaint.

No nutritional value whatsoever!

No nutritional value!