Jam sandwiches at wraparound care

[JBeanGarden]

My reception age DD goes to a really well arranged breakfast club and after school club 4 days a week. It works very well with 2 commuting parents. I only have one gripe and that is with the food they offer. Technically the food should align with the school’s healthy eating policy, as it’s run by the school not an external provider. The school has asked parents not to provide sweet treats in lunch boxes and it’s quite strict about sandwiches.

HOWEVER the school is not transparent about the wraparound food offer and I had to email three times to get them to tell me what they provide. Once they did, they disclosed that the after school options include a range of sandwiches, including jam, plus a pudding of cake and fruit. Of course, my four-year-old always goes for a jam sandwich and ends up with a very sweet tea 4 days a week. The school says they offer carrot sticks etc, however, not one single parent has ever mentioned this in conversation and so I just think it’s something they say but don’t provide.

We do talk at home about the importance of a balanced diet, but she’s still only four and temptation is there! She’s offered something a bit more nutritionally balanced she gets home, but she’s usually just full of jam sandwich!

I emailed the school to ask them if they are able to comment on this or if they ever review the food that they provide at wraparound care, but I haven’t received a reply. AIBU to push this further?

If you’re relying on other people to feed your children, I’m not sure you can be so prescriptive.

Yes exactly. Pure ridiculousness that people are happy to let their child eat junk and watch tv at school! Our standards need to be higher.

All the discussion about children performing poorly and not being school ready. It’s no wonder when parents and society are perfectly happy with these things.

Completely agree with you OP.

@MrsSkylerWhite

It’s not “prescriptive” to expect that an ASC, which you are paying for, offers snacks with actual nutritional value to your child instead of junk food. It’s a particularly reasonable expectation to assume schools will abide by their own healthy food policies.

Almost every family i know, myself included has two parents working full time. We all rely on others to feed our children at whatever daycare option is being used for that age bracket. We absolutely should be prescriptive. Jam sandwiches are not acceptable as a regular meal or snack. Its utter junk.

What do you think children ate back in the days when obesity was a lot rarer than it is now? Honestly, what a fuss about nothing.

I love jam sandwiches.

OP I would be the same as you. Jam sandwiches are very unhealthy - it’s basically sugar in a sandwich.
I’m surprised at the comments on here - do people not care what their kids eat? Good food fuels their growth, brain development, balances mood, etc. Too much sugar in your diet has far reaching implications on your health & for years to come.
And it’s not once in a while - it’s 5 days a week and your child is developing a taste/preference for sugar.
I follow nutritionists & dieticians online - they are worried about the sugar & salt epidemic that’s happening right now.

Having said that did you ask was it chia jam or regular jam? Chia jam is just fruit & chia seeds (no added sugar). If that’s the case, then no problem.
But I don’t blame you for being bothered by this. The link to diet and academic performance is clearly stated

Yes, exactly. This thread is a great example of people who don't seem able to distinguish between should and is. It's telling that OP and most of the people who agree with her have either ignored the logistics issue entirely or said something implausible.

I'm not sure everyone necessarily realises what a knife edge a lot of ASC provision is currently on. This is going to get worse as the mid 2010s kids are ageing out and being replaced by the smaller birth cohort years of the 2020s.

Sometimes I worry I’m not aware of the world around me - then I see someone wondering whether a state school after school club is serving chia seed jam.

The only one I can find to purchase commercially is £1.76 per 100g

Aldi strawberry jam is 11p per 100g

Yes our kids shouldn’t be stuffed full of sugar, and we can all sit in our ivory towers wailing about the lack of baba ganoush, but how are you actually going to solve the problem of £9 ASC giving kids a quick snack and not going bankrupt.

OP please please email the school and ask if it’s chia jam.

We have ham or cheese sandwiches, toast with or without jam, some fruit and a school made biscuit, or a muffin, generally. Fussy eaters are allowed to bring their own packed ‘tea’ if they want… which are usually less healthy than ours. They have apple or orange fruit juice. All for £5 a session. Plus we have to watch out for those with dairy allergies, gluten allergies…. Some of the kids have come to Breakfast club at 8am and are there till 5.15, all week!! It is a very long day, particularly for reception children.
And you want to worry about them having something ‘unhealthy’…..🙄

Is this your first child?
as an experienced parents of teenagers, as you get older you will realise that as long as they’re happy and enjoying being in childcare for larger amounts of time, they will not drop dead if they eat the odd jam sandwich or chocolate sponge cake for their afternoon tea.

If your child is settled happy and not stressed about being there. I would Class that is a win. The rest of the 24 hours in a day you can feed them healthy balanced food.

It’s just a case of priorities, with experience you’ll realise this and become less neurotic. Honestly, the children laid back parents are gonna assure you.

Diet exercise sleep are the ultimate priorities in children, but also is the ultimate relaxed parents who know when to pick their battles. Leave it be

OMG. A dippy bowl? With 4 year olds?

Hygiene?!

It’s also striking that people are so defensive about wrap around care as ‘having no choice’ and make peace with that.

In terms of emotional development, the best thing for a baby is one or two loving caregivers to develop secure attachment. There is also research looking at it is this causing an increase in ADHD, rather than diet.

The best thing for a 4 year old is to come home to an involved, caring parent (or closest thing).

But the world doesn’t work like that anymore. We have careers we want to keep and mortgages/bills that need paying.

For some it’s a choice, for some it’s a necessity but we all make compromises.

This thread seems to take a lot of guilt about the emotional and developmental consequences of long days in childcare, and project it onto the jam.

My son has jam sandwiches everyday for lunch.
I know, shockingly bad parenting from me. I feel awful and can barely sleep. Please MN help me. Why am I such a shit mum and human being? Why MN why!

OP: wahhhj my child is being fed a ham sandwich 4 times a week

MN: send your own food in

OP: <disappears>

And as the parent of teenagers, when I look around at the mental health struggles of many of their friends, I bet they skew heavily in favour of those parents who would have worried about the jam.

😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 about the chia seed jam.

It will be cheapest/value white bread and the cheapest/value strawberry jam. It will have cost around £1 for the whole lot. Maybe £2 depending on numbers.

They'll have been given a slice of bread and a scraping of jam.

618 posts about jam.

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE JAM!!

It’s NEVER about the jam.

Ham and cheese are less healthy than jam.

What is it about then?

Capitalism.

"All that is solid melts into air..." (Marx).

And the chia seeds?

Hmm chia seeds? Maybe they represent false consciousness.