My 4-year-old daughter is at a small nursery which I'm generally very happy with, and she's happy there. She is, however, a fussy eater, and there are a few meals they often serve she doesn't like.
I am fairly laid-back about food, as I know she has a generally healthy diet. At home I get round her fussiness by serving food that's on her approved list, or if it's a family meal I let her pick what she wants out of it and fill up on bread and butter if necessary.
The nursery manager, however, has a policy of no pudding if they don't eat all their savoury course. (I don't know if this means all of it or perhaps just most of it.) I think this is rather an old-fashioned attitude. I accept we all have different parenting styles, but it seems inappropriate to try to stamp this kind of Victorian discipline on children who are not your own.
Lately my daughter has started making sad little comments about not having had any lunch today. She goes two days a week so I realise she's not going to starve but I think it's (a) mean and (b) a bit of a cheek, considering I have paid for these meals.
I don't expect them to serve her something different but why can't they let her have the pudding at least?
The final straw is that my daughter will be starting school in September. I want her to have the school dinners rather than packed lunches as I think it will help broaden her tastes. She has made some anxious comments along the lines of: What if they serve X? [one of the hated nursery meals] She's quite timid in some respects and this is the last thing I need when she's starting school.
So, should I discuss this with the nursery manager or am I a hopeless softie liberal?