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?

Funny I just commented about arfid too !

They do provide other things but the OP child chooses jam.

Cucumber requires preparation, I imagine they have a lot of children who have very narrow tastes so need to give them something they’ll actually eat.

Their job is to provide afterschool care, it’s not bloody Leon.

Why would you encourage a lie ahou4 something as serious as food allergies.
OP just needs to provide tea or stop being so precious about a range of sandwiches, of which commission just one option.

You always get these sorts of responses on these threads, like the wraparound is doing you a massive favour by having your child rather than it being a transactional arrangement!

I don’t think there’s any point complaining though. But I wouldn’t be massively impressed either.

😆

I honestly had similar concerns about my DDs breakfast and after school club offerings when she started in reception. Then I realised that school is very knackering for them, and she’s having to do a long day, and that a bit of chocolate spread or jam is not the end of the world.

I would be hugely disappointed with jam sandwiches- it's crap. Sugar on processed bread. It's not something I'd want my children eating outside of parties. But there's a lot of people seemingly happy with 90s style kids food.

My child's ASC provides a range of fruit and veg options, crackers, cheese slices, soreen - and bowls of porridge if they're staying later than 5.30. I think porridge is quite a good and simple idea, but I can see why jam is on offer. Can be made in advance, doesn't need to be kept cold, appropriate for vegans etc.

I really couldn’t imagine caring that much about a teaspoon of jam on a piece of bread to have emailed 3 times. She’s happy to go to ASC and isn’t coming out hungry. Even with the cake it really isn’t a big deal. And I’d much rather mine eat jam than cheap processed ham. Just keep her breakfast sugar free, don’t give her any sweet stuff after dinner and over the course of the day it works out pretty balanced.

I actually completely agree with you. I have primary age children myself and I allow sweet treats but I firmly believe the basis of their diet, their 3 meals, should be nutritious. Once a week wouldn't bother me but 4x a week would, especially if they then didn't eat a dinner that actually contained what their bodies need to grow.

You're right though, the bar is low. I work in a primary school and most of the lunchboxes are 100% processed without any fruit or vegetable. Chocolate spread and jam sandwiches are the norm. We have some tooth decay in every class.

I had a similar battle with our breakfast club which offers jam and chocolate spread as condiments for the toast and instead of normal porridge it's the one with golden syrup already added. Also whenever it's someone's birthday they have a special breakfast of pancakes and whipped cream and chocolate milk. Except it's a big breakfast club and it's someone's birthday most weeks! I pulled my children in the end and changed my working hours as I just won't have their day starting on that much sugar.

I totally agree if a child is attending once or twice a week.

If it’s every day though, that is a concern. That’s why there are strict guidelines with school lunches. I mean, if you were using a childminder I don’t think that would go down well but it is the same; it’s still childcare.

And if a child is ‘knackered’ jam and chocolate aren’t the best ways of addressing this from a nutritional point of view. I’m not casting judgement there; my own DS has jam, marmalade (he likes Paddington) chocolate and copious amounts of ice creams in the summer, but it’s just a fact that for energy and best development there are better choices.

I have never liked the attitude that whatever will do for kids.

The terrible British eh and their low standards.

Yes it’s a transactional arrangement, and the OP has other options

• collect child from school herself (give up work)

hire a nanny to do the same choose a local childminder to collect where you can be more directive about what they eat.

but I imagine none of these are convenient or affordable for the OP. Also her daughter is happy

In which case she is free to not be impressed but the repeated emails are probably a bit much.

Ask them to restrict how much jam sandwich ich she’s eating, so she’ll eat properly at home, or send your own sandwiches, which I think is the answer. The quality of the bread and ham is probably crap- there is no way I’d want my DC eating cheap ham, so I’d be saying they’re vegetarian.
it is annoying that they ban jam sandwiches at lunch but serve them in after school club. That would annoy me so I wouldn’t complain about their shitty jam sandwiches, I’d start sending in lunchtime sandwiches of home made bread and jam made with fruit from our garden, just to provoke them, because I’m petty like that. You’re probably letting g her have school lunches though, OP. You’d probably implode if you saw what she was actually eating for lunch.

Sorry meant to say you're not being unreasonable to think that regularly filling small children with sugar of an afternoon is acceptable. Leads to many bad health outcomes.

🙄

Please please please do not make food a huge issue with a 4 year old.
It’s just a jam sandwich.
Pick your battles. She’s most likely very happy and healthy and you are able to work and provide for your family

Are we at the same school?!? The wraparound at my DD’s school is also jam/ham/cheese sandwich on soft white bread. My child (now Yr3) usually has 1 jam & 1 cheese. We went through a period at home where she wouldn’t eat the healthy bread I was buying from the bakery as she’d discovered the joy of soft white pan bread, but it passed.
The cakes on offer are tiny and baked with less sugar. I know it seems like a lot of junk, but as she gets older she’ll get a bigger appetite and it’ll become less of an issue.
We found that when we sat down to dinner DD would eat the veg first anyway, so I’m fine that she’s getting enough nutrition.

lol at that comment, when you said you’d be happy if she ate a carcinogenic ham sandwich every day instead!

I think you’re quite right, OP. Very hypocritical from the school and jam sandwiches 4 days for tea is really quite bad. It sets up dysfunctional eating habits. When mine has too much sugar it affects mood and attention. Can you send her a snack for ASC and just ban her from the sandwiches.

If you don’t like it look after your own kid.

She’s not full from “all the jam” though, she’s full from the sandwich.

you say you’d rather she had cheese or ham, but then she’d be full from “all the cheese/ham”

the small scraping of jam is probably less filling than cheese or ham.

why not tell them you don’t want her to eat if she’s too full for her dinner?

personally I think it’s neither here nor there which she chooses. But if sugar from the jam or the salt and preservatives from the ham. Te ham will be “reformed” anyway, which personally I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole. The cheese is likely to be pre sliced plastic so no better.

the jam is probably the healthier and less processed option.

“She’s full from all the jam!” Is that most ridiculous thing I’ve read on her today and that’s going some.

Orthorexia look it up. You are super rigid. My mum was the same and I ended up overeating crap for a couple of years because of it being "forbidden food". Can't believe you emailed 3 times about this. My kids have healthy diets that include jam, crisps and treats. I have experienced what harm a controlling ott rigid mum can cause.

I would rather jam than processed meat that is linked to development of stomach cancers.