To expect my nanny NOT to feed my two year old a McDonalds Happy Meal?

[coolbeans]

I know it's not the end of the world and he is nearly three but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect her to ASK me, at least, before takes him out and stuffs him full of chicken nuggets and chips for lunch.

I'm not against McD's as such, but he's still really little and there's no need to take him there yet - it's not a bloody treat - as she seems to think.

I think that's what has annoyed me most. It's just food, I don't want him associating it with being a "treat" outing.

Piazza properly has more unsaturated fat than a happy meal but it is twee to bash Mcd.

So much hyprocrisy, misunderstanding and snobbery when it comes to food and nutrition.

I bet if the OP's nanny had fed her child a plate of gratin dauphinois, she would have been happy despite it being ladened with unsaturated fat.

Yes, a good pizza is really bread and tomatoes and a little mozzarella and often a mixture of other vegetables or ham. I often give DD pizza margherita or con rucola as I think it's a good nutritious snack lunch.

Pizza, saturated fat doh!!

Dammit! I was resisting visiting the sushi place opposite and now my mouth is watering at the prospect.

Proper pizza as opposed to fast food pizza is actually pretty nutritious and not high in fat.

Blueshoes - I am with you on this. I think that the immune systems of those brought up in culture with an early exposure to certain microbes must develop an immunity - although d and v and infant mortality in many of these countries is rife and comes from unsafe drinking water and food sources.

I am toxo - immune, despite having lived on a farm in sub-saharan africa, eaten raw food all my life and kept dogs and cats.....

anniemac - there is nothing wrong with occasionally eating unhealthy food.

But people's definition of occasional can be pretty hazy. I have been over and over this issues with my DSSs . Yes, you can have an occasional doughnut and an occasional McD. But if you also eating occasional, chips, KFC, bags of sweets etc etc you can end up with a huge variety of foods you eat occasionally = two or three servings of crap every day...

Pizza was designed to be a meal in itself and it is poor people's food par excellence. Here it doesn't cost as much as it does in the UK, so it is the poor option.

Anyway, the other issue is giving your child a taste for real food vs processed rubbish. Of course it'll all be out of your hands once they're older but while you can influence why introduce non food?

Anyway, I'm off, am supposed to be working....

Anna, I am confused. Did you not just categorically say below that "Lunch is meat, vegetables, yoghurt and fruit. Not much bread (in fact probably none)."

But you 'often' give your dd pizza and acknowledge that it is bread?

blueshoes - that was a comment about what French lunch is when given in a childcare setting (response to another post).

I am a mother and therefore not tied to the childcare rules and culture.

alors: I grew up in Singapore, a developed country. Your statement 'although d and v and infant mortality in many of these countries is rife and comes from unsafe drinking water and food sources.' does not apply at all to Singapore.

You'd never get pizza for lunch at school here, for example.

How often do people actually eat lunch out? Thats the boggly bit to me. My older 3 never ate out as children. Still don't as teens! DD 4 has been in a cafe cos we spend a lot of time at the hospital so we go and get a cofee but we don't eat or lunch would cost a tenner!

Its the kids I feel sorry for....

But you do get pizza here, albeit only once a month.

Blueshoes, I also grew up in the FE and have never been ill from rice or other foods. I didn't even know eating cold cooked rice was dangerous until I read it on MN. Until then I used to use up leftover basmati in stir fries the next day. Actually I still do.

You are right Blueshoes, and I was generalising wildly. I was watching a programme about India the other day and there were huge vats of rice sitting around between meals, and a young baby was being handfed mouthfuls of said rice.

Which was what sparked off my train of thought regarding rice in third world countries.....and you are not psychic

i thought a nounou was a cuddly whatsit that small children take to bed with them...?

Sure, you get occasional pizza on a school menu in Italy just like you get occasional chips on a school menu in France - it just reflects the cultural perception of what is normal and healthy food.

At least the cultural perception of what is normal and healthy food is a bit closer to scientific reality in France and Italy than in the UK...

lolololol at this thread.
news at eleven! French people eat fast food!
news at twelve! child eats chips and meat and bread!
hold the front page...
at my pre-school, the special treat Christmas lunch today is a Happy Meal! I was working there this morning and LORDY were those children excited about it.
some food in a box. ain't no of a deal.

My kids have 'american day' at school once a year and have le hamburger and frites. Other than that it is starter (often salad/veg), main which is meat or fish, carb and two veg, then cheese, then fruit and or yog or pudding.

yarooo - no, that a doudou

Alors, no worries. In third world countries, I believe eating cooled rice in itself is the least of their troubles. The unsafe drinking water is probably a lot more of a concern.